Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions: A personal epistemology perspective PDF
Preview Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions: A personal epistemology perspective
East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education Jiabin Zhu Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions A Personal Epistemology Perspective East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education Series editor Ruth Hayhoe, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada This book series focuses on higher education crosscurrents between Asia and the West, including traditional comprehensive universities, normal universities for teachers, higher vocational institutions, community colleges, distance and on-line universities and all the differing approaches to higher education emerging under processes of massification and diversification. It gives attention to the ways in whichtheAsiancontextshapestheinternationalizationofhighereducationandthe response to globalization differently from that of the West, as well as new phenomena that are arising in the interface between these two broad regions, such as higher education hubs and regional networks of collaboration. Lastly, it will highlight the growing reciprocity between these two regions, whose higher education systems have grown from such deeply different historical roots. Higher Education has deep roots in the cultures and civilizations of diverse regionsoftheworld,butperhapsthemostinfluentialmodelsshapingcontemporary globalization come from Europe and China. Universities established in Europe in theMiddleAgeshavedevelopedintowhatisnowdescribedasthe“globalresearch university,”amodelprofoundlyshapedby19thcenturyGermanyand20thcentury America,andspreadaroundtheworldboththroughcolonizationandtheemulation of its scientific achievements and contribution to nation building. A millennium earlierChinaspawnedanotherinfluentialmodel,characterizedbycloseintegration within a meritocratic bureaucracy that entrusted governance to those who could demonstrate their knowledge through written examinations. The Chinese model wasgreatlyadmiredinEuropefromthetimeitwasintroducedinthe16thcentury, and one can see its contours in what Burton Clark described as the “continental model” in contradistinction to the “Anglo-American model” epitomized in the global research university. What has become clear in the maelstrom of globalization, which has stimulated the growth of a global knowledge economy and created circumstances where nations consider higher education as crucial to remaining competitive, is that the integration of core features from both models would be optimal: from Asia, a tradition of strong state support for and involvement in higher education, which is crucial for good governance and social advancement; and from Europe and North America, the ideas of university autonomy and academic freedom, which are essential to promoting scientific creativity and innovation. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13844 Jiabin Zhu Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions A Personal Epistemology Perspective 123 Jiabin Zhu Graduate Schoolof Education ShanghaiJiao Tong University Shanghai China ISSN 2364-6810 ISSN 2364-6829 (electronic) East-West Crosscurrents in HigherEducation ISBN978-981-10-1135-1 ISBN978-981-10-1136-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-1136-8 JointlypublishedwithHigherEducationPress LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016942901 ©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingaporeandHigherEducationPress2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublishers,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublishers,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor foranyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingaporePteLtd. Foreword Overthepastthreedecades,therehasbeenacontinuingflowofChinesestudentsto Western countries—in particular, the United States—for higher education. The learning experiences of overseas Chinese students in the US higher educational system and their perspectives on such experiences say much about East–West crosscurrents in higher education. How do these Chinese students perceive the US higher educational system? How would they compare the Chinese and US higher educationalsystems?ThisvolumeconstructsacogentdialoguebetweentheUSand Chinese higher educational systems through the lens of personal epistemology. In the realm of personal epistemology, another interesting East-West dialogue has been formulated by the author’s testing of Perry’s scheme of intellectual and ethical development, rooted in epistemology, among Chinese students studying in the United States. Given that it was originally established on the basis of an investigation into the intellectual development of white male students at Harvard University, can the Perry scheme be effectively applied to overseas Chinese stu- dents? The research participants described in this book—Chinese engineering students studying in top U.S. research universities—represent an elite group who had studied in top-tier 211 and 985 higher educational institutions in Mainland China.Dr.Zhu’sstudyoffersauniquecomparisonbetweentheoverarchingprofile of the epistemological development of a group of overseas Chinese students with thatoftheoriginalelitewhitemalestudentsinPerry’sstudy,whichinitselfreflects another dimension of East–West crosscurrents in higher education at both the theoretical and the practical level. ReaderswilllearnaboutthefascinatingexperiencesofChinesestudentsasthey wrestled with academic decisions and life decisions, the challenges they faced and