ERIC Number: EJ1342235
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Jun
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-4222
EISSN: EISSN-2043-6858
Available Date: N/A
Learning Trajectories: Comparing the Transitions of Graduates of "Power Mechanical Engineering" and "Humanities and Social Sciences" Programs
Chen, Su-Yen; Wu, Chyuan-Yuan; Chang, Hsing-Yu
Industry and Higher Education, v36 n3 p306-318 Jun 2022
This study investigates and compares the learning trajectories of nine Taiwanese university graduates from a Power Mechanical Engineering (PME) program and nine from a cross-disciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) program. Participants had received their degrees 4-7 years prior to the study. The findings suggest the relative advantages and disadvantages of different models of educational design. Even though PME graduates complained about the abstract nature of what they had learned during the first part of their undergraduate study, most had successfully entered labor markets related to the PME industry, having obtained appropriate knowledge/skills for application in industry from the latter part of the program. While some prioritized their identity as a PME professional, others admitted that they liked the extrinsic reward of a comfortable living best. In contrast, even though most of the HSS graduates admired the generic curriculum of the program, with its transferability from one context to another and its close connection to the real world, and some deeply identified with the core value of being an agent of societal change once they had entered the labor market, many also admitted that it was difficult to find a suitable industry to enter unless they first acquired a Master's degree with higher specificity.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, College Graduates, Humanities, Social Sciences, Undergraduate Study, Engineering, Labor Market, Interdisciplinary Approach, Professional Identity, Education Work Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A