Date of Award

Summer 8-10-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Sociology

Department

Behavioral Sciences

College

College of Arts & Humanities

Committee Chair

Dr. James Stobaugh

Second Committee Member

Dr. Sean Huss

Third Committee Member

Dr. Justin Moss

Program Director

Dr. Justin Moss

Dean of Graduate College

Dr. Jeff Robertson

Abstract

By interviewing 15 international faculty members who are currently employed at a teaching-focused university in the rural South of the U.S., this study investigated: 1) what brought them to the university in rural America; 2) whether students’ complaints about their English proficiency affected the levels of their classroom interaction with students; and 3) whether the levels of their job satisfaction affected their migration motives. The present study found job opportunity is the only reason that drew the 15 participants to rural America. The findings indicated that domestic student complaints about their English proficiency and the levels of their job satisfaction do not play a role in this group of international faculty members’ classroom interaction with students and intentions to stay or leave. The socio-cultural factor (inconvenient transport system, family conflicts, and cultural issues) was identified as the main reason, which affected the international faculty members’ migration motives. Besides that, university type and geographic region of a university are also matter about international faculty members’ levels of classroom interaction with students and their intentions to stay or leave at teaching-focused rural institutions.

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