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The orientation toward employment of Taiwanese graduate students in the United States

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The orientation toward employment of Taiwanese graduate students in the United States

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Content THE ORIENTATION TOW ARD EMPLOYMENT OF TAIWANESE GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES M ing C herng D uh A D issertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillm ent of the Requirem ents for the D egree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION N ovem ber 1990 C opyright 1990 M ing Cherng D uh UMI Number: DP27324 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Disseftation Publishing UMI DP27324 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 t)S Lib- £ 5/ Tkià dÂJi^2JitaZLo¥i, mÀXZzYL by Ming Cherng Duh imdoji t k z dùizcXÂ,on tk<L ChaVipeJi!>on o{^ the. a a n d id citz'6 GtLidance. Committe.e. and appAovzd by aJit mem beAA o{^ t k z CommcttZQ., ka& bzzn pAZ- 4 z n tz d to and a c a zp tzd by t k z FaauZty t k z S zk o o t 0 ^ E ducation t n poA tiaZ ^ u titlim z n t t k z AzqulAzm zntà £oa t k z dzgAZZ o i VoctoA Educatton. November 26, 1990 VatZ :z\ 1 1 for m y parents Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS pag e LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................v i C hapter I. THE PROBLEM AN D ITS SETTING.........................................1 In tro d u ctio n Background of the Study The P urpose Significance of the Study Research H ypotheses D elim itations L im itations D efinition of Term s O rganization of the R em ainder of the D issertation n. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE....................................18 H u m an C apital T heory E ducational Inflation E ducational C onsum erism Status G roup Theory R eturn o r Im m igration Brain D rain or Brain O verflow O rientation T ow ard E m ploym ent S u m m ary m . METHODOLOGY................ 47 The Selection of the Sam ple In stru m e n ta tio n D ata Collection M ethodological Lim itations IV IV. FINDINGS: RESULTS OF THE STUDY..................................62 V. DISCUSSION A N D INTERPRETATION................................ 97 The Likelihood of E m igration C om parison of Job Preferences Incom e Expectation D iscussion of H ypotheses Some Theoretical Im plications VI. RECOM M ENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS..................112 R ecom m endations for Policy Suggestions for F urther Study REFERENCES................................................................................................... 118 APPENDICES ................................................................................................. 125 A. Study Q uestionnaire........................................................................126 B. Major Code B reakdow n.................................................................. 138 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2-1 Ratio of G raduate Students to E nrollm ents in 29 Four-Y ear Institutions in T aiw an 2-2 The R eturn Rate of Taiw anese Students: 41 1950-1987 3-1 The Response Rate of the Q uestionnaire by 56 Three Institutions 3-2 Types of Sponsorship by M ajor 58 3-3 D istribution of M ajors at the Three Institutions 59 3-4 D istribution of D egree Objectives at the Three 60 In stitu tio n s 4-1 Sexual Difference on Factors w hich Affect the 66 Students' Decision to be Em ployed in Taiw an or in the U nited States 4-2 The Students' D egree Objective, M arital Status, 69 Age, and Status of Parenthood as R elated to H is or H er Preference of Em ploym ent in the U nited States 4-3 The Incom e Expectations for M aster's an d D octoral 76 Students if E m ployed in Taiw an 4-4 The Incom e Expectations for M aster's an d D octoral 77 Students if E m ployed in the U nited States 4-5 The Incom e Expectations for Students w ith 79 D ifferent M ajors if E m ployed in Taiw an 4-6 The Incom e Expectations of Students w ith 80 D ifferent M ajors if Em ployed in the U nited States VI LIST OF FIGURES F igure Page 4-1 The Perception of Job O pportunities in T aiw an 64 and in the U nited States by Students w ith D ifferent M ajors 4-2 The Percentage of Positive A ttitudes to Staying 72 in the U nited States as Related to the Students' Years of Residence in the U nited States 4-3 The Percentage of Positive A ttitudes to Staying 73 in the U nited States as R elated to the Students' Fam ily M em bers in the U nited States 4-4 A C om parison of Preference O rder for M ale 89 and Fem ale Students to be E m ployed in Taiw an 4-5 A C om parison of Preference O rder for M ale 91 Students to be Em ployed in the U nited States CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AN D ITS SETTING In tro d u ctio n O verseas study has long been a very controversial issue in developing nations. As is recognized, the education or training for advanced know -how in the W estern countries constitutes an integral p a rt of m odernization, b u t the accom panying "brain drain" effect is conceived as detrim ental to that process, and thus causes a high degree of concern for those sending countries (A dam s, 1968, Kao, 1970; M yers, 1972; G laser, 1976; O h, 1977). W hile the developing countries claim th at they are the losers of trained talents, the receiving W estern countries disclaim th at they are the w inners (Baldw in, 1970; Blaug, 1981). Since the 1980's, p rim arily due to financial difficulties, m any developed countries have begun to reconsider the adequacy of their open policy tow ard foreign students in term s of econom ic benefits (Blaug, 1981; G oodw in & N acht, 1983). As a m atter of fact, m ost developed countries, w ith the exception of Japan, have adopted various m easures to restrain the inflow of foreign stu d en ts (Sm ith, W oesler, & Jarousse, 1981, W oodhall, 1987). O verseas study is costly and the private rate of retu rn is very high for those w ho can attain it (Psacharopoulos, 1973). A n advanced degree from a W estern institution not only can result in a favorable job, b u t also carries social prestige. As Q uie (1967) p u t it: In the developing an d u n d erdeveloped nations, the foreign degree has an aura about it. In fact, the less developed the nation, the greater the glam or, the prestige that is attached to the receipt of this degree, (p. 95) In T aiw an, it is evident that the retu rn ed overseas students have becom e extrem ely influential at the policy decision level, in public and private sectors alike. The econom ic and political im pact of stu d y abroad, positive or negative, is so pervasive that it m ust be treated as one of the m ajor issues in developing countries (Fry, 1984). From 1960 to 1979, a total of 52,613 Taiw anese students w ere app ro v ed by Taiw an's M inistry of Education to stu d y abroad, averaging 2,630 students per year (Yao, 1982). H ow ever, this figure is an underestim ation. It includes only those w ho hold F and J visas. It ignores the fact that m any students carry a non-student visa to study abroad. It also fails to show the grow th p attern in the num ber of students studying overseas; since 1979 w ell over 5,000 Taiw anese have gone abroad j ' for study every year (M inistry of E ducation, 1988). M ost Taiw anese overseas students flow to the U nited States. In 1984, 5,066 out of 5,410 (or 93%) of approved students w ere destined for the U nited States (M inistry of E ducation, 1985). A recent survey of the Institute of International E ducation (Zikopoulos, 1987) revealed th at there w ere 25,660 Taiw anese students enrolled in U.S. higher institutions. r' a num ber equivalent to those from South A m erica (19,160) and eastern Africa (6,600) com bined, slightly m ore th an double the n um ber from Iran (12,230), and about q u adruple those from the U nited K ingdom (6.240). U ndoubtedly, T aiw an sends the largest num ber of foreign students to the U nited States in the w orld. Background of the Study M any factors contribute to the influx of T aiw anese students to the U nited States. The consistent Taiw anese econom ic gro w th since the 1960s has paralleled this trend. The econom ic change has not only stim ulated the overall dem and for overseas study, b u t has also enabled m ore people to afford the expanding costs to study abroad. Ironically, the econom ic grow th is accom panied by grow ing em ploym ent difficulties. This is particularly tru e for college graduates. The educated unem ploym ent rate w as attested to in a recent governm ent report. A ccordingly, the average unem ploym ent period for college graduates w as thirty-one w eeks, the longest am ong all educational levels (Council for Econom ic Planning and D evelopm ent, 1986). Kai (1986) indicated th at the im balance betw een supply and d em an d for higher education has exacerbated the problem of unem ploym ent. As a result, one third of four-year college leavers cannot find a job upon graduation. It is generally believed by Taiw anese students that an extension of form al education, especially W estern education, w ill m axim ize oppo rtu n ities for an ideal job (Kai, 1986). In the post W orld W ar II decades, w hen the econom ic pow er of the U nited States w as overw helm ingly d o m inant in the w orld econom y, em ploym ent opportunities w ere rosy for overseas g rad u ate students seeking jobs in the U nited States. The im m igration policy w as favorable for those w ho w ould choose to stay. A fter graduation, w ith legal status to w ork, foreign students w ould norm ally find w ell-paid jobs in the host country. If they decided to retu rn to their hom e countries, they w ould also usually find m any good jobs available from w hich to choose. But the optim istic em ploym ent situation at the host country has been changing since the m id-1970s w hen the U.S. econom ic suprem acy w as challenged. By and large, overseas students are view ed as potential, som etim es unw elcom ed, com petitors for em ploym ent in the U.S. The Law of Zero C orrelation suggests that as participation rates at any level increase, the aggregate social benefits to those reaching that level will decrease (Fagerlind & Saha, 1983). W hen the privilege to stu d y abroad is no longer lim ited to a handful of people, the retu rn ed students have to face a m ore com petitive labor m arket. A lthough overall overseas students constitute just a sm all p a rt of the w hole population, they are rapidly grow ing in num ber and in the percentage of college graduates as a w hole a t hom e. The econom ic perform ance in T aiw an is quite im pressive, b u t its ability to absorb such highly educated m anpow er is yet questionable. In the light of this situation, the previous availability to obtain em ploym ent has been reduced to som e extent. In other w ords, overseas stu d en ts have lost the previous advantage for em ploym ent both a t hom e and abroad. E m ploym ent opportunities are pivotal to the stu d e n ts’ decision of em igrating or returning. The students m ust w eigh w h eth er retu rn or em igration can carry the better prospect for em ploym ent before they m ake th at decision. But unfortunately, to em igrate or not has becom e less a m atter of voluntary choice. As Coom bs (1985b) indicated; E uropean and N o rth A m erican countries th at h ad earlier w elcom ed educated talent from the developing w orld began to stiffen their im m igration restrictions . . . even im posed m easures to stem the rapidly increasing inflow of foreign students, (p.10) M any factors can affect the im m igration rate of foreign students. O ne of these, the legal elem ent, has an im m ediate effect on all nationals. The legal basis of the current U.S. im m igration policy is p ro v id ed by the Im m igration and N aturalization Act of 1952 an d subsequent am endm ents to th at act. The latter introduces a preference for applicants of advanced education and exceptional ability w ithin the national quota. The 1965 am endm ent replaced the old quota system w ith a preference system based largely on the degree to w hich im m igrants' professional skills w ould benefit the U nited States (OH, 1977; A garw al & W inkler, 1984). This 1965 am endm ent w as actually a response to the shortage of professional m anpow er in the U nited States d u rin g th at period. Foreign stu d en ts w ho intend to em igrate find the stipulation favorable because they can apply the T hird Preference category— a sh ort cut to im m igration for professional labor— to obtain a "green card" in a relatively short period of tim e. As econom ic conditions changed and the dem and for high level m anpow er decreased, th e urge to am end the current im m igration act becam e a hot issue in Congress. Accordingly, a 1986 im m igration am endm ent bill proposed by Sim pson and M azzoli required: — foreign stu d en ts w ho enter the U nited States after the effective date of the bill to leave the country after com pletion of their studies. They are precluded from adjustm ent of status or from changing to an H o r L n o n im m igrant visa. If they w ish to retu rn to the U nited States as perm anent resident aliens or in H o r L status, they m u st first reside in their hom e countries o r country of last residence for tw o years." (M ontw ieler, 1987, p. 346) O bviously, for m any foreign students the legal barrier w ill cool dow n the intention to em igrate. Also it will force the students to seek an o th er destination— either in their hom e country o r in an o th er foreign country. Being aw are of the situation, Taiw anese g rad u ate students at U.S. cam puses are m ore likely to retu rn hom e. The G overnm ent of Taiw an has already taken som e actions u n d er the circum stances. O ne of the m ajor challenges in th e 1980s and the decades to come for Taiw an is technological upgrading. It dem ands nu m erous scientists, engineers and other highly trained professionals to respond to technological challenges. A lthough the retu rn in g Ph.D s are rapidly increasing, they are yet in short supply in various fields. The G overnm ent of Taiw an thus established an ad hoc com m ittee to be responsible for recruiting Taiw anese g rad u atin g students and scholars at U.S. institutions. T he active recruitm ent pro g ram includes ro u tin e visits to m ajor U.S. institutions by top T aiw anese officials and the provision of handsom e incom es an d attractive positions back hom e. H ow ever, not all th e overseas stu d en ts are w elcom ed back w ith the sam e w arm th. As W ei (1985), th en the D irector of Research, D evelopm ent, an d E valuation p u t it, "— o u r m ost u rg en t dem and is for natu ral sciences or engineering m ajors w here doctorates are constantly in short supplied, and w h at w e do n ot badly dem and is alw ays over supplied." Politics is another salient cause in influencing the decision to return. Especially in developing countries, lack of political freedom , w icked h u m an rights records, and prevalence of favoritism and nepotism constitute a great "push" factor for professionals to em igrate (Cortes, 1970; O h, 1977; A garw al & W inkler, 1985). Inversely, im provem ents of these non-econom ic factors can create a considerable "pull" pow er to d raw m any overseas students back hom e. There is concrete evidence to show th e positive im pact exerted by an increase in civic participation in public affairs. Just to enum erate a few facts: for the first tim e in thirty-eight years m artial law w as abolished in T aiw an in 1987; num erous political dissidents w ere perm itted to retu rn to Taiw an; opposition parties w ere founded; the bans on strikes, dem onstrations, and free press w ere abolished. The increasing congenial political environm ent can facilitate the retu rn rate of overseas Taiw anese students. 