A Collective Case-Study on Navigating Faculty Bilingualism, with Reflections on the Research Experience

Abstract

This article is both a research paper and a reflection piece, describing the core of a research project about examining faculty experience and some of the author’s related self-learning and reflection fueled by the project. This qualitative case-study asked: for bilingual faculty whose native language and academic discipline is French, in what ways is language intertwined in their experience of higher education in English-language universities in the United States Midwest?  Semi-structured interviews with three individuals suggested this multifaceted idea:  for these faculty members, their experience of higher education is intertwined with 1) their relationships with individuals and groups of various linguistic characteristics; 2) complexities of identity/personality; and 3) power dynamics. Parallel to this research about faculty experience was the author’s experiential learning about the research process and reflections on her relationship to research and practice in the field of education. This article sketches this learning alongside the research study.