Implications of this study

Based on the discussions presented above, there are several implications of this study for Chinese universities (discussed in Section 5.5.1) and foreign-educated returnees (discussed in Section 5.5.2).

6.5.1 Implications for Chinese universities

First, this study indicates that Chinese universities need to keep reassessing their concepts regarding recruiting returnees. The aims of the universities in recruiting foreign- educated talent are to help upgrade the teaching and research standards of Chinese universities, as well as to help the universities to become globalised. However, this study has shown that the recruitment policies, academic environment, the organisational culture of the universities, and bureaucratic management of Chinese universities are major factors that influence returnees’ re-entry experiences. They also contribute to the main obstacles that prevent returnees from applying their knowledge in the home universities. All these factors, combined with some Chinese sociocultural characteristics that have already been described, made returnees’ re-adaptation journey full of challenges that were perceived as undermining their social and cultural capital. This implies that Chinese universities need to refresh their thinking on how to utilise the cultural and social capital of returnees, as discussed in the next sections.

6.5.1.1 Improve service for returnees

Universities should improve their service for returnees when they come back to the universities. Clear guidelines and regulations should be laid down to support and help returnees successfully re-adapt to their re-entry work and life. Many returnees report feeling stressed when encountering their universities’ administrative systems, which prevent them from smoothly re-adapting back to the Chinese higher education system. The returnees interviewed for this study were not satisfied with the support they had from their universities. They had new ideas and concepts and were potential agents to help universities integrate into the world academic community, in terms of updating

universities’ research and teaching standards, which was one of the main reasons that the universities had recruited them. Thus, providing sufficient support and help from

universities is not only necessary, but also essential to help reduce returnees’ difficulties

in re-adaptation life. The universities needed to support returnees to fit into the academic life there and thus allow them to make full use of their overseas education experiences. Recruitment policies are just the first stage of attracting returnees to return to work for Chinese universities. Establishing a considerate and helpful, supportive management system would help returnees to re-adapt to their Chinese academic life.

6.5.1.2 Build a healthy organisational environment

Creating a healthy organisational environment in Chinese universities would enable returnees to better utilise their talents and cultural capital for the universities’ benefit. This could include having different performance assessment requirements for both returnees and non-returnees. This study found that the current system of research performance assessment, focusing on quantity of output instead of quality, had hindered

returnees’ professional development at these universities and both the universities and the returnees had not been satisfied with each other in terms of returnees’ performance

appraisal. The result of this assessment system is a profit-oriented research ideology that has damaged how interviewees perceive the ethics of doing research in Chinese universities. Thus, Chinese universities could explore possibilities for instituting an assessment system that is better suited to the needs of returnees to guide the research and teaching. Also, in an academic environment that is perceived to be healthier, research would not be connected with bureaucratic power. Returnees would argue that de- bureaucratisation (quxingzhenghua) of the Chinese universities would support the goal of Chinese universities integrating more fully into the world academic community This study found that what was seen as bureaucratic management added extra stress and difficulties for returnees as they re-adapted to their universities, limiting their ability to influence and update the teaching and research standards of the universities. It also reduced their ability to help the universities to become internationalised.

6.5.1.3 Create a collaborative research environment

A collaborative research environment is also required for returnees to fully utilise their social and cultural capital back in their home universities. This study found that the majority of returnees were not satisfied with the academic environment, which is largely

formed and reinforced by Chinese-educated teams of academics. Many returnees said they were unable to integrate into the academic communities of Chinese higher education because they lacked the local interpersonal networks and had minimal access to research resources. This not only hindered their contributions to the universities but also prevented them from communicating with local colleagues. Returnees felt they had cultural difficulties in adjusting to the existing system and organisational structure. Thus, universities will benefit if they are able to build a collaborative culture between returnees and non-returnees, to maximise the advantages for both parties: that is, the

returnees’ new knowledge, research methods, and good command of foreign languages as well as the non-returnee’s familiarity with the academic culture and local interpersonal networks. This collaborative culture would enable returnees and non-returnees to share and develop their expertise together and to promote their professional growth. The data in this study indicated that some returnees demonstrated their desire to build their research teams, but their lack of understanding of the Chinese higher education system made it hard for them to do this in the Chinese university context. For the universities, the primary aims were finding ways to maximise the foreign-educated returnees’ strengths and to reduce their weaknesses. Therefore, establishing a collaborative culture may help reduce the disadvantages of returnees and promote mutual benefits.

