Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions: A personal epistemology perspective (East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education)

This book uses a mixed-method approach to address the topic of personal epistemology among Chinese engineering doctoral students from U.S. institutions.--It presents a broad view of the epistemological development among Chinese engineering students from five U.S. Midwestern doctoral programs. Meanwhile, it provides practical examples from students’ academic experiences to showcase their thinking development and behavioral patterns. It allows readers to gain an understanding of Chinese engineering students’ academic lives in U.S. institutions through a cognitive theoretical lens. It also highlights a number of factors that can potentially facilitate adult students’ cognitive development, and extends the discussion on the benefits of study-abroad and cross-cultural education to the epistemological domain. This book uses a mixed-method approach to address the topic of personal epistemology among Chinese engineering doctoral students from U.S. institutions. It presents a broad view of the epistemological development among Chinese engineering students from five U.S. Midwestern doctoral programs. At the same time it provides deep insights into the thinking styles and behavioral patterns for each particular epistemological developmental stage and offers practical examples from students' academic experiences in these programs. It allows readers to gain an understanding of Chinese engineering students' academic lives in U.S. institutions through a solid cognitive theoretical lens. It also highlights a number of factors that can potentially facilitate adult students' cognitive development, and extends the discussion on the benefits of study-abroad and cross-cultural education for the epistemological domain Front Matter....Pages i-xv Influx of International Talents in the United States: An Introduction....Pages 1-8 Front Matter....Pages 9-9 Epistemological Developmental Theories....Pages 11-28 Measurement of Epistemological Development....Pages 29-34 Personal Epistemology in Application....Pages 35-40 Front Matter....Pages 41-41 Developing a Valid Survey for Personal Epistemology....Pages 43-60 A Mixed-Method Research Design....Pages 61-63 Front Matter....Pages 65-65 Overall Profiles of Epistemological Development....Pages 67-86 Factors Related to Epistemological Development....Pages 87-96 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 Stories of Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students’ Epistemological Thinking Styles....Pages 99-144 Factors Associated with Advanced Epistemological Thinking....Pages 145-154 Lessons Learned and Future Directions....Pages 155-164 Back Matter....Pages 165-190