The Future of Education

Academic mobility has attracted much attention in recent education research. Previous studies focus mainly on study abroad students; relatively little attention, however, has been paid to the growing numbers of teachers of Chinese as a second language working abroad.

The Chinese government started in 2004 to recruit teachers to work in Confucius Institutes, non-profit public institutions that aim to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching, and facilitate cultural exchange. By 2015, more than 440,000 teachers had been working in 500 Confucius Institutes and 1000 Confucius classrooms (local hubs in schools) in 134 countries.

This paper reports a longitudinal case study undertaken with a cohort of Confucius Institute Chinese Teachers (CICTs) working in the UK. The focus is on exploring the teaching abroad experience of CICTs, to examine the drives behind their acculturation, the factors that influence it and the forms of personal growths from arrival until repatriation. Underpinned by post-structuralist perspectives on identity, it employs a critical ethnography approach and draws, in particular, on blog entries over the period of one year which shed light on the negotiation, formation and expansion of identities as intercultural educators.

The paper concludes with suggestions for ways forward for international education professionals and programme supervisors.