Engineering Education Opportunities, Perception, and Career Choice of Secondary School Students in Hong Kong SAR, China

Peter Jay Kutnick; Yuen-Yan Chan; Pok Yee Lee

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Engineering Education and Comparative Studies at Universities throughout Asia, Far East
Tagged Division: International
Page Count: 10
Page Numbers: 25.543.1 - 25.543.10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21301
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21301
Download Count: 461

Paper Authors

biography

Peter Jay Kutnick University of Hong Kong

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Peter Kutnick is Chair Professor of psychology and education, based in the Learning, Development and Diversity Division of the faculty of education at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests
include children’s social and interpersonal development within schools, attainment within classrooms (especially via effective group work), inclusion within early education, and school-based engineering education. More specific research interests include the use of within-class groups for learning and social inclusion, large- and small-scale studies of factors affecting academic achievement in the U.K. and in the Caribbean, the development of social pedagogic theory and practical alternatives to traditional pedagogies, and evaluations of education interventions, especially with regard to the promotion of engineering within secondary schools.

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Yuen-Yan Chan University of Hong Kong

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Yuen-Yan Chan is with the Department of Information Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She possesses a dual background in engineering and education, with a research focus on engineering learning at higher education and K12 level. Chan is the first non-U.S. Chinese receiving the NAE CASEE New Faculty Fellowship (2007), and she is the Founding Chair of the IEEE Education chapter in Hong Kong Section.

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Pok Yee Lee University of Hong Kong

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Pok Yee Lee is a Senior Research Assistant, the University of Hong Kong.

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Abstract

Engineering education opportunities, perception, and career choice ofsecondary school students in Hong Kong SAR, ChinaAbstractThe quantity and quality of its engineers is vitally important in the development of Hong Kong(HK) and elsewhere. Engineering education in Hong Kong SAR, China (HK), however, is in afluid situation whereby there is a decline in number of local students pursuing training inengineering but an increasing number of mainland Chinese entering HK to study engineering.Here in HK, although a number of engineering outreaches have taken place; there is littleanalysis of the effect of these initiatives with regard to subject/ career choice. This paper presents an investigation into engineering education opportunities andengagement among secondary school students in HK. We adapted and validated an internationalquestionnaire and executed it in HK secondary schools. The questionnaire is designed to identifypedagogy, students’ perception, and experience (formal and informal) of engineering education,and measure their effects on students’ career choice in engineering. A key research question (RQ) is defined: RQ: How do factors like age, gender, family background (local versus new immigrants), subjects taken at school, and perceptions of the engineering profession affect their career choice in engineering?With a sample size of 730 HK secondary school students, some of our findings include: a highproportion of students in HK are interested in engineering topics, especially younger students;traditional teaching methods (characterizing mathematics and science) are unlikely to engagestudent interest; migrant and minority students are more positively inclined towards engineeringthan home students; and, girls’ interest is more likely to be enhanced via single-sex opportunities. Identifying factors affecting young people’s career choice in engineering is interesting asHK is in an early post-industrial position. Such study can provide an excellent comparativeexample to contrast between post-industrial societies such as the United States andindustrializing societies such as other cities in the mainland China.

Citation
Format

Kutnick, P. J., & Chan, Y., & Lee, P. Y. (2012, June), Engineering Education Opportunities, Perception, and Career Choice of Secondary School Students in Hong Kong SAR, China Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21301

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Engineering education opportunities, perception, and career choice ofsecondary school students in Hong Kong SAR, ChinaAbstractThe quantity and quality of its engineers is vitally important in the development of Hong Kong(HK) and elsewhere. Engineering education in Hong Kong SAR, China (HK), however, is in afluid situation whereby there is a decline in number of local students pursuing training inengineering but an increasing number of mainland Chinese entering HK to study engineering.Here in HK, although a number of engineering outreaches have taken place; there is littleanalysis of the effect of these initiatives with regard to subject/ career choice.        This paper presents an investigation into engineering education opportunities andengagement among secondary school students in HK. We adapted and validated an internationalquestionnaire and executed it in HK secondary schools. The questionnaire is designed to identifypedagogy, students’ perception, and experience (formal and informal) of engineering education,and measure their effects on students’ career choice in engineering.       A key research question (RQ) is defined:       RQ: How do factors like age, gender, family background (local versus new immigrants),       subjects taken at school, and perceptions of the engineering profession affect their career       choice in engineering?With a sample size of 730 HK secondary school students, some of our findings include: a highproportion of students in HK are interested in engineering topics, especially younger students;traditional teaching methods (characterizing mathematics and science) are unlikely to engagestudent interest; migrant and minority students are more positively inclined towards engineeringthan home students; and, girls’ interest is more likely to be enhanced via single-sex opportunities.        Identifying factors affecting young people’s career choice in engineering is interesting asHK is in an early post-industrial position. Such study can provide an excellent comparativeexample to contrast between post-industrial societies such as the United States andindustrializing societies such as other cities in the mainland China.
AU  - Peter Jay Kutnick
AU  - Yuen-Yan Chan
AU  - Pok Yee Lee
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engineering Education Opportunities, Perception, and Career Choice of Secondary School Students in Hong Kong SAR, China
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/21301
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--21301
ER  -