Intercultural Encounters: Staff Development in Transnational Higher Education

As transnational higher education involves the international movement of curricula and personnel from one country to another, it may bring about myriad cross-cultural challenges. This non-empirical exploratory chapter examines the intercultural factors relating to staff development from three aspects. The first aspect is staff-student interaction, considering how the cultural backgrounds of both staff and students shape preferred pedagogical approaches, specifically in relation to feedback, as well as how motivation and performance affect classroom dynamics. Secondly, staff-staff interaction is examined by analysing the mismatch of expectations between employees and their respective TNHE institutions, highlighting intercultural nuances, awareness, and competence. Lastly, the chapter considers staff-third party interaction, investigating the extent to which TNHE staff engage with the broader professional community and its potential to positively impact intercultural staff development.