ERIC Number: EJ1273590
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0068
EISSN: N/A
Crossing Academic Borders: Exploring the Role of Social Capital in Academic Hiring
Comparative Education, v56 n4 p583-601 2020
Academics are increasingly seeking employment abroad. Despite their growing number, there is limited research on how academics secure positions at foreign universities. The literature does indicate however, that academic hiring is not a standardised meritocratic process, but influenced by academic tradition and social capital. Drawing on this perspective, this study explores the role social capital plays among international and local hires at two universities (located in the U.S. and Flanders), that exhibited contrasting approaches towards recruiting foreign talent. At the U.S. university, social capital was used to "counterbalance" lacking elements in a candidate's curriculum vitae related to their professional experience. At the Flemish university, social capital was used to signal a candidate's "compatibility" with the ethos of the hiring university or system. The study demonstrates that the role social capital plays is not exclusively determined by nationality but linked to an academic's professional background which signals their insider/outsider status in the system of their employment.
Descriptors: Social Capital, College Faculty, Faculty Recruitment, Overseas Employment, Foreign Workers, Faculty Mobility, Universities, Resumes (Personal), Work Experience, Teacher Attitudes, Social Networks, Cultural Context, Foreign Countries, Teacher Background
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Belgium; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A