International academics in Finland - in the shadow of uncertainty : The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers
Hoikka, Sanna (2016)
Hoikka, Sanna
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016053110936
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016053110936
Tiivistelmä
The academic job market has become increasingly global. Many academics choose to pursue an international career in order to explore new experiences and advance their future career prospects. An international career can be a great opportunity, but international academics may also face several social and professional difficulties when working in another culture.
The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers (FUURT) is a trade union with 7200 members. It is a union for researchers, teachers, library personnel and other academic experts in Finland. As a growing number of both current and potential members are international, the union decided to conduct a survey for its international members. Learning about the challenges that international academics face in working life in Finland enables the union to better respond to the needs of its international members, and raise awareness about this important topic.
The survey was conducted as an online questionnaire, which was sent to all 529 members of FUURT, who are not Finnish by nationality. The questionnaire consisted of both quantitative closed-ended questions, which provide generalizable results, and open-ended questions, which allow searching for pattern and developing a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The study is a mixed method research combining qualitative and quantitative methods, which improves the validity and reliability of the results.
As the study is examining a highly social phenomenon, it is not possible for the researcher to be totally external to the processes of data collection and data analysis. Aiming towards objectivity but acknowledging the social aspects influencing the process, the research philosophy of the study is pragmatism.
Based on the results and findings of the research, the challenges that international academics face in working life in Finland seem to fall under two themes: uncertainty, because of extremely short fixed-term employment contracts and poor job opportunities in Finland, and incommunication because of language barriers, resulting in being excluded from important information and the work community.
As the questionnaire was sent to each member of the research population, and the response rate was fairly good at 39 %, the results of the survey are well generalizable to the international members of the union. However, the results might not be directly transferable to other contexts, for example all international academics working in Finland. Thus conducting a similar kind of research with a wider population would be highly recommendable.
Based on the feedback received from higher education stakeholders when presenting the results of this study, there is an imminent need for research concentrating on the experiences of international academic personnel. There is much research concerning international students, but the experiences and perceptions of the personnel remain dismissed. That needs to be changed, because international academics are the best source of knowledge when evaluating and developing the internationalization strategies for Finnish higher education.
The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers (FUURT) is a trade union with 7200 members. It is a union for researchers, teachers, library personnel and other academic experts in Finland. As a growing number of both current and potential members are international, the union decided to conduct a survey for its international members. Learning about the challenges that international academics face in working life in Finland enables the union to better respond to the needs of its international members, and raise awareness about this important topic.
The survey was conducted as an online questionnaire, which was sent to all 529 members of FUURT, who are not Finnish by nationality. The questionnaire consisted of both quantitative closed-ended questions, which provide generalizable results, and open-ended questions, which allow searching for pattern and developing a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The study is a mixed method research combining qualitative and quantitative methods, which improves the validity and reliability of the results.
As the study is examining a highly social phenomenon, it is not possible for the researcher to be totally external to the processes of data collection and data analysis. Aiming towards objectivity but acknowledging the social aspects influencing the process, the research philosophy of the study is pragmatism.
Based on the results and findings of the research, the challenges that international academics face in working life in Finland seem to fall under two themes: uncertainty, because of extremely short fixed-term employment contracts and poor job opportunities in Finland, and incommunication because of language barriers, resulting in being excluded from important information and the work community.
As the questionnaire was sent to each member of the research population, and the response rate was fairly good at 39 %, the results of the survey are well generalizable to the international members of the union. However, the results might not be directly transferable to other contexts, for example all international academics working in Finland. Thus conducting a similar kind of research with a wider population would be highly recommendable.
Based on the feedback received from higher education stakeholders when presenting the results of this study, there is an imminent need for research concentrating on the experiences of international academic personnel. There is much research concerning international students, but the experiences and perceptions of the personnel remain dismissed. That needs to be changed, because international academics are the best source of knowledge when evaluating and developing the internationalization strategies for Finnish higher education.