8 The P urpose The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship betw een stu d y abroad and the orientation to w ard em ploym ent of T aiw anese stu d en ts in the U nited States. G enerally speaking, the em ploym ent orientation is largely determ ined by three factors: first, the overseas stu d en ts' conception of the labor m arket situation in bo th host country an d hom e country; second, w h at the overseas students perceive them selves to be, i.e., their aspirations, inclinations and abilities; and third, how the overseas students calculate the cost of studying abroad as related to the private rate of return. The em ploym ent situation is crucial to the decision to em igrate or return. It is alm ost im possible to determ ine w hether the students w ill retu rn or n ot based on a questionnaire. For one thing, any direct inquiry in the U nited States about the intention of T aiw anese students to stay can h ard ly secure the cooperation of those being surveyed (M eyer, 1972; Oh, 1977). M ore often even the overseas stu d en ts are not quite certain about their fu tu re actions. They m ay decide to retu rn earlier, only to change their m inds later, and vice versa. O r they m ay not have yet seriously considered the problem before. A 1982 survey w as adm inistered to 1,950 u n d e rg ra d u ate and g raduate stu d en t engineering m ajors in Taiw an. The stu d y indicated th at only 31, or 1.6 percent of the students investigated, w ould stay abroad perm anently and 369, or 18.9 percent of them , w ere u n d ecid ed about em igration or retu rn u p o n com pletion of overseas stu d y (Yee, 1982). H ow ever, another source revealed th at a total of 5,925 students w ere granted perm ission to study abroad by the G overnm ent of T aiw an in 1982, b u t only 1,106 students retu rn ed to T aiw an in the sam e year (M inistry of Education, 1988). A better solution for this m ethodological difficulty is to provide both alternatives in a questionnaire, as it exists in the real life, from w hich the subjects m u st choose. It is possible to infer their inclination to retu rn or em igrate by investigating their orientations to w ard em ploym ent. Yet the p u rp o se of this study is n ot m erely to find the trend of em igration or retu rn am ong the Taiw anese g rad u ate students in the U nited States. M ore im portant, the present research is designed to identify som e significant elem ents in the stu d en ts' em ploym ent decisions. For exam ple, w h at is the order of priority am ong such factors like o p p o rtu n ity for prom otion, incom e an d fringe benefits, location of job, and organization to w ork for if the students w ere em ployed in the U nited Sates? W hat kind of job an d organization are considered m ost desirable to w ork for, if they are to return to Taiw an? H ow m uch m onthly incom e is expected if they are em ployed in T aiw an o r the U nited States respectively? The students' preferences and expectations or their perceptions of ideal jobs, are som ew hat subjective. N evertheless, since the students are n ot living in a social vacuum , they are usually practical in m aking their job decision. In other w ords, their choices of em ploym ent can largely reflect their perceptions on the tren d of the job m arkets in Taiw an and in the U nited States. Some stu d en ts think it is 10 difficult to get a job that is related to their studies, an d others don't. It is assum ed th at the m odes of the orientation to w ard em ploym ent can be fo und according to the students' m ajors, w orking experiences, length of stay in the U nited States and other dem ographic features. S tudents generally have to consider m any conditions before their decision to em igrate or retu rn can be m ade. Som e stu d en ts care m uch about the education of their children, som e stu d en ts have to m eet the expectations of their fam ilies, an d other students are concerned m uch m ore about the environm ental quality of residence. N eedless to say, these factors are very significant in influencing the stu d en ts' orientation tow ard em ploym ent. The present study has also tried to reveal the relative im portance of these factors so th at the students' intention to retu rn or em igrate can be further inferred. Significance Research related to the T aiw anese overseas students has been conducted since the 1960s. M any of these studies are psychologically oriented, an d deal m ainly w ith personality an d ad ap tatio n problem s associated w ith overseas stu dy (Singh, H uang, & T hom pson, 1962; K uo & M arsela, 1977; Yeh, 1977; Tan, 1982). Recently, the G overnm ent of Taiw an has conducted a series of tracer studies on study abroad, b ut the em phasis has been on the em ployed retu rn ed stu d en ts (Yao, 1982; Liao & Tan, 1984). The career orientations of those w ho are attending foreign 11 universities rem ains unknow n. H ow d o the T aiw anese stu d en ts resp o n d to the labor m arkets in T aiw an and in th e U nited States? H ow can the tren d of the highly educated, foreign trained m anpow er flow be forecasted? C om ponents of these questions can be found in the research en d eav o r. Research H ypotheses The orientation to w ard em ploym ent is th e d ep en d en t variable of this study. D em ographical variables like age, sex, m arital status, and other variables such as sponsorship, length of study in the U nited States, degree objective an d institution attended are in d ep en d en t variables. The basic hypothesis for this research is: H: The T aiw anese overseas students' orientations to w ard em ploym ent vary according to their choice to retu rn or em igrate regardless of their age, sex, m arital status, length of stu d y in the U nited States, m ajor of study, degree objective, and institution attended. In o th er w ords, the students have different priorities w hen considering em ploym ent in Taiw an an d in the U nited States. Spec ifically, the stu d y seeks to exam ine the follow ing sub-hypotheses: H I: Incom e will be considered of as top priority if the students seek em ploym ent in the U nited States. 12 H2: O ppo rtunity for prom otion, an d prestige of em ploying organization, w ill be of utm ost im portance if the stu d en ts seek em ploym ent in Taiw an. In general, people w ho have the op p o rtu n ity to study in US g rad u ate schools can gain an edge in their career lad d er over their dom estic counterparts. Thus, the overseas stu d en ts ten d to aim high in their career objectives. W ith the vast investm ent in tim e and m oney for overseas study, they w ould expect higher private rates of return. The glam o u r of the A m erican diplom a w ould fu rth er cause them to aspire to m ore attractive jobs and prestigious organizations p lu s higher incom es. If these goals could not be all achieved, som e characteristics of em ploym ent w ould be m ore im p o rtan t th an others. The low er overall incom e to be received from em ploym ent in T aiw an becom es a strong incentive for som e students to stay in the U nited States. H ow ever, because of their m inority status, their inferior language proficiency, and their lack of m ainstream culture in the host society, they are in a d isad v an tag ed position to com pete w ith their A m erican counterparts for prom otion on the job. C onversely, if the stu d en ts choose to be em ployed in T aiw an, given the qualifications they have obtained, they can have better prospects for prom otion. In that case, they w ill also be very concerned about the prestige of em ploying organizations, because it helps to enhance their social status at hom e. The argum ent here yields another hypothesis: 13 H3: The students w ill show particular interests in obtaining jobs in universities an d research institutions if they are to retu rn to Taiw an; how ever, they w ill show interest in diverse organizations if they are to stay in the U nited States. This is because teaching in universities and doing research are considered as very prestigious professions in Taiw an. N evertheless, I these professions, though highly respected, d o n 't seem to have such p red o m in an t prestige in the U nited States. H4: The overseas students' expectations for incom e w ill be relatively high com pared w ith those grad u ate stu d en ts w ho w ere educated at hom e if the form er retu rn hom e. C onversely, the overseas students' expectations for incom e w ill be relatively low in term s of their educational qualifications in relation to com parably train ed A m ericans, if they are to stay in the U nited States. A t the first glance, the latter p a rt of this hypothesis seem s in contradiction w ith H ypothesis 1. H ow ever, since em igration is the m ost im p o rtan t issue for those students w ho w o u ld stay, they w ould low er their expectations to a certain extent in seeking em ploym ent. O n the o th er h an d , because the overseas stu d en ts have invested m ore m oney in education th an those w ho w ere educated in Taiw an, and because an A m erican degree is highly regarded, the incom e expected w o u ld still be h ig h . 14 D elim itatio n s 1. U ndergraduate stu d en ts w ere excluded from this stu d y , as they com prise only 7% of th e total Taiw anese overseas stu d en t population (Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, 1986). A lso the social backgrounds of overseas u n d erg rad u ate stu d en ts are different from the g rad u ate stu d en t p o p ulation investigated. 2. The stu d y w as conducted only on students w ho w ere enrolled at the U niversity of Southern C alifornia, the U niversity of Kansas, and the State U niversity of N ew York at Buffalo d u rin g the Spring Sem ester of 1988. L im itatio n s The stu d y excludes discussion of the follow ing factors: 1. T hat the orientations to w ard em ploym ent m ay vary betw een those w ho attend prestigious institutions an d less w ell know n ones. 2. T hat the beliefs, values, and socio-econom ic statuses of individual stu d en ts influence their orientations to w ard em p lo y m en t. 3. T hat students m ay n o t be able to com plete their degree objectives for various reasons as assum ed in the p resen t study. 15 D efinition of Term s T aiw anese g rad u ate students: The students w ho com e from Taiw an to atten d U.S. universities or research institutions, and w h o hold F type an d J type visas are enrolled in postgraduate level program s. O rientation to w a rd em ploym ent: The term refers to the expectations of incom e, to the aspiration for positions, to the preference for certain jobs, an d to the attitu d e to w ard im m igrating to the U.S. w hile seeking a degree here. Brain drain: The phenom enon created w hen w estern-educated students do n ot re tu rn to serve the developing countries from w hich they come. 1 Brain overflow : The term refers to the incapability of developing countries to allocate the w estern-educated into positions or types of em ploym ent for w hich they w ere trained, w hich results in the m igration of those educated form er students to developed countries. E ducated unem ployed: Those w ho have got w hat u sed to be considered valid degrees in the m odern sector, b u t have not fo und a niche to settle in (Dore, 1976). Expectation for incom e: The term refers to the am o u n t of m onthly incom e the stu d en ts think acceptable to receive from a job. 16 1 T ype of w ork: The term refers to the m ain characteristics of professional w ork in w hich m ost g raduate stu d en ts w o u ld be involved. It includes jobs in research, teaching, m anagem ent, adm inistration, com m unication, h ealth care, professional practitioner activities and other services. O rganization of em ploym ent: The term refers to the organizations in w hich m ost grad u ate students w ill be em ployed. In this study, it includes g overn m ent agencies in both adm inistrative and in d u strial sectors, educational institutions at different levels, big and sm all corporations, fo undations, self-em ployed in business, com m unication netw orks, hospitals a n d others. Preference of w ork: The students w ill consider m any dim ensions of jobs w hen th ey seek em ploym ent. They w ill give priorities to som e factors such as incom e and fringe benefits, location of w ork, prestige of em ploying organization, o p p o rtu n ity for prom otion, job security, the relatedness to their m ajor area of study. O rganization of the R em ainder of the D issertation C hapter II presents a review of selected literature an d previous research prim arily related to the discussion of higher education expansion in developing countries w ith an em phasis on T aiw an, the issue of em igration, the phenom ena called "brain drain" an d "brain 17 overflow ." The review of literature can pro v id e a better u n d e rstan d in g for th e overseas stu d en ts' orientations to w ard em ploym ent. C hapter III describes the m ethodology of the stu d y including the research design, the instrum entation, the research sam ple, the d ata collection, and the recording procedures. C hapter IV reveals the m ajor findings of the investigation. C hapter V contains a detailed discussion of th e results. C hapter VI consists of som e suggestions and recom m endations of the study. 18 ; CHAPTER II I I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE I O ne of the m ost salient phenom ena in recent T aiw anese higher i j education is the prevalence of overseas study. It began in 1950 u n d e r the I C hinese N ationalist G overnm ent, w ith slightly over 200 stu d en ts sent abroad; by 1963 the num ber of students grew to m ore th an 2,000 per year; and by 1980 it becam e a w idespread fashion am ong college graduates. Since th at year, on the average m ore th an 6,000 T aiw anese stu d en ts have been g ran ted perm ission to stu d y abroad annually (M inistry of Education, 1988). Im pressive as these num bers are, it is anticipated th at the figure will becom e even larger and increase faster as the governm ent adopts a m ore flexible policy for m ilitary service and liberalizes som e of the rigid regulations for obtaining a passport. M ost T aiw anese overseas students choose to stu d y in th e U nited States. As of 1987, 6,052 o ut of a total 6,599 (or 91.7%) overseas students w ere U.S. b o u n d (M inistry of E ducation, 1986). C um m ings an d So (1985) offered several reasons for the general overw helm ing preference of A sian stu d en ts to stu d y in the U nited States: the im proving A sian-A m erican political link, the econom ic ties, the increasing sim ilarity in th e stru ctu re and content of A sian and A m erican educational system s, the sharp increase in th e A sian im m igration to th e U nited States, th e absorptive 19 capacity an d the high quality of A m erican education, an d the o p p o rtu n ity to cover the cost through part-tim e w ork. A ctually these factors can best be a description of the phenom enon rather th an an explanation of it. The stress has been on the "pull” factors in the receiving country resulting in th e "push factors in the sending countries being largely ignored. Thus C um m ings and So sim ply p ortrayed a scene in w hich w e see A sian stu d en ts prom enading in A m erican cam puses, b u t w e d o n 't know w h y they cam e there. G laser (1978) and Rao (1977) indicated that academ ic benefits are the m ost im portant reasons for stu d y abroad, b u t they failed to explain w h y such factors are so im portant for foreign students. I It is the social condition of a sending country an d the various I I m otives of stu d en ts in resp o n d in g to th at condition th at d eterm ine the I I flow of overseas students. In discussing the social condition, it is necessary , to look at m any elem ents together: H as overseas stu d y becom e a fashion j am ong university students? C an college graduates be optim istic reg ard in g I th e o p p o rtu n ities for em ploym ent? Does attainm ent of an A m erican j degree carry m ore prestige than th at of a national degree? C an the sup p ly i 1 of higher education at hom e m eet the social dem and for it? Is the society j w ealthy enough to send m any stu d en ts abroad? In looking at personal ■ m otivation, w e find it plays a critical part, b u t it som etim es causes confusion. For instance, overseas stu d en ts m ay indicate th at they stu d y abroad because they w an t to learn English. H ow ever, this statem ent m ay serve only as a reason rather than a real m otive. First, the stu d en ts need to have enough m oney to do that. Second, learning E nglish m ay 20 eventually bring financial benefit, or social prestige, or both. The advantage foreseen by the students is the real m otivation for stu d y abroad, w hether it is for political freedom , for personal success, or for social status. The m otive m ay be latent and it m ay n ot have an im m ediate effect in achieving th at purpose, b u t the advantage is w ell perceived. Since m ost students are supp o sed to w ork after g raduation, it is reasonable to assum e th at a p rim ary m otivation for overseas stu d y is to secure better em ploym ent. In a passive sense, overseas stu d y m ay p rev en t one from u n em p lo y m en t at the tim e w hen ed u cated unem p lo y m en t becom es I com m