Why Do Non-Teaching Support Staff Encounter Difficulties when Working with Foreign Colleagues?
After sixteen years working in the non-teaching division of several international/bilingual schools, Henry Wong has come to the opinion that the majority of the local support staff are generally diligent, and when necessary, are willing to work overtime or work on weekends without asking for extra stipend.
Lack of commitment among host country support staff is typically not the challenge. However, ensuring they ‘Fit In' is. This observation is further reinforced after speaking with counterparts from other international schools around the world, and after interviewing several host country support staff and foreign academic administrators across China.
International schools have their own culture. This culture is different from the overall culture of their host country. It is a little world within a larger one, just like a microcosm in a thriving universe. It is a micro-culture. Think of a penguin population from the glaciers of Antarctica, inhabiting a cold oasis in a scorching desert. I know it sounds bizarre, but if you can envision this then you probably have or are experiencing it. These schools are built to offer a global experience and therefore they have their own micro-culture.
It is important to differentiate between a subculture and a micro-culture: a subculture is still a portion of the overall culture, whereas a micro-culture is not. For example, the millennial culture is a subculture in the US, because it is a derivative of the overall culture. On the contrary, a flourishing Chinese culture in a tribal village of Africa is a micro-culture.
The micro-culture of international schools is totally alien to local recruits that include teachers, teaching assistants, and non-teaching support staff, hence fitting in can be extremely difficult. Not only do they lack international exposure, but they have also never worked in a cultural setting that is radically different from their overall culture.
The situation is further exacerbated when:
The local staff members are not adept in the English language which is the medium of operations.
Some local cultures are less articulate naturally. The lack of articulation is sometimes misinterpreted as an absence of will to work, confidence, and aptitude.
The school environment is dominated by western culture.
The local employees take the role of supporting and serving their foreign colleagues.
In his series on navigating through intercultural environments, Henry will talk about what host country support staff can do to blend more easily in their international school micro-culture.
Check out other articles from this series:
