So Far in the class we’ve discussed engineering education of both Britain, France and made a few notes of the U.S. With this in mind, I thought it would be very interesting to continue on the idea of education and research how other countries compare to the education systems we’ve studied so far.
At first I considered doing my report on China but I figured multiple people had already decided to research it as well so I decided to look into the engineering practices of Japan. My cousin is what really sparked my interest in Japanese engineering. He played professional baseball in Japan for about 5 years and I remembered him mentioning how strict the education system was there which lead me to my current topic.
In my first round of research, I found a few articles discussing Japan’s engineering education. Some articles compare Japan’s engineering education system to that of Britain. Similar to that of Britain, Japan believes that first hand experience is important in the education of young, aspiring engineers. With that in mind, I was interested as to how much time is emphasized on experience compared to theoretical knowledge of engineering
Most of my research will focus on the comparing and contrasting of original education practices and more contemporary methods of education. As we’ve discussed in class, Britain’s engineering education shifted from strictly pupil training and apprenticeships to secondary schooling, accredited hours and engineering posts. Since Japan’s education system has been compared that of Britain’s, I will also look into what connections and influences between the two.
From what I’ve currently researched, the educational training in universities is oriented more towards the basic comprehension of engineering sciences. “Self-education is also encouraged through research and other programs in almost all major enterprises” (Euro Journal of Education). Another article discussed two international exchange programs between universities in Japan and Canada. Students from one school spend 3-4 months training at the other university. “Through this programs, engineering students learn by first hand experience, the language and culture of a foreign country” (Hipel 142). These students not only gain the experience of living and working in another country but also gain the tools necessary to stay ahead of the curve in the global marketplace that is ever expanding.
In effort to better understand the Japanese methods of engineering education, should I compare and contrast their methods with other countries such as Britain, France, the U.S. or China, or would it be best to just focus on Japans initial and contemporary educational practices? I’m not sure if comparing the countries would be an overwhelming amount of work or not. Also, will education be suffice for this project or should I cover another area such as social status or social roles of engineers in Japan? Not sure quite what to focus on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
I think this is a very interesting topic. Japan and the Western world have just begun to develop (historically speaking) in a similar fashion, and I think it would be really interesting to see how the Japanese industry and education system has evolved with the expanding breadth of focus their industry has taken. I learned from another class, I think Engineering Economics, which W. Edwards Deming, an American who went to Japan after WWII, worked as a statistical gatherer for the census, and wanted to do one for the Japanese census. Using his techniques of testing of the census, Japanese industrialists applied these ideas to their businesses and manufacturing companies, and many claim that his work is what made the Japanese brand so reliable and reputable (along with many other Japanese engineers of course!). I think that especially focusing on the World War II era for Japan would be very interesting for education development and evolution, and the aftermath of what the war and the industry changes did to the focus of education would likely have a lot of material. I like where you’re going with the topic, and I think it would be good to compare with Britain if you have time to do the comparison. I also like that you have a personal tie to this country.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is also intriguing to me as well. I enjoy learning about the Japanese culture and the way their educational system is laid out. I think it would be interesting to find out how engineering developed in Japan and its engagement with other industries and countries. I think it would be an interesting study if you focused on the educational system and its impact on engineering manufacturing. You could look at when Japan became known for its high quality and reliable products and if this was impacted by any major reforms to the educational system or if this educational system was lead by the corporations or government at the time.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the base of the educational system is science based, but is this more focused on the breadth or the depth of science? I mention this because the French focused more on the breadth of engineering and it lead to a very respected field that became a base for other areas of study. It seems to me that Japanese engineers developed a respected field of engineering as well and it would be interesting to know if this was influenced by the embrace of a more broad knowledge versus a very specialized understanding of engineering like the British model.
Brandon - good start on the research project. I think there are a number of different directions that you can go from here. For example, if you wanted to do a more historical project, you could look at the Meiji Restoration, and the "modernization" of Japan in 1868. As Japan became "modern," where were they looking for inspiration? Britain? The United States? What mechanisms did they employ to gather & evaluate different models of engineering education and technological development? Another option would be to look at the post WWII time period - how did the decimation both of the country and of Japan's imperial dreams shape the engineering culture which emerged post-war? Or, you could look in more detail at the 1980s time period, in which Japan was positioned discursively within the U.S. as an economic threat (as we will be discussing a bit on T)? Or, you could look at the changes in engineering education in Japan after its crash in the early 1990s. I think your identification of "time served" vs. theoretical or practical knowledge is important. What is it about Japan's engineering culture that privileges seniority and service rankings over individual accomplishments, and how might that be connected to Japanese culture more broadly?
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