Understanding Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students in U.S. Institutions

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Influx of International Talents in the United States: An Introduction

   • Jiabin Zhu

   Pages 1-8

3. Epistemological Developmental Theories and Their Applications

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

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   2. Epistemological Developmental Theories

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 11-28

   3. Measurement of Epistemological Development

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 29-34

   4. Personal Epistemology in Application

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 35-40

4. A Research Design for Measuring Epistemological Development

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 41-41

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   2. Developing a Valid Survey for Personal Epistemology

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 43-60

   3. A Mixed-Method Research Design

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 61-63

5. A Quantitative Exploration of Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students’ Epistemological Development

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 65-65

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   2. Overall Profiles of Epistemological Development

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 67-86

   3. Factors Related to Epistemological Development

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 87-96

6. A Qualitative Exploration of Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students’ Epistemological Thinking Styles

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 97-97

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   2. Stories of Chinese Engineering Doctoral Students’ Epistemological Thinking Styles

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 99-144

   3. Factors Associated with Advanced Epistemological Thinking

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 145-154

   4. Lessons Learned and Future Directions

      • Jiabin Zhu

      Pages 155-164

7. Back Matter

   Pages 165-190

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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.

• Personal Epistemology
• Epistemological Development
• Epistemological Thinking
• Engineering Doctoral Education
• Cross-cultural Learning
• Epistemic Belief
• Study Abroad
• Chinese Doctoral Students
• Chinese Engineering Students
• learning and instruction

• of Educ, Chen Rui-Qiu Bldg, Room 227, Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Grad Schl, Shanghai, China

  Jiabin Zhu

Dr. Jiabin Zhu is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her primary research interests relate to engineering education, graduate education, and students’ cognitive development. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Journal of Engineering Education, Advances in Engineering Education. For her work on the cognitive development of Chinese engineering doctoral students in U.S. institutions, she received the 2013 Doctoral Thesis Award from the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. Jiabin Zhu obtained a Ph.D. in Engineering Education and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. She received another M.S. in Optics from Chinese Academy of Sciences and a B.S. in Physics from East China Normal University.

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