| Summary: | Abstract
In an increasingly globalised world, expatriate teachers and leaders are expected
to be able to navigate cultural divides in order to achieve educational aims. While
there is consensus that expatriate performance is dependent on successful
adaptation to their host nation, there are very few examples of what this looks
like in practice. This paper uses autoethnograpic fiction to explore examples of
interaction adjustment in the socio-cultural context of teaching in Malaysia,
relating these examples to a teacher’s ability to perform through the development
of cross-cultural relationships. The findings contradict some notions that
adjustment is a process of cultural acceptance, suggesting that it also requires
expatriates to make active personal and cultural changes. Furthermore, analysis
suggests that focussing on common core values of education may provide a
method for overcoming vast cultural differences, leading to the possible formation
of cross-cultural working relationships.
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