Engaging academic staff in transnational teaching: The job satisfaction challenge

Transnational education (TNE) is an important facet of the international education learning and teaching landscape. Ensuring academics are positively engaged in TNE is a challenging but necessary issue for this form of educational provision if the risks inherent in TNE are to be successfully mitigated. This article explores job satisfaction for academics using the job characteristics model (JCM) to better understand the conditions that influence their involvement with TNE. The results highlight the important role that teaching-related interaction with host-country students and staff (the Feedback and Task Significance JCM dimensions) plays in academics’ satisfaction. Feelings of ownership and control of the TNE course (Autonomy and Task Identity) were also shown to be important determinants of satisfaction. It is therefore recommended that these aspects of TNE be encouraged and supported through university procedures and policies. Similarly, those aspects of TNE teaching that contribute to dissatisfaction, such as additional administration, need to be better understood, managed, and their impact mitigated where possible