Attitudes and aspirations regarding engineering among Chinese secondary school students: comparisons between industrialising and postindustrial geo-engineering regions of Mainland China and Hong Kong

TY - JOUR

T1 - Attitudes and aspirations regarding engineering among Chinese secondary school students

T2 - comparisons between industrialising and postindustrial geo-engineering regions of Mainland China and Hong Kong

AU - Kutnick, Peter

AU - Zhu, Zhiyong

AU - Chan, Cecilia

AU - Chan, Rosanna Yuen-Yan

AU - Lee, Betty Pok-Yee

AU - Lai, Veronica Ka Wai

N1 - Academic output related to Hong Kong General Research Fund: grant 744013

PY - 2018/8

Y1 - 2018/8

N2 - School-based pipelines/routes for university and technical engineering education are recognised as important for economic development and the high-school years are critical for shaping students’ career aspirations and attitudes. This study examined a range of attitudes/experiences on the aspirations of secondary students to pursue engineering education and vocation. Experiential/attitudinal aspects covered demographic characteristics, family/school support, practical learning experiences, curricular/extra-curricular experiences, attitudes, perceptions and engineering-efficacy that may affect aspirations. A validated questionnaire capturing these variables was administered to respective samples of secondary school students from four Chinese geo-engineering regions (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and ShanXi; 5965 students) that represent differing degrees of industrialisation. Comparative analyses across regions show ‘doing’ engineering is key to motivating students’ aspirations; while regional variations suggest that schooling and family factors are generally more significant in industrialising Mainland cities, and extracurricular opportunities and personal factors are more significant for students in post-industrial Hong Kong.

AB - School-based pipelines/routes for university and technical engineering education are recognised as important for economic development and the high-school years are critical for shaping students’ career aspirations and attitudes. This study examined a range of attitudes/experiences on the aspirations of secondary students to pursue engineering education and vocation. Experiential/attitudinal aspects covered demographic characteristics, family/school support, practical learning experiences, curricular/extra-curricular experiences, attitudes, perceptions and engineering-efficacy that may affect aspirations. A validated questionnaire capturing these variables was administered to respective samples of secondary school students from four Chinese geo-engineering regions (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and ShanXi; 5965 students) that represent differing degrees of industrialisation. Comparative analyses across regions show ‘doing’ engineering is key to motivating students’ aspirations; while regional variations suggest that schooling and family factors are generally more significant in industrialising Mainland cities, and extracurricular opportunities and personal factors are more significant for students in post-industrial Hong Kong.

KW - Engineering education

KW - Industrial/port-industrial

KW - China

KW - Attitudes

KW - Efficacy

U2 - 10.1080/03057925.2017.1347033

DO - 10.1080/03057925.2017.1347033

M3 - Article

SN - 0305-7925

VL - 48

SP - 608

EP - 629

JO - COMPARE

JF - COMPARE

IS - 4

ER -