ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the findings presented in previous six chapters of this volume, and concludes that (1) teaching-oriented faculty differ from research-oriented faculty, and (2) there are international trends among these differences. In order to provide a context in which to present these findings, the chapter begins with a brief review of the study’s theoretical framework, then suggests implications of the study’s findings for the larger issues that confront faculty worldwide, and once again endorses the importance of international and comparative research on the academic profession. Looking at cross-national consistencies in the data helps to reduce complex levels to meaningful comparisons—such as culture, language and geography—and gain a collective understanding of issues shared by faculty across the major regions of the world. The international dimension of this study is both timely and useful for expanding our understanding of how faculty worldwide view academic work and life.