on. Still m ore im portant, it can be a ro u te for an ideal em ploym ent I in w hich financial benefit, social prestige, an d even pow er are found. I As indicated above, the "expansion" of Taiw anese stu d en ts stu d y in g | overseas has been very noticeable d u rin g the p ast decade. A n explanation | of this p h en o m en o n is essential in u n d e rstan d in g the stu d en ts' j o rientation to w ard em ploym ent. In this chapter, som e theories on the I expansion of higher education in developing countries w ill be exam ined. ! A discussion of these theories w ill be helpful to shed light on T aiw an's j situ atio n . ! H u m an C apital T heory The m ajor argum ents of h u m an capital theory are threefold. First, it said th at h u m an beings are rational and alw ays profit-seeking. Second, education is a kind of investm ent. The retu rn s of higher education, as 21 P sacharopoulos (1982) suggested, "are in m any cases as high as the returns to o th er projects in the econom y such as highw ays, p ow er plants, o r irrigation." T hird, h u m an beings, like raw m aterials an d p ro d u ctio n equipm ent, can be transform ed into capital. The logic of this th eo ry thus can be form ulated in a sentence: A rational m an w ill invest in education because th e returns w ill eventually outw eigh the costs. Yet ho w can a h u m an being be transform ed into capital? Schultz (1961) p ro v id ed the I I answ er. — W hile any capability pro d u ced by hum an investm ent becom es a p a rt of the h u m an agent an d hence cannot be sold; it is nevertheless "in touch w ith the m arket place" by affecting the w ages and salaries the hum an agent can earn. The resulting increase in earnings is the yields on the investm ent." (p. 6) The hu m an capital theory can be discussed on an in d iv id u al as w ell as a collective level. Individually, w e w ould ask w h y stu d en ts think it is w orthw hile to p u rsu e m ore education abroad. For Blaug (1965), the reason is quite obvious as he indicated: It appears th at students or their parents choose m ore education as if they w ere m aking a rational investm ent response to certain expected m onetary an d psychic returns. A t any rate, no one has yet p roduced evidence th at w ould falsify this assum ption, (p. 211) T here is an assertion here th at stu d en ts are very responsive to m ark et m echanism s. They can have access to inform ation on shortages of surpluses of the labor m arket, an d they can acquire the necessary skills 22 quickly (Psacharopoulos & W oodhall, 1985). The overall costs of overseas stu d y can be estim ated by adding annual learning costs (books, tuitions, fees) and living costs (transportation, insurance, room and board) and m ultiplying this sum by the num ber of years spent abroad. The earnings forgone should be taken into consideration in ad d itio n to the expenses incurred. The cost m ay tu rn o u t to be an enorm ous one if a stu d en t chooses an expensive institution and stays m any years. H ow ever, just as a m edical stu d en t pays m ore and studies longer for a lucrative profession, the overall yield of overseas education after d ed u ctin g the expenditure is still considerable. This cost-benefit approach can best be applied to elem entary education for C oom bs (1985a), and Psacharopoulos and W oodhall (1985) indicated th at the p riv ate rate of retu rn is the highest at this level. H ow ever, secondary an d tertiary education are also good investm ents although they have low er rates of retu rn (Psacharopoulos & W oodhall, 1985; Psacharopoulos, 1982). H ow ever, w hether the finding is applicable to overseas g rad u ate education is questionable. First, it is obvious that the stu dents w ho aspire to stu d y abroad have to give u p considerable earnings forgone. For instance, if one decides to stu d y for a doctoral degree in the U nited States, he has to anticipate sp ending five or m ore years w ith little p ay or no p ay at all. A t the sam e tim e, he m ay m iss the o p p o rtu n ity for p rom otion on the job at hom e. G iven the assum ption th at highly educated people roughly retire at the sam e age, th en the overseas stu d en t cannot be em ployed by an organization for as m any 23 years as those w ho stay at hom e, thus the form er earn less lifetim e incom e. It is tru e th at the losses can be som ehow com pensated later, b u t th e rate of retu rn can be sm all or even negative. Second, in effect, m ost stu d en ts do n ot strive uniquely for a w ell-paid job. In 1987, 816 o u t of 1,632 (or 50%) T aiw anese stu d en ts w ho retu rn ed from th e U n ited States chose to w o rk for governm ent agencies, research institutions, an d universities or colleges (M inistry of E ducation, Republic of C hina, 1988). Jobs in these areas in general give m o d erate incom e in com parison to oth er professions, although th e social prestige is rather high (Chen, 1985). By an d large, it seem s th at the stu d en ts are not rational at all if they stu d y abroad prim arily for m onetary rew ard. O ne of th e m ajor elem ents for national developm ent in developing countries is technology. It is believed th at developing countries m u st u p g rad e their technological level in o rd er to advance their econom ies. N o t only do they need m ore sophisticated factory equipm ent, b u t also highly train ed m anpow er. T hus the d em an d for im m ediate technological intensification results in th e rap id expansion of higher education in the T hird W orld. But as K aplan (1983) observed: — th e rap id developm ent of higher education [in develop ing countries] can neither su p p ly the im m ediate need for m an p o w er nor establish the base th ro u g h w hich th at m an p o w er need m ay eventually be accom m odated— a great m any of the foreign stu d en ts enrolled in U nited States colleges an d universities are here precisely because of the technological im peratives for national developm ent, (p. 255; 259) I 24 Partly initiated by the governm ents of sending countries, and p artly sponsored by philanthropical foundations, h ig h er institutions, and governm ental agencies of receiving countries, overseas ed u catio n has becom e an extension of or substitute for higher education for m any A frican, A sian, and L atin A m erican nations. From the view p o in t of investm ent, even if the collective costs of sending stu d en ts abroad are substantial, it still pays because the yields from econom ic g ro w th an d technological advancem ent are invaluable. Blaug (1981) analyzed the j econom ic costs an d benefits of overseas students in G reat Britain and j concluded that the country has suffered great financial losses by adm itting too m any foreign students. Sim ilarly in the U nited States, G oodw in and N ach t (1984) indicated th a t the tuition and fees foreign stu d en ts p ay don't ' reflect the real cost of operating an institution because the foreign stu d en ts also share from a p a rt of p riv ate en dow m ent and the state's expenditure on education. The financial loss of a receiving country im plies the gain of a sending one. In other w ords, overseas education is a sm art investm ent. L eaders of governm ent, business, an d in d u stry g rad u ally realize th a t it w o u ld be cost-effective to train their talents abroad. This theory does help to explain w h y m any developing nations are enthusiastic about overseas education. H ow ever, in T aiw an, the governm ent doesn't play an active role in sending stu d en ts abroad. This is evidenced by the slim n u m b er of stu d en ts w ho obtain scholarship from the T aiw an governm ent by passing a rigorous exam ination. From 1960 to 25 1987, only som e 1,000 exam inees w ere g ran ted a scholarship. C om pared to about 102,000 students w ho have been p erm itted to stu d y abroad d u rin g the sam e period, this n u m b er is m inim al (M inistry of E ducation, R epublic of C hina, 1988). A lthough private business an d in d u stry have b eg u n to send their personnel abroad for advanced training, it is n ot at a large scale an d in m ost cases it is on a short term basis. As a m atter of fact, governm ent, business, and in d u stry are m ore interested in recruiting train ed stu d en ts rather than sending their people abroad. In a sense, it is even m ore cost-effective because the stu d en ts' retu rn cannot be g u aran teed . T hus it becom es clear that the "expansion " of overseas education in T aiw an is m ore a reflection of the personal aspirations of the stu d en ts th an an effort on the p a rt of the go v ern m en t for national developm ent. O n the one h an d , the governm ent sponsors a very lim ited n u m b er of students; o n the other hand, the governm ent tries to restrain the tide of overseas study. O verseas stu d y is n ot com m on am ong u n d e rg ra d u ate m ale stu d en ts because of the obligation for m ilitary services. The accreditation system is at w ork and a TOEFL score of 500 or m ore is req u ired to secure perm ission from the M inistry of E ducation. The sheer n u m b er of T aiw anese overseas stu d en ts w o u ld be m uch larger if the g o vernm ent d id n 't control it. In sum , the argum ents above im ply th at h u m an capital th eo ry alone cannot sufficiently explain the p henom enon of overseas stu d y in Taiw an. 26 E ducational Inflation The h u m an capital theorists tend to see education from an econom ic point of view . They usually view educational expansion as a h o p e an d a com plem ent for th e econom ic developm ent in th e T hird W orld. Their m ood is quite optim istic. Yet as th e excessive expansion of education has occurred in b o th developed and developing countries, m an y authors have begun to question the adequacy of the h u m an capital theory and a pessim istic m ood has loom ed large. For som e, educational expansion is a sym ptom rath er th an a hope. For if education doesn't im p ro v e one's perform ance on th e job, if education can only help one's life chances a little, and if the m ajor function of education or schooling is for certification, w hy is so m uch education needed? T hus Berg (1970) called education a "great training robbery," Freem an (1976) fo u n d A m ericans w ere "overeducated," D ore (1976) saw a w id esp read "diplom a disease" in developing countries, and Collins (1979) delineated h o w a "credential society" w as form ed. Phrased som ew hat differently, all indicated the existence of educational inflation. E ducational inflation derives from th e unrealistic d em an d s of people for m ore education. It usually refers to the over qualification of ed u catio n for em ploym ent. S tudents an d their p aren ts d e m a n d m ore education n ot only because education in itself is a good thing, b u t, m ore often th an not, because they perceive education as a m eans to keep them selves in the race for good em ploym ent. The "diplom a disease" is a 27 w o rld w id e phenom enon; how ever, it is p articularly serious in developing nations. There, the benefits attained from a m o d ern sector job are disproportionately greater th an those from a traditional one. Since em ploym ent in the m o d ern sector is m uch m ore desirable an d the offerings are few , the com petition becom es rigorous. The em ployer usually applies a "screening" pro ced u re to determ ine w h o are to be hired. E ither for convenience or for other uncertain reasons, a certificate is paralleled w ith quality an d thus required for em ploym ent. As the com petition increases, a qualification escalation results. The students, therefore, attend school to qualify for a job rath er th an to acquire useful skills and know ledge. C onsequently, educated unem ploym ent becom es w id esp read (Dore, 1976). In response to the social d em an d of education, governm ents of developing countries have to expand th eir school system s. A ssum ably education can also m itigate the problem of unem p loym ent, b u t as C arnoy (1980) indicated: E ducation has little effect on unem ploym ent, b u t u n em ploym ent m ay have a significant effect for m ore education, (p. 160) T he ideology of egalitarianism prevails in the th ird W orld; m ost people see education as a p a rt of their dem ocratic right. N evertheless, the d em an d for education cannot be su p p lied unlim itedly. This is p articularly true for higher education, n o t only because it involves very high p er u n it cost, b u t also it can raise expectations for better em ploym ent. Take the P hilippines as an exam ple. T here the o v ersu p p ly 28 of p riv ate higher education has exacerbated the "diplom a disease" (Dore, 1976). In countries w here th e expansion of higher education is restricted an d regulated by th e national governm ent, stu d en ts are m ore likely to seek education abroad. The quality of w estern institutions is usually cited as the prim ary reason for the rap id increase of foreign stu d en ts’ stu d y in g th ere (N ational Science F oundation, 1981). O bviously there is no com parison betw een d eveloped and developing countries in term s of advanced technology, sophisticated equipm ent, an d ou tstan d in g faculties. H ow ever, it appears th e "quantity" factor is equally significant. For instance, the quality of Israeli institutions of higher education is highly reg ard ed th ro u g h o u t the w o rld , b u t the com petition is just too rigorous for m ost high school g rad u ates to secure adm ission into universities. Therefore, m an y Israeli stu d en ts are reluctantly p u sh ed to stu d y abroad (R itterband, 1978). A large p ro p o rtio n of A frican an d A sian stu d en ts stu d y m edical science in Italy because of its "open" adm ission policy and because it is otherw ise inaccessible in their hom e countries (Sm ith, W oesler, & Jarousse, 1981). Lastly, in som e developing countries, institutions of higher ed u catio n are rare or even nonexistent. In short, it is educated unem p lo y m en t th at reinforces th e social d em an d for higher education, and th e subsequent expansion in higher ed u catio n in tu rn results in educational inflation. These factors constitute a vicious cycle. A ccordingly, the recent influx of T aiw anese g rad u ate stu d en ts in the U nited States is one representation of a m ore 29 a d v an ced stage of educational inflation in Taiw an. This line of arg u m en t is su p p o rted by som e statistics. D uring the 1960s, Taiw an experienced a g reat expansion in private higher education. But the expansion w as ab ru p tly term inated by 1970 as the governm ent tried to control it m ore ' effectively. Extension or founding of any academ ic program , public or I p riv ate institutions alike, h ad to be ap p ro v ed by the M inistry of I E ducation. N o w in the 1980s, the adm ission rate by entrance I exam ination to four-year colleges and universities is ab o u t 30 p ercent of high school graduates. In the com petition for g rad u ate education in j T aiw an, as of 1987, the ratio of g rad u ate stu d en ts to the n u m b er of I stu d en ts at four-year institutions w as only 7.34% (see Table 2-1). It is obvious th a t the expansion of g rad u ate education cannot m eet the social d em an d for it. TABLE 2-1 Ratio of g rad u ate stu d en ts to enrollm ents in four-year institutions in T aiw an Year 1950 1960 1970 1980 1987 N u m b er of graduate students (A) 5 473 2,295 6,303 15,121 Enrollm ents in four-year institutions (B) 5379 27,172 95,145 159,394 206,054 (A )/(B) % 0.09 1.01 2.43 3.95 7.34 (Source: E ducational statistics of the Republic of China-1988, M inister of Education, pp. 20-21) 30 The G overnm ent of T aiw an has resp o n d ed to th e d em an d very cautiously. U niversity adm ission rates w ere kept at a certain level and allow ed to increase only slightly. In 1984, the rate of enrollm ent in institutions of higher education by high school g rad u ates w as 12.4% in T aiw an, a p ro p o rtio n low er th an in South K orea (24%), The P hilippines (26%), Japan (30%), W est G erm any (30%), an d m uch low er th an in the U nited States (56%) (Social Indicators of the Republic of C hina, 1985). In 1987, the ratio of university students to the entire p o p u latio n w as low er th an one percent (M inistry of E ducation, 1988). N evertheless, the problem of educated u nem ploym ent w as already evident. For exam ple, in 1984, the average unem ploym ent period for college g rad u ates w as thirty-one w eeks, the longest am ong all educational levels (R eport on M anpo w er U tilization Survey in the T aiw an A rea. R epublic of C hina, 1985). A nother rep o rt revealed th at the u n em ploym ent rate am ong four- year university g raduates w as 13.56% in the sam e period (Chan, 1985). The un em p lo y m en t rate cited above w as actually u n d erestim ated , because it d id n ’t include a considerable num ber of college stu d en ts w ho w ere recruited for tw o years of m ilitary service u p o n their graduation. It is im p o rtan t to note th a t the unem ploym ent rate for g rad u ate degree holders w as as low as 3.52% (Chan, 1985). It m eans th a t stu d en ts w ho can attain g rad u ate education in T aiw an have a significant ad v an tag e in the job m arket. H ow ever, since the provision of g rad u ate education is far from the dem and, m any stu d en ts are im pelled to seek it abroad. 