The Academic Career Experiences of Taiwanese Counseling and Psychology Educators Returning from the United States

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This qualitative study explored the career experiences of eight Taiwanese counseling and psychology educators in an academic environment. The participants had returned to Taiwan after studying in the United States. Three main clusters and five themes emerged; the impact of US education (diverse experiences, and cultural comparisons and expectations); high workloads; and adjustment to the environment (academia and the Taiwanese counseling profession). The participants expressed their favorable views of the interactive and collaborative atmosphere of the classroom andexpectations for their students to actively participate in discussion. While the participants appreciated the opportunity to advance the Taiwanese counseling profession, they reporteda lack of indigenous counseling models, literature, and teaching resources as major barriers to teaching effectively in Taiwan. A majority of participants experienced high workloads and a lack of resources, which interfered with their ability to engage in scholarship activities. Other challenges related to readjusting to the hierarchical structure in Taiwanese academia and traditional social norms.