6.5.2 Implications for returnees

This study found that for returnees, facing academic and cultural challenges was unavoidable once they had decided to return. No matter what their reason for returning, the process was not as good as most returnees expected. Thus, keeping reasonable expectations and positive attitudes towards Chinese academic and social culture was effective in managing the issues caused in the re-adaptation process. However, a number of effective strategies were adopted by some of the returnees who were interviewed for this study, as described below.

6.5.2.1 Appropriate cognitive expectations

Cognitive preparation was a very important aspect of returnees’ preparations for coming

home. No matter what the returnees thought of the academic and social culture of the

and work. Returnees need to modify their thinking and behaviour as quickly as possible, to readjust themselves to fit into the life and work. Expecting to return to an unchanged home as an unchanged individual would cause unexpected difficulties and challenges (Gaw, 2000). Therefore, anticipating the differences between the cultures was helpful in minimising the effects of reverse culture shock. The returnees in this study who kept thinking about their overseas life encountered more difficulties because they still carried the norms and cultural values of the host countries, which hindered their readjustment process and led to more stress and confusion when facing the home culture.

However, this does not mean that returnees should completely drop their newly acquired cultural identity. It is impossible to drop the newly acquired cultural identity because cultural identity change seems inevitable after cultural contact (Sussman, 2000). Rather, they need to keep an open mind about both the home culture and the Western culture. The data in the study showed that those who had objective views regarding the differences between the two cultures and those who had developed multicultural views coped better with cultural issues in the re-adapting process.

6.5.2.2 Communication

This study’s findings showed that communicating with colleagues and friends such as talking with colleagues about work and inviting friends and colleagues for casual get- together is an effective way to deal with workplace cultural and sociocultural issues. Communicating with colleagues and friends allows returnees to become familiar with the cues and norms of the home culture and to fit into the home culture as soon as possible. It also helps returnees to establish interpersonal relationships with colleagues and friends and reduce the gap between returnees and non-returnees. This study showed that misunderstandings between returnees and non-returnees because of different understandings regarding cultural stances and norms could result in stress and broken relationships in the workplace. Thus, communicating with colleagues and friends may be a good tactic for returnees to adopt in their re-entry process.

6.5.2.3 Collaborative work

This study indicated that although returnees were regarded as agents of new ideas and concepts, their lack of domestic interpersonal networks and resources was a critical factor

in their re-adaptation. Returnees need to actively establish research teams that include both returnees and non-returnee colleagues. In collaborative work teams, returnees and non-returnees can complement each other, maximising the strengths of both parties. The data in the study imply that some returnees found this strategy was helpful to exert their knowledge learned overseas, and at the same time, to build effective interpersonal relationship with non-returnees and other returnees. It is suggested that similar strategies are used for returnees and potential returnees who might come back to their home country in the future.

6.6 Summary of this chapter

In summary, by using structuration theory and cultural identity change theory, this chapter has discussed the academic and social cultural challenges faced by returnees. It has been argued that universities are social systems, which are reproduced and transformed across time and space through the actions of individual participants. These social systems

potentially constrain returnees’ academic and social interactions when they come back to

the home university context. For returnees, lack of allocative and authoritative resources, including domestic interpersonal networks and research resources, reduces their influence at these universities.

In addition, reverse cultural shock seems inevitable for returnees because of their cultural contact and cultural identity change. They felt confused and sometimes lost when facing their home culture again. They initially had to modify their behaviour to fit into the host cultures and when they returned home, their cultural identity needed to change again. The four possible cultural identity changes (subtractive, additive, affirmative, and intercultural) led to different re-adaptation experiences of returnees.

Based on the discussions of the findings, this chapter has also provided recommendations for both universities and returnees. It is suggested that both universities and returnees

should try to take measures to maximise the returnees’ strengths and advantages after they

return. Universities could establish a healthy academic environment for returnees and returnees could hold objective expectations and attitudes with regard to their return.