31 This line of explanation is pow erful indeed. But T aiw an is n ot the only country th a t suffers from educational inflation, nor is it very po p u lo u s com pared w ith India, M alaysia, o r Brazil. W hy can T aiw an send m ore stu d en ts to the U nited States th an any o th er country in the w orld (H igher E ducation C hronicle, Oct. 26,1988)? H u m an capital theory an d educational inflation theory p resen t quite different perspectives, although b o th basically treat education as a k in d of investm ent. W hile the form er expects education to bring good em ploym ent for the in d iv id u al and econom ic grow th for the nation, th e latter view s education as a w ro n g an d som ew hat harm ful m easure to avoid unem ploym ent. H ow ever, for others, education is m ore a consum ption th an an investm ent. O verseas higher education th en is a high cost i conspicuous consum ption. Som e consum e it to show their w ealth, an action called educational consum erism ; others consum e it to attain or retain social status, this being identified in status g roup theory. These tw o theories w ill be discussed separately now . E ducational C onsum erism O verseas higher education is ju st like a kind of luxury m erchandise w hich only rich people w ill p urchase and only rich countries can afford. The cost of overseas education itself is sufficient to explain w h y m ost overseas students com e from advanced developing countries an d the O rganization of P etroleum E xporting C ountries (OPEC) 32 bloc. A s consum ers of the U.S. higher education m arket, overseas stu d en ts are w elcom e not only for philanthropical reasons b u t also because of the d em an d of the U.S. higher institutions for m ore students. A s G oodw in an d N acht (1983) indicated: U ndoubtedly, the m ost dram atic use of foreign stu d en ts in the U nited States in the 1980s is to fill classroom s, m ainly at the g rad u ate level, th at U.S. students for a variety of reasons have decided n o t to fill-in m any g rad u ate program s in engineering, for exam ple, from the least to the m ost prestigious, 70 percent or m ore of the stu d en ts come from abroad— typically it w ould require foreign stu d en t enrollm ents of 30 to 40 percent in a departm ent, faculty, or school, or 10 to 15 percent in an institu tio n overall, before serious inquiry is u n d ertak en . (pp. 12-13,29) It is interesting to note th at the sup p ly an d d em an d relations betw een sending and receiving countries are reciprocal. W hile foreign stu d en ts consum e overseas h ig h er education, they them selves also becom e a su p p lier of "full-tim e equivalent" stu d en ts n eed ed b y th e U.S. h ig h er institu tio n . The recent affluence of T aiw an's econom y has enabled m any stu d en ts to stu d y abroad. C onsider just a few facts: T aiw an currently ranks second in the w orld in term s of a positive foreign exchange balance, second only to Japan; in 1988, T aiw an's G N P per capita w as $6,080 dollars an d expected to reach $8,000 by 1989. The value of the N ew Taipi to the US dollar has risen substantially, an d th e exchange rate has m oved from approxim ately 42 Taipis to 1 US dollar in 1984 to 28 Taipis to 1 US dollar 33 in 1988. The last fact is especially significant because the differences earn ed from m onetary exchange can balance th e increasing rate of tuition a n d living expenses in the U nited States. H ow ever, econom ic pro sp erity should be treated as a precondition rath e r th an the d eterm in an t of the fashion-like overseas study. For one thing, to stu d y in a U.S. g rad u ate school is n o t w ith o u t toil. M ost g rad u a te p rogram s in the U.S. are rigorous an d thus req u ire a person's w holehearted endeavor. Besides, unlike the stu d en ts from th e OPEC bloc w ho enjoy scholarships an d salaries for overseas stu d y p ro v id ed from oil m oney, m ost T aiw anese stu d en ts have to p ay th e bill o u t of their ow n or their parents' pockets. It w o uld be inconceivable to say th at th ey sim ply consum e the education w ith o u t having a d eeper m otive. In ad dition, if w ealth alone can explain the phenom enon, Japan w o u ld be the leading country in sending stu d en ts abroad. A s is know n, the overall quality of Japanese higher educational institutions is n o t com parable w ith th at of w estern ind u strialized nations (Ichikaw a, 1979). Status G roup Theory Japanese stu d en ts are n o t so enthusiastic ab o u t p u rsu in g an education abroad because a foreign degree generally d o esn 't carry m ore prestige th an a dom estic one. M any of Japanese overseas stu d en ts in the U nited States are m ore interested in learning E nglish th an in earn in g a diplom a (Oh, 1979). Japanese universities traditionally have close 34 connections w ith business and industry. Firm s start early to recru it their chief staff m em bers from am ong u n d e rg ra d u ate students. A n d once a stu d e n t is recruited, h e is su p posed to w ork for th at firm for life. This is also tru e even for academ ic careers; the to p universities in Japan recru it their academ ic staffs m ainly from am ong their ow n stu d en ts (95.3% at Tokyo U niversity and 89% at Kyoto U niversity) (King, 1979; C lark, 1979). M oreover, p ro m in en t leaders in g o v ern m en t and business are m ostly g raduates of top Japanese universities. In short, a dom estic degree is m ore ad v an tag eo u s in the com petition for a status position in Japan. The situation in T aiw an is n othing like that. M ost college a n d university g rad u ates have to w ork o u t their o w n w ay to seek em ploym ent. Som e g et their first job th ro u g h g o v ern m en t exam ination (31%), others th ro u g h n ew sp aper advertisem ents (36%), and still others th ro u g h recom m endations of friends an d relatives (18%) (N ational Youtii C om m ission, 1983). C oom bs observed th a t "w hereas earlier jobs w ere chasing scarce credentials, credentials are now chasing scarce jobs" (1985a, p. 44). This is very true in Taiw an. Being recruited for em ploym ent b y business and in d u stry is h ard ly dream ed of by m ost u n d e rg ra d u a te students. It is com m on know ledge th at a Ph.D . earned in the U.S. is m ore valuable a n d prestigious th an th a t received from an in stitu tio n in Taiw an. D om estically trained Ph.D s are jokingly called "soil" doctors, even th o u g h the stu d y is no less painstaking. By and large, a foreign degree has becom e a visa for favorable em ploym ent an d a top position. 35 In 1986, 41% of all the faculty m em bers at four-year higher institutions in T aiw an w ere retu rn ed stu d en ts from abroad (W u, C hen, & W u, 1989). The preference for a W estern degree is m ost visible in the top positions of the governm ent. For exam ple, since 1950, eleven o u t of tw elve M inisters of E ducation have stu d ied abroad (W u, C hen, & W u, 1989). In 1988, nine o u t of fourteen C abinet m em bers w ere educated overseas. E ight of them have received their doctoral degrees from prestigious U.S. institutions, an d the p resid en t him self has a Ph.D. from C ornell U niversity. In T aiw an, at least presently, overseas higher education is linked w ith personal success and respected social status. Collins (1971) suggested th at m em bers of a status g ro u p share a com m on value, an d th at th e b o u n d ary of this g ro u p is n o t necessarily distinctive. In effect, the g ro up is constantly in the process of becom ing. W hile the privileged g ro u p tries to retain its advantage by m aintaining its m em bership, persons of less privileged groups also strive to becom e m em bers of that g roup so as to gain a footing on their career ladder. M oreover the "high culture" of the privileged g ro u p is m ad e so sophisticated th at the less privileged ones can h ard ly em ulate it. In the U nited States, high social class people w o u ld send their children to p rep school. It is believed th at the education p ro v id ed by a p re p school can foster the acquisition of quality of the high culture w hich a lead er needs. It can cultivate a habit of com m and, enforce g ro u p solidarity, an d send m ore stu d en ts to the Ivy L eague (Cookson & Persell, 1985). Earlier in the U nited States, a university degree w as equivalent to cultural currency. 36 and could serve as quality identification of its holder (Collins, 1979). By dem o n stratin g the "superiority" of its distinctive culture, p artly th ro u g h a high degree, the privileged g ro u p n o w becom es norm atively legitim ated to bolster its interests. In T hailand, higher education has an intim ate link to bureaucratic positions. The access to universities is rath er lim ited and universities are largely controlled by bureaucrats. The ru lin g bu reau crats of T hailand have successfully u sed higher educatio n ' to m aintain their interests and legitim ate their p ow ers (K raus, M axw ell, j & V annem an, 1979). A question em erges im m ediately: W hy do the i T aiw anese people take the form of overseas h ig h er education, rath er th an others, as a legitim ate channel and a short-cut for social m obility? P art of the answ er is to be found in the econom ic structure of I I T aiw an. In W allerstein's term , T aiw an is a sem i-peripheral country w hich is closely integrated to the w orld econom y (Lauer, 1983). W ith her export-oriented econom y, m ore th an 50 p ercen t of T aiw an's gross j national p ro d u c t com es from international trad e, com pared w ith only 9 I percent in the U n ited Sates. The dependency of T aiw an's econom y on i 1 the U nited States is evident, for as of 1985, ro u g h ly half of T aiw an's ! exports w ere sh ip p ed to the U nited States (Statistical Y earbook of the R epublic of C hina, 1986). T hrough the dynam ic interactions in econom y, polity, an d culture betw een the countries, cosm opolitan tastes are fostered am ong th e people of Taiw an. A bove all, u n iv ersity stu d en ts have m ore access to A m erican culture. They read English books, subscribe to A m erican m agazines, go to H ollyw ood m ovies, an d enjoy im ported 37 goods. All of these have tu rn ed o u t to be sym bols of status. The relative absence of know ledge about W estern society, technology, an d language earlier enabled a few fortunate students w ho h ad attain ed a foreign a d v an ced degree to legitim ately claim top positions. Since the provision of g ra d u a te education is lim ited at hom e, an d the dom estic degree less desirable, overseas g rad u ate education th u s has increasingly becom e a m eans to gain prestigious status. A g reat percentage of T aiw anese g rad u ate stu d en ts in the U nited States m ajor in n atu ral sciences, engineering, com puter science, an d business. This seem s incom patible w ith Collins' (1971; 1979) suggestion th a t the curriculum for the privileged g ro u p is m ostly irrelev an t to practical use . To u n d erstan d this, there are tw o things to be clarified. First, th o u g h a foreign advanced degree is still m ore prestigious, it d o esn ’ t g u arantee a privileged status. T he m ore stu d en ts w ho stu d y abroad , the m ore the foreign diplom a decreases in value. The recent p ro sp erity of T aiw an's econom y does enable the new ly em erging bourgeoisie to com pete for pow er. N evertheless, a close tie w ith the ru lin g bureaucrats is still crucial for success. Second, in spite of the prevalence of technocratic ideology, it rem ains unclear w h eth er o r n o t professional expertise is the critical elem ent for gaining top positions in g o v ernm ent, business, and industry. The experience of hav in g been a g rad u a te stu d e n t at a prestigious institution, as w ell as th e culture acquired from th at experience, could be m ore im p o rtan t th an w h a t is actually learned for status com petition. It is true th at in T aiw an m any 38 ~l m inisters an d other key adm inistrators hold foreign ad v an ced degrees. H ow ever, it is also tru e th at these "ruling elites" also usually h ave strong affiliations w ith top bureaucrats. Thus, these w ith foreign advanced degrees can m ove from one p o st to another, w ith little reg ard for their m ajor areas of study. It is, therefore, obvious th at overseas g rad u ate education serves to legitim ate the interests of the privileged group. To explain the phenom enon from this perspective, one th in g has to be k ept in m ind. It is reasonable to assum e th at m ost T aiw anese overseas stu d en ts are relatively well-off, b u t their social an d econom ic backgrounds are varied. Their parents could be officials, business people, high school teachers, m ilitary officers, farm ers, or traders. Their financial resources range from those w ho can afford expensive p riv ate institutions, to those w ho have to live by assistantships, a n d to those w h o have to w ork to earn the tuition for state universities. H o w these stu d en ts of different backgrounds are stratified into T aiw anese society is an interesting topic for fu rth er and future investigation. The status g ro u p theory, w hich describes the n atu re of the conflict betw een different gro u p s appears to offer a pow erful explanation for the influx of T aiw anese stu d en ts to the U nited States. But it im plies th at the stu d en ts w o u ld re tu rn hom e in o rd er to have a b etter status; this is at od d s w ith reality. In general, retu rn ed overseas stu d en ts can gain an edge over their dom estic counterparts on career ladders. If they choose to stay in the host country w here they study, they m ay forsake som e advantages w hich they already possess. A t w orst, they m ay tu rn their favored 39 p osition into a disadvantageous one because they have to com pete w ith o thers in a less fam iliar an d som etim es unfriendly society. T he fact that the m ajority of Taiw anese overseas stu d en ts finally decide to em igrate to th e U nited States can p u t the status g roup theory in jeopardy. For m any people, overseas stu d y m ay be sim ply a m eans to em igrate. For others, th e choice of life style m ay be of utm ost im portance, or political conflict is still a nightm are, or em igration to an advanced country is itself a sym bol of status. As a m atter of fact, the pivotal issue for em ploym ent is that of retu rn in g hom e or staying abroad. The decision to retu rn or em igrate seem s to prim arily d ep en d on w hich side offers a job first. H ow ever, som etim es the students first decide to retu rn or to stay; th en th ey start to seek em ploym ent. If the stu d en ts receive job offers from hom e a n d host countries at the sam e tim e, they can w eigh w hich choice can offer m ore advantages. For m an y foreign students, this is the to u g h est decision in life. R etu rn or Im m igration A m ong the overseas stu d en ts in the U nited States, w hich ones are m ore likely to em igrate or stay tem porarily u p o n com pletion of study? M yers (1972), after stu d y in g the Peruvian stu d en ts in the U nited States, concluded: 40 M edicine, science and engineering seem to be the fields (w here) m ore em igration occurs — Foreign stu d en ts' n o n re tu rn is often associated w ith an im m igration o r stu d e n t (F) visa, w ith self-sponsorship, w ith either u n d e rg ra d u ate o r Ph.D . stu d y (vs. M.A.), w ith arrival in the U.S. at an early age, w ith low socio-econom ic status in the hom e country a n d /o r m inority status, an d w ith m arriage to a host country national, (p. 67) These findings w ere su p p o rted by the m ore th o ro u g h stu d y of U N ITA R (U nited N ations Institute for T raining a n d Research) (Glaser, 1978). M ost stu d en ts plan to retu rn w hile they stu d y abroad, an d only a few people stu d y ab ro ad prim arily to explore prospects for em igration (Rao, 1979; G laser, 1978). But planning is one thing, acting is another. The stu d en ts m ay change th eir m inds later as their sojourns in th e host country are p ro lo n g ed (Kao, 1973). The im m igration rate of foreign stu d en ts varies from tim e to tim e an d from one national to an o th er as the condition for im m igration changes (Glaser, 1978; Rao, 1979; Lee & Ray, 1987). T aiw anese overseas stu d en ts have long been n otorious for high rates of non-returns. R elevant studies d u rin g the 1970s reveal th at the n o n -retu rn rate of T aiw anese students w as th en as high as 90 percent (Kao, 1973; O h, 1977). Political uncertainty in T aiw an and the conflict betw een T aiw anese an d m ainlander w ere also responsible for this phenom enon (Oh, 1977; Lee & Ray, 1987). H ow ever, since 1980 the situation has changed. R ecently in T aiw an, the m ovem ent to w a rd dem ocracy, the relief of conflict betw een the T aiw anese an d m ainlander. 