International Journal of Chinese Education

Perry’s theory has demonstrated usefulness in understanding students’ epistemological development and the implications for educational practices. It depicts the development of adults’ thinking in four stages: Dualism, Multiplicity, Relativism, and Commitment within Relativism. Challenges exist in large sample studies due to the lack of appropriate instruments that can represent the stages, in particular Multiplicity and Relativism. This challenge is of unique importance because the transition from Multiplicity to Relativism signifies the most dramatic change in thinking development. To map the epistemological development profile of Chinese engineering students on a large scale, this work re-constructed and validated a survey using Perry’s theory. We tested the survey through content and structural validation. Content validation was performed by collecting ratings from eight external content experts. Structural validation was accomplished through an exploratory factor analysis using responses from 621 Chinese engineering students. This survey can be useful for understanding Chinese engineering students’ epistemological development.

This study explores engineering design students’ perceptions of humor in the experiences of creativity development in Project-Organized Groups (pogs). This study links theories including humor, learning, creativity, and engineering design in one framework. Empirically, this study carried out interviews with a total of 13 students in engineering design education at Northeastern University (neu) in China. We found that students think all humorous people are creative, and they welcome humor in project groups; they also regard humor as not only a personality or communication tool, but also the outcome of applying creative ideas in design practice. The students additionally think that humor is mainly used to keep individuals’ harmonious relationship with the group and that humor is the immediate ability to create using language in ongoing communication contexts. These findings are helpful to unpack the black box of humor from a learner’s perspective and contribute to future joint efforts of studies on humor and creativity in engineering design education.

Engineering education in Hong Kong is experiencing significant changes in response to several major forces: (1) an increasing demand for future engineers who possess technical competencies, professional skills, and knowledge of ethical awareness and responsibilities; (2) accreditation requirements; and (3) the system-wide education reform in the region. Curriculum changes have taken place in several universities in Hong Kong with engineering majors but there are few conceptual articles providing in-depth discussions about the impact of the changes. This article aims to provide insights into the engineering curriculum reform in a broader context for university management, program leaders, and coordinators who are involved in curriculum design and implementation. Using a newly revamped engineering curriculum in one of the research-intensive universities in Hong Kong as an example, this article highlights the features of the new four-year engineering curriculum and discusses how it may contribute to the nurturing of future engineers. While clear progress has been made in providing students with a broad perspective and support, the influences of the prevailing culture of teaching and learning, the local perceptions of the engineering profession, and the decision making patterns of Hong Kong Chinese students cast a complicated picture. To fully achieve the goals of the new curriculum, universities should proactively address the challenges by the following actions: acting consistently to the commitment of holistic education, supporting students’ personal and value development, establishing reward mechanisms for faculty members’ contributions in student development, and investing in pedagogical development and innovations.

It is the aim of the paper to reflect on the lessons learned after ten years of existence of the Sino-French School for Engineering at Shanghai University (utseus), as well as on perspectives for an evolution related to recent developments in the French Higher Education landscape. The authors present background, rationale, modalities and perspectives for this venture set up by three French universities of technology in China by drawing parallels with other well-established Sino-foreign operations. It is shown that the combination of transnational and international approaches allow for transferring and adapting a foreign education model on a large scale, but also for establishing reciprocal mobility of big student cohorts. The approach is based on an integrated foreign language learning and intercultural content. This successful experience also shows how universities play an integrative role for a country’s cultural and industrial relations at an international level.

In service to wider national strategies, the Plan for Educating and Training Outstanding Engineers (petoe) is a pilot reform initiative of higher education in China. It is a comprehensive, innovative, and unprecedented national plan putting forward four key tasks to establish a new multi-sector collaboration mechanism in engineering education. The new mechanisms include multi-sector coordination, participatory guidance of industry, joint training based on industry-university collaboration, and supportive policies of central and local governments. The purposes of the plan are to bridge the gap of supply and demand, promote the partnership between university and industry, and enhance the adaptability of engineering education to social and economic development. This paper discusses the above content with a focus on the challenges of Chinese engineering education, key mechanisms, program progress, impacts, and challenges for next steps.