This thesis explores the views and experiences of academics involved in  short-term international teaching assignments and the specific  strategies employed by universities to manage and support their career  success and work-life balance.
Accordingly, this thesis examines the  challenges faced, and the type and quality of support that might be  deemed as appropriate for academics. The present thesis involves two  interrelated studies (Study 1 &amp; Study 2), utilizing a sequential  exploratory design characterized by a qualitative investigation prior to  quantitative data collection and analysis.
Study 1 demonstrates the  inter relationships between perceived organisational support, career  success, and work-life balance; explicating why these relationships are  important for academics engaged in short-term international teaching  assignments.
Study 2 extends the proposed model formulated in Study 1,  aiming to prioritize support factors involved in short-term  international teaching assignments.
Specifically, findings suggest that  academics who perceive their organisation as career-supportive  experience enhanced levels of career satisfaction and career  development. Findings also suggest that employees’ career success appear  to be related strongly to work-life balance. These findings point to  the all-round benefits that can result when universities reward their  academics and capitalize on their offshore teaching experience. Such  affirmative action would appear to acknowledge offshore teaching  experience as being both important and integral to academics’ career  development