Cross-cultural transition: International teachers’ experience of ‘culture shock’

Abstract

Decades of ‘culture shock’ research has generally focused on student and business sojourners; few studies have examined the experience of teachers who relocate abroad to teach in international schools. This study addresses this imbalance and examines the perspective of 12 teachers who experienced cross-cultural transition in moving abroad to teach in an international school in South East Asia. An underlying assumption is that such teachers will inevitably experience some degree of culture shock. This study proffers a detailed description and analysis of the first year of these 12 teachers, delineating how they negotiated the stages of culture shock and whether they adjusted successfully. Their experience is also interpreted and discussed from the perspective of ‘loss’.