Premium
The Experiences of Western Expatriate Nursing Educators Teaching in Eastern Asia
Author(s) -
Melby Carolyn S.,
Dodgson Joan E.,
Tarrant Marie
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2008.00223.x
Subject(s) - expatriate , collectivism , nursing , facilitator , qualitative research , narrative , psychology , nurse education , transcultural nursing , pedagogy , narrative inquiry , thematic analysis , sociology , medical education , individualism , medicine , health care , social psychology , political science , social science , linguistics , philosophy , law
Purpose: To describe the lived experience of English‐speaking Western nurse educators teaching in East Asian countries.Design: The study design was an application of existential phenomenological approach to qualitative data collection and analysis. Eight expatriate nurse educators who had taught more than 2 years in an East Asian country were interviewed about their experiences between January 2004 and November 2005.Methods: Narrative data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach aimed at distilling the experience of the educators. Each member of the research team analyzed the data, then through group discussions a consensus was reached, paying close attention to developing clear understandings of language nuances and maintaining the participants' voices.Findings: Four themes emerged from the data: (a) differing expectations, (b) the cost of the expatriate experience, (c) bridging pedagogies, and (d) adapting and finding purpose. The tacit meanings of cultural differences affecting participants' experiences are presented.Conclusions: The ways that a collectivist‐oriented culture may affect nurse educators coming from a Western individualist worldview needs to continue to be researched to develop better mutual understandings that will lead to culturally collaborative models of nursing practice, education and research.Clinical Relevance: Nurses providing direct care and nurse educators who work with people from cultures other than their own will find the discussion of cross‐cultural misunderstandings useful.