thestrugglestheywentthrough,aswellastheirendeavorsandtheirgrowth—both academically and personally, especially in the domain of cognitive development. Chinese graduate students represent one of the largest and fastest-growing inter- national student bodies in the US. A deep understanding of their learning experi- enceswillshedvaluablelightontheongoingEast-Westconversation.Forexample, how has their epistemological thinking been shaped by the rigorous engineering v vi Foreword graduate programs, by the individualistic yet cooperative campus culture, and, further, by the larger context of American culture and society? What personal, professional, or cultural factors have proved to be relevant or even useful in pro- moting these students’ cognitive development? By using a predominantly quantitative-driven, mixed research method design, with a questionnaire survey supplemented by interviews, Dr. Zhu has provided insightful answers to the above and many other important questions. She has succeeded in telling a holistic and in-depth story of the cognitive development of overseas Chinese students in the United States. Readers will find the story told by Dr. Zhu, a young Chinese scholar who went through both the Chinese and US higher educational systems herself, engaging and thought-provoking. Li-fang Zhang The University of Hong Kong Preface The US has experienced a large surge offoreign talent, as evidenced by the large numberofinternationalstudentsenrollingeachyearinthescienceandengineering fields.Amongtheforeigncountriesandeconomies,Chinarankstopinthenumber of doctorate degree recipients from US institutions in the science and engineering fields. This book focuses on studying the epistemological development of Chinese engineering doctoral students who are pursuing degrees in US institutions. ThisworkstemsfrommypersonalinterestontheChinesestudentpopulationin USandmyexperiencesasoneofthemthroughsevenyearsofstudyintheUS.Itis certainlynotaone-manjob.Firstofall,IwanttogivethankstomyheavenlyFather who sustained me through this work. I would like to give special thanks to my advisor Dr. Monica F. Cox. Her professional guidance and inspirations have encouragedmethroughoutmydoctoraltraining.Sheandherhusband,IshbahCox, haveshoweredwonderfulblessingsonmeandservedasrolemodelsforme.Deep appreciation goes to professors at the School of Engineering Education and other departments at Purdue University. They offered critical insights, helped me, and worked with methrough many big and small steps. They are Dr. Brent Jesiek, Dr. Yating Haller, Dr. William Graziano, Dr. Phillip Wankat, Dr. David Radcliffe, Dr. Ruth Streveler, Dr. Robin Adams, Dr. Alice Pawley, Dr. Donna Ennerson, and many other professors. MuchgratitudegoestostaffmembersattheSchoolofEngineeringEducationat Purdue University. Their kindness and helpful spirits have been of great encour- agementandinspirationtome.TheyareMs.LorettaMckinniss,Ms.TamaraHare, Ms. Cindey Hays, and many others. I would like to also acknowledge the profes- sional guidance from Ms. Cindy Lynch. Also, I want to thank Mr. Joe J.J. Lin for his kind help and valuable feedback on this research. I want to acknowledge Dr. Lifang Zhang who kindly supported this research by sharing the copy of Zhang’s Cognitive Development Inventory. Also, I want to thank all of the participants in this study. It is their help that made this study possible. vii viii Preface Many thanks go to colleagues and classmates at Purdue University and around the world. They include: Ms. Jeremi London, Mr. Benjamin Ahn, Dr. Rocia Chavela, Dr. Osman Cekic, Dr. Nathan McNeill, Mr. Mark Carnes, Ms. Ming-chien Hsu, and many others. Still more thanks go out to my friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, who have been loving and supportive throughout my years at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA. Last but not least, special thanks to my dear mother, who showered me with sacrificial love and kindness. This work would have been impossible without her consistent support. Shanghai, China Jiabin Zhu Contents 1 Influx of International Talents in the United States: An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 Influx of International Talents to the US. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Research on Understanding Chinese Students in the US . . . . . . 4 1.3 Overview of This Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Part I Epistemological Developmental Theories and Their Applications 2 Epistemological Developmental Theories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2.1 Conceptualization of Personal Epistemology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2.2 Perry’s Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2.3 Extension of Epistemological Development Frameworks After Perry’s Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.4 Synthesis of Theoretical Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3 Measurement of Epistemological Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 3.1 Qualitative Measures of Epistemological Development. . . . . . . 29 3.2 Quantitative Measures of Epistemological Development . . . . . . 31 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 4 Personal Epistemology in Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4.1 Application of Epistemological Developmental Theories in Engineering Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 4.2 Application of Epistemological Developmental Theories in Graduate Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 4.3 Application of Epistemological Developmental Theories in Chinese Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ix
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