“To Their Fullest Potential”: Job Satisfaction and Foreign University Teachers in Thailand

Abstract

Foreign university teachers play an important role in the Thai education system. It would also be fair to say that the vast majority of foreign teachers inThailand, whatever their particular speciality, are necessarily involved in teaching English as a Foreign Language, whether as a primary or incidental focus. However, little is known about their job satisfaction levels, an important indicator of and factor in their effectiveness as teachers. This research uses a survey developed by Paul Hullah in a Japanese context to assess the job satisfaction levels of a sample of 31 foreign teachers at Thai universities through their perception of their actual labels and activities, on the one hand; and on the other, through what they would ideally like to be labeled as and to be doing. It is clear from the survey that foreign university teachers inThailandwant more engagement in their jobs and better lines of communication at all levels. To enable this, universities and educational policy makers need to redefine the place of foreign teachers within the Thai higher education sector.