Abstract:
This dissertation describes how faculty use their agency to make meaningful decisions in their careers within the context of internationalization. The author uses a faculty agency framework that positions internationalization as a sociocultural structure that influences faculty members’ identities and the organizational contexts in which they work, shaping how they use strategic actions and perspectives to navigate their daily work lives and career goals. The study uses a private university in Pakistan as a case study, with document analysis, interviews, and teaching observations as the primary data collection methods. The author finds faculty members’ agency behaviors can be organized into three interrelated and overlapping categories in response to internationalization: localized behaviors, aspiring behaviors, and internationalized behaviors. Each of these agency responses impact faculty members’ teaching and research responsibilities separately. Findings from this research can be used to understand how to uncover and contextualize faculty members agency within larger global social forces and help administrators and others provide better support to faculty within the context of organizational goals.