41 n and the affluent econom y all com bine to d raw m ore stu d en ts back. A s i Table 2-2 show s, though the n o n -retu rn rate rem ains high, the increase of retu rn ees is noticeable. In 1987, ro ughly 30 percent of T aiw anese overseas stu d e n ts retu rn ed . TABLE 2-2 The retu rn rate of T aiw anese students: 1950 - 1987 stu d en ts stu d e n ts p ercen t study re tu rn from (%) Year abroad abroad 1950 216 6 2.7 % 1955 760 34 4.5 % 1960 643 47 7.3 % 1965 2,339 120 5.1 % 1970 (1967) 2,056 (2,472) 407 19.8 % (16.5%) 1975 (1972) 2,301 (2,149) 569 24.7 % (26.4%) 1980 (1977) 5,933 (3,852) 640 10.9 % (16.4%) 1985 (1982) 5,979 (5,925) 1,350 22.6 % (22.8%) 1987 (1984) 6,599 (5,410) 1,920 29.9% (35.5%) (Source: E ducational Statistics of the R epublic of C hina, M inistry of E ducation, Taipei, 1988; pp. 50-57. N um bers in parenthesis indicate a three-year d u ratio n for overseas study.) The rap id inflow of these students w ith advanced degrees has a great im pact on the already exacerbated job m arket in Taiw an. A recent rep o rt revealed th at m ore returnees w ith m asters degrees fo u n d it is 42 difficult to get a suitable job at hom e so th at they have h a d to degrade their expectations for em ploym ent (Centre D aily N ew s, A pril 20,1988) . The grow ing difficulty in gaining em ploym ent at hom e m ay eventually p u sh the stu d en ts to go abroad again in p u rsu it of an o th er higher degree or to assum e a job for w hich a person w ith a bachelor's degree can qualify. I I I Brain D rain o r Brain O verflow j i The term "brain drain" is often associated w ith the n o n -retu rn of I I foreign students. L iterature on b rain d rain w as flourishing d u rin g the 1960s and 1970s w hen professional w orkers an d overseas stu d en ts flocked I to the U nited States. The percentage of those w ith high-level talen t w ho have m ig rated to o th er nations is relatively sm all. Since the m igration flow w as from developing to developed countries, an d presum ably the latter gained at the expense of the form er, cries of injustice em erged (M yers, 1972). In T aiw an d u rin g the 1970s, resen tm en t w as frequently voiced from g o v ern m en t officials an d scholars. The term "brain drain" does create an em otional effect for developing countries, b u t its m eaning is obscure an d needs fu rth er exploration. First, w h o can be counted as a "drain": scientists? engineers? or all the stu d en ts and professionals abroad? O u tstan d in g scientists are rare resources even in developed countries. In alm ost all the cases, th ey need a conclusive academ ic m ilieu an d su perior train in g to becom e o u tstanding. Since the advanced training is largely com pleted 43 in d eveloped countries, it is unfair to call it a d rain if a scientist stays ab ro ad rath er th an returns hom e. Dr. Yen A. Lee, a person originally from T aiw an w ho w on the 1987 N obel P rize in chem istry, attrib u ted his success to the g rad u ate education he received in th e U nited States. To a lesser degree, engineers and other professionals can be view ed in this w ay. Second, if the abilities of retu rn ed students cannot be u sed pro p erly or if these stu d en ts are m isplaced in positions u n related to their expertise, as often h ap p en s in developing nations, it is a w aste of talents rath e r th an a drain. T hird, in m any developing nations, the n u m b er of professionally train ed people is grow ing faster th an their econom ies can absorb them . Therefore, the em igration of these professionals can be m ore a gain than a drain, because it helps to relieve th e u n em p lo y m en t an d u n d erem p lo y m en t problem at hom e. Besides, the gain of h a rd currency from the expatriates is often considerable. B aldw in (1969) refu ted th e b rain d rain accusation and called the n o n -retu rn a "brain ! overflow " w hen he stated th a t as for: — professional m igration from the less developed w o rld , it appears to be n ot a d rain b u t an overflow . The less developed countries are n o t being strip p ed of m an p o w er th ey b ad ly needed; m ore often th an not, they are relieved of m an p o w er they cannot use. (p. 359) In th e 1980s, the debates over "brain drain" and "brain overflow " have received less attention in Taiw an. As a m atter of fact, either ap p ro ach can be only partly true. It depends on w hich position one w o u ld like to take. Recently the T aiw an governm ent has been trying to r 44 establish a data bank of scientists and professionals abroad so th at the govern m ent an d in d u stry at hom e can have access to recruit this high level m an p o w er in tim es of need. G radually, the U nited States is treated j as the reservoir, rath e r th an the depriver, of the professional w orkers. ■ M aybe it is a healthy and realistic attitu d e to w ard this issue. O rien tatio n T ow ards E m ploym ent E m ploym ent is a leading factor, am ong others, th at determ ines w h eth er an overseas stu d en t w ill return or em igrate (Kao, 1973; Lee & Ray, 1987). For these students, w h at elem ents together constitute good em ploym ent? W hat factor w ould be first considered in choosing a job? H ow m uch m onthly incom e is th o u g h t acceptable? A lso w h at are characteristics of the overseas students w ho are m ore likely to w ork for govern m ent agencies or private business in term s of age, sex, m ajor, an d sponsorship? These questions w ere rarely raised in the existing literature on the subject. O ne stu d y focused on them ; the N ational Y outh C om m ission's survey in 1984, w hich investigated the orientation to w ard s em ploym ent of dom estically educated g rad u ate students in Taiw an. In C hapter 4 its m ajor findings are discussed an d com pared w ith those of the present study. 45 S u m m a ry Recently T aiw an has experienced a great boom in stu d en ts stu d y in g abroad. It ap p ears th at overseas education, especially th a t in the U n ited States, has becom e an extension of the higher ed ucation system in T aiw an. M any reasons are p u t forth for this, b u t little explanation has been provided. The p resen t chapter offers four explanations for the phenom enon: the h u m an capital theory, the concept of educational inflation, the idea of educational consum erism , and the statu s g ro u p theory. T hough the theories are quite successful in explaining the expansion of prim ary, secondary, and tertiary education in developing countries, none of them seem s sufficient to explain the great increase of overseas study. Som etim es com peting theories have to be looked at together so th at a clearer picture can be obtained. A discussion of these theories has significant im plications for the orientation to w a rd em ploym ent of overseas g rad u a te stu d en ts from T aiw an. For exam ple, if th e h u m an capital th eo ry holds m uch tru th , the stu d en ts w ill be concerned m ainly w ith personal incom e because th at is p rim arily the reason for w hich they are in the U.S. C onversely, if the large n u m b er of stu d en ts in the U nited States is m ore a reflection of educational inflation in T aiw an, the students m ay be less picky in choosing job. E ducation consum erism relates little to the em ploym ent of overseas stu d en ts. The status g ro u p theory im plies th at the students stu d y abroad w ith a view to retain in g or attaining a privileged status. S tudents w ith this orientation w o u ld care m ore about the prestige of a job than other things. This is 46 tru e for som e students; their stu d y abroad is a sym bol of status an d w ealth , a n d it serves m ore to enrich their life experiences. R eturn or m igration is th e p iv o tal issue in the o rien tatio n to w ard s I em ploym ent. The legal b arrier to em igrating to the U nited States p lu s I th e m o v em en t to w a rd dem ocracy an d an affluent econom y in T aiw an j com bine to d raw m ore stu d en ts back to th at country. E vidence revealed f ; th a t in 1987 ab o u t 30 percent of T aiw anese stu d en ts retu rn e d for j I em ploym ent. O bviously, the retu rn e d stu d en ts are no longer treated as I I scarce m anpow er. They have to com pete vigorously for a perceived good job because the overw helm ing ad vantage of a foreign degree is dim inishing, th o u g h they still have som e edge over their dom estic co u n terp arts in the job m arket. The debate over "brain drain" a n d "brain overflow " has lost m uch of its ferm ent in the 1980s. In effect, the tw o concepts are parallel. D eveloping countries m ay suffer from th e n o n -retu rn of th eir students. N evertheless, they are not necessarily sheer losers if the econom y cannot absorb the retu rn e d students. 47 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The m ain objective of this chapter is to describe the procedures em ployed in conducting the survey as it p ertain ed to (1) the selection of the sam ple, (2) the instrum entation, th at is, the construction of the questionnaire, (3) the d a ta collecting procedure (4) the d ata processing and statistical analysis, an d (5) the m ethodological lim itation of this study. The Selection of the Sam ple i The p o p u latio n included all T aiw anese g ra d u a te stu d en ts w ho w ere enrolled in U.S. universities at the tim e of th e p resen t study. The figures for this p o p u latio n w ere not available. A ccording to O pen Doors: I 1986/87 (1988), there w ere 25,660 Taiw anese stu d en ts in th e U.S., w hich in clu d ed grad u ate, u n d erg rad u ate, and other non-degree seeking students. The rep o rt estim ated th at roughly forty-tw o percent of all the foreign stu d en ts in the U n ited States atten d ed g rad u a te school. I N evertheless, it w o u ld probably be an un d erestim atio n to say there w ere t m erely 10,000 T aiw anese g rad u ate students in the U.S. In 1986, a survey from the F oundation for Scholarly Exchange (1986) revealed th at u n d e rg ra d u ate stu d en ts com prised only 7% of all the T aiw anese stu d en ts in the U.S. higher institutions. As a m atter of fact, u n d e rg ra d u ate stu d en ts w ere m ostly fo u n d in certain states w here m assive T aiw anese 48 im m igration occurred. Even at the U niversity of S outhern C alifornia, w hich is located in Los A ngeles, as of 1988,376 o u t of 559 (or 67%) of th e T aiw anese stu d en ts w ere graduates. Projecting from these figures, as a conservative estim ation, the p o p u latio n of T aiw anese g ra d u a te stu d e n ts w o u ld exceed 18,000 at the tim e of this research. It w o u ld be technically infeasible to d raw a ran d o m sam ple from such a population. It w as determ ined th at cluster sam pling w o u ld p ro v id e an a p p ro p riate technique for the survey research. In other w o rd s, certain representative institutions in the U.S. w ere chosen for the investigation. For this p u rp o se, the institutions selected for the stu d y h a d to m eet certain criteria. First, the university selected h ad to b e big en ough to p ro v id e diverse fields of stu d y so th a t a m eaningful com parison am ong different academ ic m ajors could be m ade. Since m ost T aiw anese stu d en ts stu d ied for advanced degrees, the universities selected w ere req u ired to be research-oriented w ith good reputations. Second, the targ et in stitu tio n s h ad to have m any T aiw anese stu d en ts enrolled, say 100 o r m ore. T hird, the stu d y h ad to include public as w ell as p riv ate universities. This w as because the discrepancy of educational costs b etw een public an d p riv ate institutions m ight h ave affected the stu d en ts' preferences to w a rd em ploym ent. T hree universities, nam ely the U n iv ersity of K ansas (KU), the State U niversity of N ew York at Buffalo (SUNYB), an d the U niversity of S outhern C alifornia (USC), w ere selected for the study. Each of th em m et th e above m en tio n ed criteria. They are large institutions w ith each 49 enrolling m ore th an 25,000 stu d en ts, offering diverse m ajors, a n d having good reputations. USC is a p riv ate institution in Los A ngeles w here m an y T aiw anese im m igrants reside. KU an d SUNYB are public institutions. KU is located in a sm all m id-W estern com m unity, w hile SUNYB is not far aw ay from the C anadian Border. The selection w as m ad e in p a rt to reflect geographical characteristics. Som e o u tstan d in g universities w ere excluded from th e stu d y for different reasons. For exam ple, the T aiw anese atten d an ce in each of the Ivy L eague universities w as not over 100. A t P u rd u e U niversity a n d G eorgia Tech, the T aiw anese stu d en ts p red o m in an tly m ajored in engineering. Several g reat state universities, th o u g h en ro llin g m any T aiw anese students, like M ichigan, Illinois an d W isconsin, w ere n o t selected because their educational costs w ere by no m eans less expensive th a n p riv ate ones for non-residents. Therefore, th e su rv ey sam ple h a d a total of 737 subjects, w hich included 121 from KU, 292 from SUNYB an d 324 from USC." The | m ailing lists of the subjects w ere obtained from the Office of International j S tu d en t a n d Scholar (OISS) of USC, Foreign S tudent Service of KU, and j the C hinese G rad u ate S tu d en t A ssociation of SUNYB respectively. " T here w ere 376 T aiw anese g rad u ate stu d en ts enrolled in USC in Spring, 1988. N evertheless, only 324 m ailing addresses w ere obtainable from OISS at the tim e of this survey. 