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Sustaining Faculty Development through Visiting Scholar Programmes: A Transformative Learning Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Xiantong Zhao

    (Faculty of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Xu Liu

    (Centre for Higher Education Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China)

Abstract

International academic visits by university faculty members are common around the world. While most researchers approach such an international experience in terms of intercultural communication and acculturation, in this study we view the travel experience as a learning opportunity in light of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT). Drawing on Singleton’s ‘3H model’ (head-heart-hands), we find that the outcomes of transformative learning (TL) are related to cognitive, affective and behavioral domains, the prevalence of which were then explored among 314 visiting scholars. The results are further interpreted by drawing on key concepts from TLT to better understand the learning process. We conclude that the international experience is beneficial for scholars’ sustainable development, and call for more study abroad opportunities for Chinese university faculty.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiantong Zhao & Xu Liu, 2022. "Sustaining Faculty Development through Visiting Scholar Programmes: A Transformative Learning Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:1:p:525-:d:717416
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maggi W.H. Leung, 2013. "Unraveling the Skilled Mobility for Sustainable Development Mantra: An Analysis of China-EU Academic Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Honggang Liu & Lixiang Gao & Fan Fang, 2020. "Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-16, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karina A. Rus & Ștefan Dezsi & Ovidiu R. Ciascai, 2023. "Transformative Experiences in Cycling Tourism: A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-22, October.
    2. Xiantong Zhao & Xu Liu, 2022. "Academic Visits as Transformative Learning Opportunities: The Case of Chinese Visiting Academics," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    3. Karina A. Rus & Ștefan Dezsi & Ovidiu R. Ciascai & Florin Pop, 2022. "Calibrating Evolution of Transformative Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-40, September.
    4. Asma Almusharraf & Norah Almusharraf & Daniel Bailey, 2022. "The Influence of Multilingualism and Professional Development Activities on Teacher Reflection Levels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-14, September.

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