Research Progress Report #1: China

I originally wanted to do research about Engineering in Brazil, however I had a very difficult time finding information about this topic. When attempting to narrow down the topice I also had difficulty deciding what aspect I wanted to focus on. As a result I decided to pick another country that would allow for more available research. That is how I landed on China.

Through previous classes I have studied a small amount about China and its in depth history. In comparison to any other country, China’s history is extremely different due to its relationships with neighboring and European countries. Between its European influence, massive immigrations out of the country to seek refuge beginning in 1600‘s and multiple dictatorships, the history of the Chinese people includes many outside influences. Even though these factors have had enormous impact on the country, China is still one of the few countries that carries a strong sense of nationalism and national identity that has stayed evident throughout time.

With this brief knowledge of the countries history it made me wonder how it impacted on societal positions of professions, such as engineering, and the education that leads to this position. Currently my main topics of my paper will include the history of country and how it corresponds to the development of education within a technical field, especially engineering. In addition, how this education has progressed and what social representation it creates for that individual. The next point will focus on the mass immigrations out of the country and how this affected the work force by population decrease, influence of the government and other external factors. The last part of my paper will be dedicated to the equality of the field between gender roles. When and if women were introduce to this technical field, what obstacles they have had to overcome and how their social role in society affects their ability to obtain this particular profession.

From what I have currently researched the the entrepreneurial talent has been incorporated into business activities to create wealth and establish an economy boom. Within China entrepreneurs are classified into three dominant groups: “Peasants-turned entrepreneurs; officials-turned entrepreneurs; and overseas-returned and engineers-turned entrepreneurs” (Zhang 178). In combination with the rise of all three of these engineers and the “replacement of position-based rights with property-based rights,” the Chinese economy has become the most stable it has been in decades.

The questions I am searching for feedback is if my topic is too board or if I am incorporating to many topics? Should I focus more in depth on one of the mentioned topics above or incorporate them all in hopes it makes a more comprehensible report. I still I am working on a specific thesis, and I believe that having so many topics is what is giving me difficulty. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Research Project Report #1: Alana Snelling - Asian Engineering Education

Some of the fastest growing economies, educational systems, and expansion of new ideas have been emerging from Asian countries. To be honest, everything that we buy now comes from an Asian country and is shipped to the United States. Much of their infrastructure is being rebuilt so that they can use the land available to it’s highest potential. The only way to get the highest potential out of the small amount of land available to them, is to use highly skilled engineers that are able to compete amongst others all around the world. This type of skill requires a high status educational system and that is what I plan to study more in depth. My project will be the types of education needed in Asia to become an engineer, what being an engineer means, and how race and social status effect the possibilities of becoming an engineer.

I have read some studies informing me that many of the Asian countries do not have a formal style of engineering accreditation, yet many are moving in the direction of a more formalized western style education. I would like to find out why this is and the specific steps that Asia is taking in this new move. For China specifically, the growth of education for engineering is linked specifically with the growth of China’s economy. Another article claimed that China has the largest amount of students graduating from college than any other country in the world. My interest is in the number of students that graduate from engineering fields. Korea for example is trying to create accredited programs that allow for the students who graduate to become global competitors in the engineering world rather than specifying in techniques that apply only to Korea.

Engineering accreditation within all of the Asian countries seemed to differ slightly depending on many different factors. I believe that this differentiation is due to how education is dealt with in the Asian cultures. In my international political economy class, I learned that children’s education is the most prioritized thing of the family/house in Japan and China. The mother stays home to learn the information that their children are learning so that when the child comes home from school, the mother can then teach their children even more. Privatized after school programs were also put into place that help prepare students at age 5 for a test that will eventually be take at the age of 17. This test then is the ultimate deciding factor of what college they will attend and more importantly the life they they will lead. Another important factor to the level of education for engineering in Asian countries is the religion that the country associates itself with. Some countries may relate their religious ideas to Buddhism or Hinduism. More interestingly is the close connections with religion and political involvement. Many of these countries are regulated by the government who then have the final say in what is accepted and what is not in education. In some countries education may be on lock down by the government, while others lack in any sort of structure. I believe that all of these subjects have very strong impacts on the way Asian Engineering education is formed and how it has been shaped over time. I plan on researching how these cultural and social topics impact engineering education in more depth to grasp a deeper understanding of the engineering education system put into place in Asia.