50 1 In s tru m e n ta tio n A self-designed questionnaire w ith 28 questions, or 69 item s, w as u sed for the study. Q uestion 1 to 12 w ere aim ed to obtain inform ation ab o u t the stu d en ts' dem ographic data, m ajor, length of stay in the U.S., w orking experience and type of sponsorship. Q uestions 13,14, an d 28 tried to p ro b e the stu d en ts' attitudes on em igration. Q uestion 15 th ro u g h 27, largely revisions from a related stu d y in T aiw an (Liao & Lee, 1984), asked the stu d en ts' perceptions of job o p p o rtu n ities, incom e expectations, ideal ty pe of job, preferred organization to w ork for if they w ere to be em ployed in T aiw an o r in the U nited States. All the questions w ere designed for a com puter readable form . The questionnaire w as pre-tested twice. The first pre-test w as ad m in istered to 40 T aiw anese g rad u ate stu d en ts from th e U n ited States In tern atio n al U niversity (USIU) a t San D iego w ith the questionnaire h a n d w ritten in C hinese. This initial p re-test w as valuable for several reasons. It p o in ted o u t w hich of the item s sho u ld be m odified, w hich item s m ig h t be politically sensitive, and w hich item s seem ed irrelev an t for the study. Besides, the participants in this p re-test gave considerable help in identifying w ordings th at ten d ed to confuse th e subjects. Tw enty- seven stu d en ts (or 67.5%) actually com pleted an d retu rn e d this pre-test. A fter rev isin g an d translating the initial questionnaire into English, the second pre-test w as adm inistered to 35 T aiw anese g rad u ate 51 I stu d e n ts at W ashington U niversity at St. Louis. This p re-test led to the refinem ent of Q uestions 17, 23, an d 28. T w enty-nine stu d en ts (or 82.8%) | actually com pleted the pre-test. In conducting both pre-tests, the j q uestionnaires w ere delivered b y acquaintances of the researcher at both Î u n iv e rsitie s. | I : ■ The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 28 q uestions (or J I ' 69 item s) ro ughly in three parts. For better u n d erstan d in g , som e key I term s w ere subtitled in C hinese in the questionnaire. A s n o ted above, | , Q uestion 1 th ro u g h 12 p ertain ed to dem ographic data. T he subjects w ere I asked their m ajor, degree objective, sex, year of birth, m arital status, I j w o rk in g experience, length of residence in the U.S., h av in g o r n o t hav ing I o th er fam ily m em bers in the U.S., an d th e type of sponsorship. T he I stu d en ts' socio-econom ic statu s (SES) w as n o t asked because one can h a rd ly determ ine the studen ts' level of SES by ap p ly in g such categories as fam ily incom e, p aren ts' ed ucation or fathers' occupation. Besides, the ty p e of sponsorship m ay be a better indicator of em ploym ent orientation. The stu d en ts' attitu d es to w a rd em igration w as to be in ferred from Q uestions 13, 14, and 28. For m any overseas students, em igration is a v ery sensitive issue. It w o u ld be naive to inquire ab o u t the stu d en ts' in ten tio n to em igrate directly because m any unresolved factors are involved. To partly ad d ress this issue. Q uestion 13 w as orien ted instead to ask their decision for the country of em ploym ent: 52 Q 13: U p o n com pleting y our stu d y in the U nited States, h o w do you p lan y o u r future career? Please check one of the follow ing statem ents: 1. D ecide to be em ployed in U.S.A., an d the job has been a rran g ed 2. D ecide to be em ployed in U.S.A., b u t the job is not arran g ed 3. U ndecided, b u t prefer to be em ployed in U.S.A. 4. U ndecided, b u t prefer to be em ployed in T aiw an 5. D ecide to be em ployed in T aiw an, b u t the job is n ot a rran g ed 6. D ecide to be em ployed in T aiw an, a n d the job has been arran g ed M ainly because of its export-oriented econom y, T aiw an has becom e m ore intern atio n alized in recent years. The legal b arrier for em igration an d th e shrin k in g job m ark et in the U.S. m ay also cause th e stu d en ts to seek o th er countries for em ploym ent. Q uestion 14 tried to find o u t if the stu d en ts w o u ld th en consider m oving to o th er countries. Q 14. H ave you ever considered to be em ployed in countries other th an in T aiw an or in the U n ited States? 1. N ev er considered 2. C onsidered, b u t the chance is slim 3. Seriously considered, an d try to arrange 4. D ecid ed to b e e m p lo y ed i n __________________ (country nam e) Q uestion 28 consisted of five item s. The assum ptions for constructing this question were: students w h o w o u ld like to have their children ed u cated in the U.S., w ho have adjusted w ell and like the U.S. life style, w ho believe they have better chances for career success in the U.S., a n d w h o th in k their p aren ts w ould like them to stay in the U.S., are 53 m ore likely to em igrate. O btaining this type of inform ation w as indispensable if the stu d en ts' real intentions to em igrate w ere to be fou nd. The subjects w ere asked to respond to the follow ing statem ents on a 4-point scale. A gain, the 4-point scale, rather th an 5-point, w as m ad e in ten tio n ally to avoid n e u trality of choice. Q 28A: I w ould like to have m y children ed u cated in U.S.A. Q 28B: I have adjusted to the w ay of life in the U.S.A. very w ell Q 28C: I like the life style in U.S.A. m ore th an th a t in T aiw an Q 28D: I can achieve better in m y career if I stay in U.S.A. rath er th an re tu rn to T aiw an Q 28E: M y p arents w o u ld be h ap p ier if I stay in U.S.A. rath er th an re tu rn h o m e Q uestions 15 th ro u g h 27 w ere concerned w ith the stu d en ts' em p lo y m en t orientations. The questions allow ed the subjects to consider the em ploym ent situation in T aiw an an d in the U.S. Q uestion 15 p ro v id ed eight responses to be m ade in a Likert type scale ran g in g from th e m ost im p o rtan t to the least im portant. It w as assum ed th at fam ily expectations related to college studies, children's education, o p p o rtu n ity for fu rth e r research, en v iro n m en tal quality, incom e, feeling of achievem ent an d life style w ere key factors in influencing th e stu d en ts' decisions ab o u t the country of fu tu re em ploym ent. Q uestion 16 an d Q uestion 22 asked the stu d en ts' personal perceptions on job opportunities. Q uestion 17 an d Q uestion 23 each p ro v id ed fourteen categories from w hich tw o p referred organizations to w o rk for w ere to be chosen. It should be n o ted th at the response options 54 in Q uestion 17 and Q uestion 23 w ere n ot th e sam e because the econom ic stru ctu res in the tw o societies w ere different (see com plete questionnaire in A pp en d ix A). Q 17: If you retu rn to T aiw an, in w hich of the follow ing organizations w o u ld you choose to be em ployed? Please check TW O of th e item s p ro v id ed below . Q 23: If you stay in the U nited States, in w hich of the follow ing organizations w o u ld you choose to be em ployed? Please check TW O of th e item s p ro v id ed below . O n the other h an d , the subjects w ere asked to an sw er ab o u t their p referred type of w ork in Q uestion 18 and Q uestion 24. Q 21: If you retu rn to T aiw an, h o w m uch gross m o n th ly incom e do you anticipate to receive from y o u r job? (US$1.00=NT$28.00) Q 25: If y o u are em ployed in the U nited States, ho w m uch gross m onthly incom e d o you anticipate to receive from y o u r job? (US$1.00=NT$28.00) Q uestion 19 an d Q uestion 26 w ere also 5-point scale questions w ith seven options in each question. The subjects w ere asked to consider the relative im portance on incom e an d benefit, location of w ork, p restig e of o rg an izatio n , pro m o tio n o p p o rtu n ity , relatio n sh ip of jobs to u n iv ersity studies, job security, an d type of w ork before they accept or decline a job offering in T aiw an a n d /o r in th e U.S. The subjects w ere fu rth er asked to 55 ran k the relative im portance of the above m en tio n ed categories in Q uestion 20 an d Q uestion 27. D ata C ollection A total of 732 subjects from the above-m entioned in stitu tio n s w ere sen t questionnaires o n A pril 10,11, and 12 of 1988. O f this num b er, 324 w ere USC students, 292 w ere SUNYB students, an d 116 w ere KU students. A n in tro d u cto ry letter, w ritten in C hinese, and a stam ped, self-addressed envelope w ere enclosed in each m ailing. N o follow -up letters w ere sent to the subjects. A response of 382 or 52.10% w as yielded. Of the questionnaires com pleted a n d received, 298 or 40.7 percent w ere retu rn e d in less th an th ree w eeks. A nother 84 questionnaires w ere received by th e en d of M ay. T hose w ho d id n o t resp o n d included 44 persons w ho h a d m oved aw ay from their addresses, tw o w ho d id n o t fill in the q uestionnaire w ith the explanation th at since they h a d g rad u ated an d w ere em ployed, th ey felt th ey w ere no longer qualified to participate in the study. The response rate for each university investigated w as n o t sim ilar (see Table 3-1). The response of SUNYB, 131 or 44.9% w as th e low est am ong th e three. O ne reason for this low er retu rn rate w as th a t there w ere 29 un fo rw ard ab le addressees for SUNYB alone. The resp o n se of KU 56 w as over 70 percent because a telephone follow -up w as m ad e d u rin g the researcher’s visit to K ansas. The response of USC could h ave been better th an 50 percent if the ph o n e n um bers of the subjects h a d been available an d follow -ups by ph o n e h a d been m ade. The m oderate response rate could have been im p ro v ed considerably if follow -up letters h ad been sent to the subjects. Also, the tim ing w as n ot o p p o rtu n e for sending th e questionnaires. The subjects m ig h t h ave neglected it sim ply because it coincided w ith th eir final ex am in atio n s. TABLE 3-1 R esponse rate of the questionnaire by th ree institutions U SC SUNYB K U TOTAL Subjects 324 292 116 732 R esp o n se 171 (52.8%) 131 (44.9%) 82 (70.6%) 382 (52.1%) In v a lid R esp o n se 7 6 2 15 V alid 163 127 80 370 Q u e stio n n a ire (50.3%) (43.5%) (68.9%) (50.5%) Incorrect A ddress 16 29 4 49 57 D ata Processing an d Statistical A nalysis As earlier m entioned, all the item s in th e q u estio n n aire w ere d esigned in com puter-readable form . It took ab o u t tw o m o n th s for coding, follow ed by a double check. The data w ere en tered directly into an IBM com puter using the SPSS program . D escriptive statistics, p articu larly cross tabulations, w ere the m ain techniques u sed for d ata analysis. In addition, a C hi-square analysis w as m ad e for m ost tables to establish statistical significance. The average age of the subjects w as 27.3 years, ran g in g from 21 to 43 years. 247 (or 66.7%) of the 370 respondents w ere betw een 25 an d 30 years of age. 125 (or 33.8%) of the students w ere fem ale, a n d 149 (or 40.3%) of them w ere m arried. 59 (or 39.6%) of the m arried stu d en ts h a d children. The m ajority of the subjects w ere su p p o rted from p riv ate sources, w ith their p rim ary incom e from fam ily (45.4%), personal saving (9.2%) an d assistantships (32.4%). O nly 47 (or 12.7%) stu d en ts received scholarships from th e governm ent, a corporation or a university (see Table 3-2). As expected, the m ajor fields of the subjects w ere n o t evenly d istrib u ted across the n ine categories specified earlier. M ale stu d en ts w ere p red o m in an tly engineering or n atu ral sciences m ajors. H ow ever, the differences am ong the three institutions w ere rem arkable. Table 3-2 show s a detailed distribution b y m ajor fields. A detailed b reak d o w n of this code w as show n o n A ppendix B. 58 TABLE 3-2 Types of sponsorship by m ajor F am ily su p p o rt P erso n al sav in g A ssistan tsh ip I S ch o larsh ip (G o v e rn m e n t) i ' S ch o larsh ip (U niversity) S ch o larsh ip (C o rporation & F o u n d atio n O thers Total: A B C D E F G 65 7 33 7 15 13 23 10 1 5 4 3 2 7 65 26 7 1 8 8 3 2 10 0 0 4 5 2 0 0 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 H I TOTAL 2 3 168 0 0 7 1 0 0 161 44 43 15 35 22 32 14 N ote: A = E ngineering B = N a tu ra l Sciences C = B usiness D = H u m an ity 32 I 1 120 ; 13 I j 26 8 2 369 F = A rchitecture & A rts G = E ducation H = M edicine & Pharm acology I = Law & D entistry 59 TABLE 3-3 D istrib u tio n of m ajors at th e th ree in stitu tio n s USC SU N Y B K U TOTAL 1. E ngineering 324 292 116 732 2. N atu ral 20 17 7 44 Sciences 3. B usiness 6 31 6 43 4. H u m an ity 2 3 10 15 5. Social Sciences 11 16 8 35 6. Fine & A p p lied A rt 10 5 7 22 7. E ducation 11 3 18 32 8. M edicine & 2 9 3 14 P harm aceutical Sciences 9. Law & D entistry 3 0 0 3 163 127 80 370 44.1% 34.3% 21.6% 100% A s to degree objective, 167 subjects or 45.3% w ere in doctoral program s, an d 196 subjects, or 52.9%, w ere in m aster's program s. O nly 6 stu d en ts w ere enrolled in post-doctorate or o th er non-degree program s (Table 3-4). 60 TABLE 3-4 D istribution of degree objectives at the three in stitu tio n s M aster Ph.D . P ost D octorate O th ers USC 70 89 1 0 163 SU N Y B 72 53 2 3 127 K U 54 25 0 1 80 TO TA L 196 167 3 4 370 M ethodological L im itations A lth o u g h the th ree in stitutions selected for this rep re se n t d ifferen t | educational costs an d geographical characteristics, it w as still difficult to kn o w h o w far one m ight safely generalize from th e results. It w o u ld have been desirable to carry o u t the stu d y at som e institutions w ith few er th an 100 T aiw anese students. The stu d y also suffered the general w eakness of survey research co n d u cted by m ail: one cannot be certain if the n o n -resp o n d en ts in the p o p u latio n differed significantly from th e resp o n d en ts in any w ay w hich 61 m ig h t have biased the results. In addition, since th e stu d y w as conducted I in 1988, one cannot w ith any certainty claim th at the results ob tain ed are I still tru e of the situation as it stan d s today. This stu d y has n o t included th e socio-econom ic status (SES) of the 1 I stu d en ts as a variable. A lthough it w as assum ed th a t overseas stu d en ts w ere generally well-off, the fam ily backgrounds of these stu d en ts w ere ] still diverse. For instance, w h a t percentage of the stu d en ts' p aren ts I received higher education? Do students' ranking of p referred types of e m p lo y m en t v ary w ith th eir father's occupation? D o stu d e n ts of high incom e fam ilies expect h ig h er incom e th an o th er stu d en ts? A n d so on. 1 62 I CHAPTER IV FINDINGS: RESULTS O F STUDY As p rev io u sly indicated, th e o rien tatio n to w a rd em p lo y m en t involves th e stu d en ts' perso nal perceptions of job o p p o rtu n ities, the o p tio n for em igration, th e expectations of incom e, types of job, o rganization to w o rk for and o th er factors w hich directly relate to em p lo y m en t such as location, prestige, job security an d o p p o rtu n ities for p ro m o tio n . F u rth erm o re, these in term in g lin g elem ents m u st be com pared in the contexts of T aiw an a n d the U nited States. In this chapter, the findings are presented in detail to reveal (1) the stu d en ts' p ersonal perceptions about job o p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an an d in the U.S., (2) the optio n s of em igration or retu rn , (3) priorities to be considered for em p lo y m en t in T aiw an, a n d (4) priorities to be considered for em ploym ent in the U.S. The analysis of results w ill lead to a d etailed discussion an d exam ination of hypotheses in the next chapter. T he S tu d en ts' P ersonal P erceptions ab o u t lob O p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an a n d in the U n ited States The d a ta show ed th at th ere w as n o significant difference betw een sexes, degree objectives, a n d age groups on the stu d en ts' perceptions of job o p p o rtu n ities. H ow ever, they d id reveal som e variations related to fields of study. In general, the overseas stu d en ts are very optim istic ab o u t 63 their job o p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an regardless of th eir m ajors. O ver 80 p ercen t of the stu d en ts in the fields of engineering (80.3%), business (90.7%), education (90.6%), an d law an d d en tistry (80.3%) said it w o u ld be easy o r v ery easy to get a job w hich w as related to their academ ic studies. E ven stu d en ts in the hum an ities (73.3%) an d the social sciences (64.7%) felt confident about obtaining a suitable job in T aiw an. In contrast, only 52 (or 14.2%) of the 366 respondents felt it w ould be very easy to get a job w hich w as related to their studies if th ey w ere em ployed in the U nited States. A lthough 165 or 45.1% of the resp o n d en ts still th o u g h t it w o u ld be easy to get such a job, th ey w ere concentrated in th e fields of engin eering (70.2%), n atu ral sciences (77.3%) an d m edicine an d pharm aceutical sciences (85.5%). S tudents in education (15.7%) an d the hum anities (7%) w ere p articu larly pessim istic ab o u t their job o p p o rtu n ities in the U nited States. Figure 4-1 show ed th at the discrepancies betw een job o p p o rtu n ities in both countries w ere p articu larly sharp for stu d en ts of business, hum anities, social sciences, architecture a n d arts, a n d education. Factors w hich Affect th e S tudents' D ecisions to be E m ployed in T aiw an or in the U n ited States In the study, eight ratin g factors w ere listed for the stu d en ts to indicate the relative im portance of each factor affecting their decision to be em ployed in T aiw an or the U nited States. Those factors w ere expectation of fam ily, relation of job to study, children's education. 64 i I S I I I iri CO o c r > I I X o N c 3 o\ o CO g R o (€) AiisiiudQ 3 ÿ MBl (fl) S P P H pa^Biay -aupipap>i (Z£) uot^^3np3 (I Z) SUV ^ 9jn:^33:^iq3jy (se) saDuaps IBpos (SI) X^iuBuinH (£f) ssauisng (ff) saauaps (191) SuuaauiSug aSe^uaajaj 65 o p p o rtu n ity for fu rth er research, en v iro n m en tal quality, incom e, feeling of achievem ent, and life style. Little difference w as fo u n d am ong age g ro u p s, degree objectives and m ajors in ratin g these factors. H ow ever, there w ere som e interesting differences betw een sexes. For exam ple, m ale stu d e n ts w ere m ore concerned ab o u t incom e th an fem ale students. 35.2% of th e m ale students, b u t only 28.9% of the fem ale stu d e n ts th o u g h t incom e to be an im p o rtan t factor. 29.1% of the m ale stu d en ts rate ch ild ren ’s ed u catio n as very im p o rtan t, com pared to 25% for th e fem ale stu d en ts. This m ay have been because m ore m ale stu d en ts w ere m arried , an d h a d children. It seem s th a t m ale a n d fem ale stu d en ts alike w ere q uite indifferent to the expectations of th eir fam ilies reg ard in g their decisions ab o u t em ploym ent in T aiw an or in th e U n ited States. 32.4% of the m ale resp o n d en ts, an d 27.8% of the fem ale resp o n d en ts felt th a t th e factor w as ju st slightly im portant. Jobs related to studies, feeling of achievem ent, and life style w ere rated h ig h on th e scale for b o th sexes (see Table 4-1). S tudents w h o h ad no (70.3%) or less th an one year (61.6%) of w o rk in g experience in T aiw an w ere inclined to seek em p lo y m en t in th e U n ited States, com pared to those w h o h a d longer w o rk in g experience (49.1%). L ength of stay in the U.S. w as also related to the likelihood of seeking a job in the host country. 83, or 76.1 percent of the 109 resp o n d en ts w h o h a d stayed in the U.S. for m ore th a n fo u r years, com pared to 132 or 51.2 percent of the 258 respondents w ho h a d stayed for 66 TABLE 4-1 Sexual difference on factors w hich affect the stu d en ts' decision to be em ployed in T aiw an or in the U n ited States N = 369 M = 243 F = 126 overall n (%) m ale n (%) fem ale n (%) Expectation (4) 114 (30.6%) (4) 79 (32.4%) (3) 41 (32%) of family (3) 113 (30.4%) (3) 72 (29.5%) (4) 35 (27.8%) Related to (2) 164 (44.1%) (2) 107 (43.9%) (2) 57 (44.5%) study (1) 102 (29%) (1) 74 (30.3%) (1) 34 (26.6%) Children's (3) 105 (28.2%) (2) 71 (29.1%) (3) 39 (30.5%) education (2) 97 (26.1%) (3) 66 (27%) (4) 32 (25%) Research (2) 122 (32.8%) (2) 82 (33.6%) (2) 40 (31.3%) opportunity (3) 98 (26.3%) (3) 66 (27%) (3) 32 (25%) Environmental (2) 137 (36.8%) (2) 83 (34%) (2) 54 (42.1%) quality (3) 106 (28.5%) (3) 74 (30.3%) (3) 32 (25%) Income (3) 124 (33.3%) (2) 86 (35.2%) (3) 46 (35.9%) (2) 122 (32.8%) (3) 78 (32%) (2) 36 (28.9%) Feeling of (2) 125 (33.6%) (2) 86 (35.2%) (1) 43 (33.5%) Achievement (1) 120 (32.3%). (1) 77 (31.6%) (2) 39 (30.5%) Life (2) 129 (34.7%) (2) 83 (34%) (2) 46 (35.9%) style (1) 93 (25%) (1) 59 (24.2%) (1) 34 (26.5%) N ote: (1) = extrem ely im p o rtan t (2) = very im p o rtan t (3) = im p o rtan t (4) = slightly im p o rtan t (5) = n o t im p o rtan t 67 a shorter period, w ere a p t to seek jobs in th e U nited States. A ge w as n egatively correlated to the intention to seek em p lo y m en t in the U.S. 8, or 42.1 percent, of the 19 subjects over 35 years old preferred to have a job in the U.S., com pared to 56.6% of those betw een 31 an d 35 years old, 59.6% for those betw een 26 and 30 years old, an d 64.3% of those u n d e r 25 years old. T he S tu d en ts' Intention to Seek E m ploym ent in C ountries o th er th an T aiw an an d the U n ited States W ith th eir living a n d stu d y in g experience abroad, it is reasonable to assum e th at m an y students m ay o p t for overseas em p lo y m en t in countries o th er th an the U nited States. The increasing in tern atio n alism of T aiw an's econom y is likely to enhance this tren d also. N evertheless, the stu d y fo und th at only 4, or 1.1 percent, of the 369 resp o n d en ts expressed interest in being em ployed in Japan or o th er nations an d only 29, o r 7.9 percent, of them have every seriously considered this option. O ver 90% of th e respondents either never considered (205 o r 55.6%) or th o u g h t the chance w as slim (131 o r 35.1%) to be em ployed in o th er nations. Even w ith the geographical closeness to C anada, the stu d e n ts at SUNYB show ed no difference from those at USC and KU on this m atter. The stu d y also fo u n d th at there w as no significant difference in sex, age, m ajor, len g th of stay in th e U nited States o r m arital status on the stu d e n ts' in ten tio n s for em p lo y m en t in o th er countries. 68 1 The S tudents' D ecision a n d Preference to be E m ployed in T aiw an or in the U nited States W ho w ere m ore likely to seek em ploym ent in th e U n ited States? T he d ata show ed th at nearly half (49.3%) of the 367 resp o n d en ts w ere u n d ecid ed about the country in w hich they w o u ld prefer to be em ployed. O nly 45, or 12.2 percent, of the subjects h a d decided and arran g ed for jobs in T aiw an (5.4%) or in the U nited States (6.8%). H ow ever, it ap p eared th a t students w ere m ore certain th at it w o u ld be preferable to be em ployed in th e U n ited States (58.5%) th an in T aiw an (41.5%). S tudents w h o w ere in Ph.D. o r post-doctoral program s (61.6%), m arried (63.7%) an d h a d no children (68.3%) m ore often ten d e d to decide o r prefer a job in th e U nited States th an those w ho w ere in m aster's p ro g ram s (56.2%), u n m arried (55.6%) or h a d one or m ore children (52.5%). A lso, stu d en ts w ho w ere th irty years of age o r older (48.5%) w ere less likely to seek em p lo y m en t in the U n ited States th an other age g ro u p s (see Table 4-2). The su rv ey also fo u n d th a t USC stu d en ts (66.6%) w ere m ore likely to o p t for em ploym ent in the U nited States th an stu d e n ts of SUNYB (56.7%) or KU (46.3%). This phen o m en o n can contribute to geographical factors an d the fact th at ÜSC stu d en ts p red o m in an tly m ajored in engineering and n atu ral sciences w ith h ig h er percentages of stu d en ts stu d y in g for Ph.D. degrees (refer to Table 3-2, 3-3). I 1 0 C A Z 2 1 C Ü " S II ^ 2 « §1 It r I I Ï C A < U ( Ü H Pi M Q U PQ C N m T f oo % m % CO Q a .Ë l l CN & CO CN 00 R tN CO o \ CO CN R 5 o \ CN $ V O CO m CN R m O n O V O V VO 73 Q J I 1 z I I (Ü (Ü I C D I § R ir > VO Ov O v s a CO 5 ° o VO ( U II 69 . 0» ' S l u 70 The S tudents' L ength of Stay in the U n ited States an d Som e of T heir A ttitu d es R elated to E m igration M yers (1972) fo und th at the longer an in d iv id u al rem ain ed as a stu d e n t in the U nited States, the m ore a p t he or she w o u ld be to rem ain perm an ently. In other w ord s, the students' length of stay, o r years of residence, in the U.S. w ere positively related to em igration. In the p resen t stu d y , em igration is considered an integral p a rt of orientation to w a rd em ploym ent. The stu d en ts w o u ld consider th eir children's education, life ad ju stm en t issue, preference of life style, prospect of career achievem ent a n d th eir p aren ts' a ttitu d es w h en seeking e m p lo y m en t at hom e o r abroad. The stu d y u sed a 4-point scale to m easure these attitudes. If the m ean in each category w as larger th an 2.5, the subjects w ere m ore likely to seek their fortune in the U n ited States. The stu d y fo u n d th a t 213, o r 58.4 percent, of the subjects w o u ld like to have their children ed u cated in the U.S. (Xa=2.58). 256, or 69.8 percent, of the subjects said th ey have adjusted w ell to the w ay of life in the U.S. (Xb=2.78). H ow ever, the subjects appreciated the life style in T aiw an slightly m ore (Xc=2.48); 217, o r 59.4 percent, of the subjects th o u g h t they could achieve b etter in their careers in T aiw an (Xd=2.34). A n d finally, 230, or 63.4 percent, of them said it w o u ld please their p aren ts if they chose to re tu rn (Xe=2.24). 71 The p resen t stu d y su p p o rte d M yers' finding. The subjects w ere inclined to appreciate m ore A m erican ed ucation for th eir children (58.4%) regardless of their length of stay in the U n ited States. T hose w h o stayed in the U nited States for over th ree years (83.2%) felt th a t th ey h a d a d ju sted to the A m erican w ay of life m uch b etter th an those w h o only stay ed a short tim e (64.2%). Besides, of the form er 59.4% ap p ea re d to appreciate the A m erican life style m ore th an the latter (42.1%). 217, or 59.4 percent, of the subjects believed they could achieve a b etter career if th ey retu rn e d to Taiw an; this w as especially so for those w h o h a d stayed in the U.S. less th an three years (62.6%), as com pared to those w h o h a d stayed longer (51.9%). O nly 133, or 36.7 percent, of the subjects th o u g h t th eir p aren ts w o u ld be h a p p y if they stayed in the U nited States rath er th an return. 26, or 7.2 percent, of the subjects agree highly b u t 62, or 17.1 percent, of them "disagree strongly" ab o u t th a t statem ent (see F igure 4-2). T he d a ta revealed th a t stu d en ts w h o h a d o th er fam ily m em bers resid in g in th e U n ited States h eld m ore positive attitu d es in each of the five categories related to em igration th an those w h o d o n 't have any fam ily m em ber living in th e U n ited States. Figure 4-3 show ed th a t th e differences betw een these tw o g ro u p s w ere p articularly sh arp in their p ercep tio n s of career achievem ent an d their p aren ts' a ttitu d es to w a rd th eir stay in the U nited States. The stu d y also found th a t m arried stu d en ts (64.6%) p referred A m erican ed ucation m ore for th eir children th a n u n m a rrie d ones (54.9%). For those w h o w ere m arried, th ere w as no difference in this 72 FIGURE 4-2 The percentage of positive attitu d es to staying in th e U nited States as related to the stu d e n ts’ years of residence in th e U.S. C h ild re n ’s E d ucation Life A d ju stm e n t Life Style A c h ie v e m e n t P a re n t’s A ttitu d e 59.7 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 5 5.1 64.2 42.1 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 5 9.4 37.4 36.3 I I 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 = students who have stayed in the U.S. less than 3 years / / / / / / = students who have stayed in the U.S. for 3 years or longer 73 FIGURE 4-3 The percentage of positive a ttitu d es to staying in th e U n ited States as related to the stu d e n ts' fam ily m em bers in th e U.S. C h ild re n 's E d u catio n Life A d ju s tm e n t Life Style A c h ie v e m e n t P a re n t’s A ttitu d e 62.7 / / / / / / / / / / / / / Z/ / / / / / / / / / / //5 4 7 51.3 49.3 43.9 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 3 Q2 I I I I 76.7 I ! 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 - students who have other family members living in the U.S. / / / / / / = students who don’ t have other family members living in the U.S. 74 category w h eth er they h a d (63%) or did n o t h ave children (63%). A ge w as n o t an im p o rtan t indicator of the a ttitu d e related to c h ild ren ’s education, life adju stm en t, an d preference of life style. H ow ever, th e percep tio n of career achievem ent in the U.S. for those w h o w ere over th irty years of age (27.7%) w as m uch low er th an those w h o w ere y o u n g er (43.3%). C learly th e stu d e n ts’ p aren ts w o u ld be u n h a p p y if they chose to stay in the U.S. This w as particularly tru e for stu d en ts over th irty years of age (27.3%). T he S tu d en ts’ D egree O bjectives. M ajors, T ypes of S ponsorships a n d T heir Incom e E xpectations for E m ploym ent in T aiw an an d in th e U nited States O n average, the expectations of m o n th ly incom e for the subjects w ere NT$37,800 in T aiw an a n d US$2,950 m o n th ly in the U n ited States (US$1=NT$28 at the tim e of this survey). T he stu d y fo u n d th a t incom e expectation w as highly related to degree objective w h eth er the stu d en ts choose to re tu rn to T aiw an or rem ain in the U nited States. For exam ple, 93, or 56.8 percent, of the 169 doctoral students, including 3 p ost doctorates, expected to receive m ore th an NT$40,000 m o n th ly if th ey w ere em ployed in T aiw an, com pared to only 30, or 15.4 percent, of the 195 m aste r’s stu d en ts w ho expected to receive the sam e incom e. O n the oth er h a n d , only 3 doctoral stu d en ts expected to receive less th an 75 NT$30,000 m onthly, w hereas 54, o r 27.9 percent, of the m aste r’s stu d e n ts expected to receive this am o u n t (see Table 4-3). The differential of incom e expectations b etw een the tw o degree objectives ap p eared even g reater if th e subjects anticipated w o rk in g in the U n ited States. For exam ple, 107, o r 62.9 percent, of the 170 doctoral stu d e n ts expected to receive m ore th an US$3,200 dollars, com pared to 20, o r 10.4 percent, of the 193 m aster’ s stu d en ts w ho expected th e sam e m o n th ly incom e. O n the o th er h an d , 104, or 53.9 percent, of th e m aste r’s stu d e n ts expected m onthly incom es of US$2,400 or less, w hereas only 21, or 12.7 percent, of the doctoral stu d en ts expected the sam e a m o u n t (see Table 4-4). O verall, 128, or 34.7 percent, of the resp o n d en ts expected to receive m ore th a n NT$40,000 if they w ere em ployed in T aiw an. H ow ever, the differences in m ajors w ere obvious. O nly law an d d en tistry (100%) an d engineering (47.8%) m ajors h av e exceeded the said percentage. N o stu d en ts of hum anities (0%) a n d only a few of the social sciences (11.4%) expected an incom e th a t high. A sim ilar p a ttern w as fo u n d in considering em ploym ent in the U nited States. O n average, 128, o r 34.9 percent, of the resp o n d en ts expected to receive m ore th en US$3,200. H o w ev er, only stu d en ts of law a n d d en tistry (100%), m edicine-related fields (68.6%), an d engineering (53.8%) expected th at incom e. N a tu ra l science m ajors (31.8%) w ere low er b u t close to this percentage. Incom e expectations rem ain ed m uch th e sam e for stu d en ts of h u m an ities (0%) an d social sciences (14.3%). It is im p o rtan t to note th at only 2 stu d en ts o o I o T — I m o 00 T 3 T 3 O 8 N T — I I I C N T — I T 3 T 3 I S S N O r-H T 3 S in C M I en CN r-H 2 T — I m CN CN r 77 S o oo D h § - 4 ^ I o r O § g 5 00 < N m co CN 00 cn" CN CN I CN IN o 6 00 I a CD o\ CN CN I § O ' 78 I (6.4%) in education and no stu d en ts in arts a n d architecture expected high I incom es if em p lo y ed in the U n ited States, b u t 28% of stu d e n ts in education an d 28.6% in arts and architecture expected high incom es if em ployed in T aiw an (see Tables 4-5, 4-6). W ith reg ard to the types of sponsorships, the 368 resp o n d en ts included 199, or 54.1 percent, of stu d en ts sp onsored b y personal funds, 120, or 32.6 percent, held assistantships, a n d 49, o r 13.3 percent, received v ario u s scholarships from g o v ernm ents, fo u n d atio n s, co rp o ratio n s an d universities. The stu d y fo u n d th at only 41, o r 20.6 percent, of personal sp o n so red stu d e n ts expected to receive m ore th a n NT$40,000 m onthly incom e for em ploym ent in T aiw an, com pared to 63, o r 52.5 percent, for those w h o w ere teaching assistants (TAs) or research assistants (RAs), and 24, o r 13.3 percent for those w h o h a d received scholarships. The sam e p a tte rn existed for those considering em p lo y m en t in the U n ited States. O nly 35, o r 17.6 percent, of self-sponsored stu d en ts expected to receive m ore th an US$3,200 m onthly incom e, com pared w ith 71 or 59.6 p ercent of those TAs a n d RAs, an d 23, or 47.9 percent, for those scholarship h o ld ers. m CM C N CM T f iO r-H CM < N < N CM m I S s « < N CO CO CO b O o CM l-H o < N < N 00 00 L O I I m o CO 00 o 00 r-H O S O CO u o o < N < N CM CO o I I U H 8 8 m m m CO I o 0 Ô Ou, I b O CO I CO o CO N CO o m CO CO CO § R CO g C 3 S CO CO T 3 \o 00 o LO C 3 S m 00 < N C M CO § 00 m I m m 81 The D ifference of Incom e E xpectations A m ong the S tudents from the T hree U n iv ersities The stu d y fo u n d th at USC stu d en ts in general h a d higher incom e expectations th an stu d en ts from KU a n d SUNYB. C o nsidering possible / em ploym ent in T aiw an, 36, or 45 percent, of KU stu d e n ts expected a m onthly incom e u n d e r NT$30,000, com pared to 30, o r 23.6 percent, for SUNYB students, an d just 29, or 17.8 percent, for USC students. O n the o ther h an d , 74, o r 45.5 percent, of USC stu d en ts expected an incom e over NT$40,000, b u t only 38, or 29.9 percent, of SUNYB stu d en ts, a n d 16, or 20 percent, of KU stu d e n ts expected th at am ount. The difference of incom e expectations am o n g th e stu d e n ts from the three universities actually existed in v ario u s fields. For exam ple, 66.2 p ercen t of USC en g in eerin g stu d en ts expected h ig h incom es, over NT$40,000, com pared to 55.3 percent an d 43.8 percent of their counterparts from SUNYB an d KU. In contrast, 21, or 58.3 percent, of 36 KU stu d en ts an d 12, o r 54.4 percent, of 22 SUNYB stu d e n ts m ajoring in the hum anities, social sciences a n d education expected low er incom es, u n d e r NT$30,000, com pared to 7, or 25.8 percent, of 24 such stu d en ts from USC. A sim ilar p a tte rn w as fo u n d considering th e em p lo y m en t in the U n ited States. For exam ple, 76, or 46.6 percent, of USC stu d en ts expected m ore th an US$3,200 m o n th ly incom e if they w ere em p lo y ed in the 82 U n ited States, b u t only 31, or 24.4 percent, of SUNYB stu d en ts a n d 17, or 21.4 percent, of KU stu d en ts expected th at am ount. The S tudents' D egree O bjectives, M ajors, A ges. Sex a n d T heir P referred T ypes of W ork in T aiw an a n d in the U n ited States The stu d y found th at doctoral stu d e n ts p red o m in an tly p referred a job related to academ ic research a n d experim entation (64.1%) follow ed by teaching (17.9%) if they w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an; the d istrib u tio n w as v ery u n ev en w ith only 32 subjects scattered over tw elve o th er categories. The p refe rred types of jobs for m aster's stu d en ts w ere m ore evenly d istrib u te d in business (21.9%), academ ic research (21.4%), teaching (20.9%), a n d m an u factu rin g (8.1%). T he choice rem ain ed basically the sam e for doctoral stu d en ts if they w ere to be em ployed in the U n ited States w ith 111, o r 66.5 percent, of them interested in a job related to academ ic research a n d experim entation. M aster's stu d en ts w ere in terested in a job related to research (22.4%), business (20.4%), m an u factu rin g (12.2%), other professional p ractitio n er tasks (7.2%), a n d architecture an d arts (7.2%). O n the w hole, the stu d en ts w ere quite consistent in th eir choices w h eth er th ey w ere to be em p lo y ed in T aiw an o r in th e U n ited States. The d a ta show ed th at 40.5 p ercen t of the stu d en ts w o u ld choose a job doing research if they w ere em ployed in T aiw an. It w as p articu larly tru e for stu d e n ts of engineering (56.8%) an d n a tu ra l sciences (61.4%). 83 S tudents of ed u catio n p referred teaching jobs (71.7%) w hile stu d en ts of business chose business ad m in istratio n an d m an ag em en t (74.4%). S tudents of social sciences w ere interested in research (31.4%) or teaching (28.6%). It is in terestin g to note th a t only a low percentage (12.3%) of engineering stu d en ts w a n ted a job related to m an u factu rin g . O nly 10.5 percent of the resp o n d en ts preferred a teaching job if they w ere to be em ployed in th e U nited States, com pared to 19.2 p ercen t if they w ere em ployed in T aiw an. M ore stu d en ts in n a tu ra l sciences (75%) an d social sciences (40%) w o u ld prefer a job of doing research an d experim entation, b u t few er stu d en ts of education so u g h t teaching (53.1 %) in the U nited States. The percentage of engineering stu d e n ts w h o w o u ld prefer a job in m an u factu rin g w as h ig h er (17.3%) in th e U n ited States th an in T aiw an (12.3%). Except for stu d en ts of business, only a sm all p o rtio n of th e resp o n d en ts w ere in terested in business a d m in istratio n an d m an ag em en t in T aiw an (.7%) o r in the U n ited States (5.4%). N o significant difference w as fo u n d betw een age a n d p referred type of job. In contrast, m ore fem ale stu d en ts liked teaching th an m ale students. 34, o r 31.9%, of 119 fem ale stu d en ts w o u ld pick teaching as their first choice if they w ere em ployed in T aiw an, com pared to 33, o r 13.8 percent, of 239 m ale stu d en ts. O n the o th er h an d , m ale stu d en ts (48.7%)j w a n ted jobs related to research an d experim entation w h en co m p ared w ith fem ale stu d en ts (29.4%). The job preferences for b o th sexes rem ain ed largely th e sam e if they w ere to be em p lo y ed in the U nited States. 84 The S tudents' D egree O bjectives. M ajors. Sex, A ges, an d their P referred E m ploym ent O rganization in T aiw an a n d in th e U n ited States T he su rv ey allow ed th e stu d en ts to choose tw o o u t of fifteen I o rg an izatio n s for p referred em ploym ent. The d a ta revealed th a t the I stu d e n ts o v erw h elm in g ly favored jobs in u n iv ersities o r in d e p e n d e n t colleges (197 or 53.2%), an d research institutions (156 o r 42.5%), follow ed b y a d m in istrativ e positions in g o v ern m en t (64 or 17.3%), tran sn atio n a l corporations (57 o r 15.4%), big dom estic corporations, (47 o r 12.7%), self- em p lo y ed businesses (46 or 12.4%), a n d in the in d u strial sector of g o v ern m en t (42 o r 11.4%) if they w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an. O n th e other h a n d , th e p referred em ploym ent organizations w ere concentrated on big corporations (177 or 47.8%), universities (137 or 37.0%), sm all o r m ed iu m com panies (125 o r 33.7%) an d no n -u n iv ersity research institutions (101 or 27.3%) if th e stu d en ts w ere em ployed in th e U nited States. Few er stu d e n ts w o u ld h ave personal businesses (31 o r 8.4%) or w ork for g o v ern m en t (23 o r 6.2%) if they w ere em ployed in the U nited States. M aster's stu d en ts differed from doctoral o r post-doctoral stu d en ts on their p referred em ploym ent organizations. For exam ple, 128, or 75.3 percent, of the 170 doctoral stu d en ts w o u ld prefer to w ork for universities, a n d 106, o r 62.3 percent of them , w o u ld prefer to w o rk for research institutions, com pared to 69, or 35.2 percent, of the 196 m asters stu d en ts, a n d 50, or 25.5 percent, of them w o u ld prefer to w o rk for 85 universities a n d research in stitu tio n s respectively if th ey w ere em ployed in T aiw an. It m ay be because of their qualifications, b u t m ore m aster's stu d en ts w o u ld w o rk for technical colleges th an w o u ld doctoral students. T he n u m b ers of m aster's stu d en ts w h o w o u ld w o rk for tran sn atio n al corporations, b ig dom estic corporations, sm all or m ed iu m com panies, an d in personal businesses w ere 45, 33, 36, a n d 36 respectively, b u t only 34 doctoral stu d e n ts w o u ld w o rk for any of these o rg an izatio n s in T aiw an. E m ploym ent in th e ad m in istrativ e an d th e in d u stria l sectors of T aiw anese G o v ern m en t w as m ore attractive for m aster's stu d e n ts (30.1%) th an for doctoral stu d en ts (27.0%). In contrast, em p lo y m en t by th e U.S. G o v ern m en t w as u n attractiv e for either m aster's stu d e n ts (10.1%) or doctoral stu d e n ts (5.2%). D octoral stu d e n ts w o u ld like to w o rk for universities (55.9%), research in stitu tio n s (43.5%) an d big corporations (43.5%), w hile m aster's stu d e n ts w o u ld w ork for big corporations (52.0%) an d sm all or m ed iu m com panies (47,4%) if th ey w ere em p lo y ed in the U nited States. Except for stu d e n ts in law an d d en tistry (0%) a n d in business (20.9%), m ore th an half of the stu d en ts m ajoring in en g in eerin g (50%), h u m an ities (60%), social sciences (60.0%), architecture a n d arts (63.6%), n a tu ra l sciences (68.2%), edu cation (68.7%) a n d m edicine-related fields (78.6%) w o u ld like to w o rk for universities if th ey w ere em ployed in T aiw an. R esearch in stitu tio n s w ere attractive on ly for stu d e n ts of engineering (54.9%), m edicine-related fields (50.0%) a n d n a tu ra l sciences 86 (75.0%). S tudents of business (62.8%) picked tran sn atio n al corporations as their m ost desirable em ployer. O nly stu d en ts in th e social sciences (40.0%) w o u ld like to be recruited b y the G overnm ent of T aiw an. Few stu d en ts w o u ld choose to w o rk for the U.S. G overnm ent regardless of their m ajors. O nly stu d en ts of n atu ral sciences (70.5%), h u m an ities (53.5%), an d social sciences (51.4%) w ere inclined to favor em p lo y m en t on A m erican cam puses. 32.7 p ercent of th e 162 engineering stu d en ts w o u ld like to be em ployed by any university in th e U n ited States, com pared to 34.5 percent by research institutions, 41.9 p ercen t by sm all or m ed iu m com panies, an d 67.3 p ercen t b y big corporations. 68.7 p ercen t of the 32 stu d en ts of ed ucation w o u ld w ork for A m erican schools at vario u s levels. S tudents of business strongly favored a job in a big co rporation (82.7%) an d a sm all or m ed iu m com pany (72.1%). A ge d id n 't ap p ear as a significant variable in influencing the stu d e n ts' preferences of em p lo y m en t organizations in T aiw an or in the U n ited States. H ow ever, th ere w ere som e sexual differences in p referred organizations w ith w hich to w ork. In general, m ale stu d e n ts (53.2%) an d fem ale stu d en ts (54.2%), equally indicated a desire to w o rk for a u n iv ersity in T aiw an, b u t the form er (47.5%) expressed a stro n g er preference to w o rk for research in stitu tio n s th an d id the latter (33.3%). In ad d itio n , fem ale stu d en ts (23.3%) w ere less interested in ru n n in g p erso n al businesses or tak in g jobs in various types of corporations th an m ale stu d en ts (56.5%). In short, th ey w o u ld prefer to be em p lo y ed b y the public sector in T aiw an. The preference to w ork for A m erican 87 u niversities w as quite sim ilar for m ale (37.3%) a n d fem ale stu d e n ts (35.8%). Fem ale stu d e n ts (33.3%) show ed som e in terest in being em ploy ed by colleges, high schools or elem entary schools in the U n ited States, b u t only a few m ale stu d en ts (2.5%) chose such in stitu tio n s for em ploym ent. M ale stu d en ts w o u ld like to be recru ited by big corporations (57.3%), sm all or m ed iu m com panies (37.3%) a n d research in stitu tio n s (31.1%) in th e U n ited States. O n th e o th er h an d , the interests expressed by fem ale stu d e n ts in w orking for the sam e o rganizations w ere only 29.2%, 27.5% a n d 25% respectively. Sex, M ajors a n d the D ifference of Tob Preferences in T aiw an a n d in the U nited States Sanyal (1987) classified job preference into th ree categories w hich related to professional qualification, m aterial rew ard s, an d geographical location of job. Liao a n d Lee (1984) p ro v id ed seven categories w hich m ake a job satisfactory, nam ely: job related to stu d y , stability an d security on th e job, o p p o rtu n ity for prom otion, ad eq u acy of location, incom e an d fringe benefits, p restig e of em ploying organization, an d "others." The p resen t stu d y also p ro p o sed seven categories sim ilar to those of Liao an d Lee by ad d in g "type of w ork" to replace "others." This stu d y fo u n d th at m ale an d fem ale stu d e n ts h a d different ran k in g s on job preferences w h eth er th ey w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an or in th e U nited States. By giving the first preference 7 p o in ts a n d th e seventh 88 preference 1 p o in t, m ultiplying th e n u m b er of each category, a n d a d d in g them u p , a cum ulative n u m b er w as y ield ed for com paring the w eights for each preference. The d a ta revealed th at m ale stu d en ts ran k ed "job related to study" (1,152), "incom e an d benefits" (1,151), an d "type of w ork" (1,113) as their first three preferences. Fem ale stu d en ts also highly ran k ed these th ree categories yet in different order: "type of w ork" (589) w as follow ed b y "job related to study" (574), a n d "incom e an d benefits" (555). Both sexes listed "location" a n d "prestige of em ploying organization" as th e least im p o rtan t if they w ere em p loyed in T aiw an (see F igure 4-4). M ale stu d en ts (1,264) and fem ale stu d en ts (599) b o th ran k ed "incom e a n d benefits" as their n u m b er one preference if they w ere em p lo y ed in the U nited States. "Job related to study" w as the second consideration for m ale stu d en ts (1,198), b u t it w as only ran k ed fo u rth by fem ale stu d e n ts (519). "Type of w ork" w as also an im p o rtan t consideration for both sexes, a n d w as ran k ed th ird a n d second by m ale (1,055) a n d fem ale stu d en ts (536) respectively. M ale stu d en ts ten d e d to belittle "the prestige of em ploying organization" (302) if they w ere em p lo y ed in th e U n ited States. T he difference by m ajor on job preference w as notew orthy. S tu d en ts of hum anities, an d architecture a n d arts considered "type of w ork" as m ost im p o rtan t w h eth er th ey w ere em p loyed in T aiw an o r in th e U n ited States. O n the other h a n d , only stu d en ts of business an d ed u catio n p laced "incom e an d benefits" as their u tm o st preference if em p lo y ed in either country. Besides, they, along w ith stu d en ts of social 89 : I i .s II CL D , >lJO M JO adXx qof ^pnjs oj qof uopouioij JOJ X;tun^joddo uoqrziueSjQ JO aSijsajj uoijcaoq sjijauag 2ÿ auiO D vq c/i T 3 - 4 - » -4-» V O rc; N 90 sciences, ran k e d "job security" as th e second preference if em p lo y m en t w ere in th e U nited States. In general, stu d en ts ran k ed "job security" h ig h er if th ey w ere em ployed in the U n ited States th an if they w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an. "O pportunity for prom otion" w as im p o rta n t on ly for b u sin ess stu d en ts if they w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an. S tudents of en g in eerin g a n d n a tu ra l sciences h a d alm ost th e sam e preference o rd er regardless of co u n try of em ploym ent (see Figure 4-5). S um m ary of th e Findings As p rev io u sly indicated, the findings of this stu d y w o u ld in clu d e (A) the stu d e n ts’ p ersonal perceptions on job o p p o rtu n ities, (B) the stu d en ts' attitu d e s to w a rd em igration a n d retu rn , an d (C) the stu d en ts' incom e expectations, preferred types of w ork, favored org an izatio n for em p lo y m en t, a n d job preferences in T aiw an a n d in th e U n ited States. In o rd e r to facilitate fu rth er discussion in th e next chapter, som e im p o rtan t findings w ere su m m arized as follow s: 1. T he overseas stu d en ts w ere generally o ptim istic a b o u t th eir job o p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an. H ow ever, th eir perceptions o n job o p p o rtu n ities in th e U n ited States v aried w ith the stu d e n ts' m ajor fields of study. W hile stu d e n ts of engineering, n a tu ra l sciences, and m edicine-related fields still felt com fortable ab o u t th e job m ark et in the U nited States, stu d en ts of ed u catio n a n d 91 5 I O ) 1 5 7 3 I Î ë II >lJO M JO À^unDag qof ^pm s o \ paî^pH qof uoqouiojj JO g X^iuiqjoddo U O pFZ lU ^SlQ JO aSqsajj uoqeao"% sjTjauag 2ÿ auioavq I A :S -£ m x: 4-» \D 92 h u m an ities perceived a sh arp d isad v an tag e if they so u g h t em p lo y m en t in th e U n ited States. 2. S tudents w h o h a d few er years of w o rk in g experience in T aiw an, or m ore years of residence in the U n ited States, w ere inclined to seek em p lo y m en t in the h o st country. A ge w as negatively correlated to th e stu d en ts' in ten tio n s to be em p lo y ed overseas. N early half of th e resp o n d en ts w ere uncertain ab o u t th eir decision to be em p lo y ed in T aiw an or in the U n ited States. H ow ever, stu d en ts w h o w ere in doctoral or post-doctoral program s, m arried a n d h a d no children w ere m ore likely to decide or prefer to h av e a job in the U nited States th a n those w h o w ere in m aster's p ro g ram s, u n m arried , or m arried w ith one o r m ore children. 3. O ver 90 p ercen t of the resp o n d en ts either n ev er considered being em ployed in any co u n try o th er th an T aiw an or the U n ited States o r th o u g h t th at such chances w ere only slim . T hus, only 4, or 1.1 p ercent of them , w o u ld prefer to be em p loyed in Japan or som e o th er nations. Just 29, o r 7.9 percent, h a d ever seriously considered th is option. 4. S tudents w h o have stayed longer th an th ree years in th e U.S., an d w h o h av e an o th er fam ily m em ber living in the U n ited States, ten d e d to h av e a positive attitu d e to w ard s em igration. O nly 36.7 percent of th e resp o n d en ts th o u g h t th a t to stay in the 93 U nited States w o u ld please their parents. R egardless of the length of stay in th e U nited States, m o st subjects believed they h a d ad ju sted to the A m erican w ay of life v ery w ell. The longer the stu d e n ts h ave stayed in the U n ited States, th e m ore th ey h av e com e to appreciate the A m erican w a y of life. 58.4 p ercen t of the stu d en ts believed th at the U nited States is a b etter place for children's ed u catio n th an T aiw an. H ow ever, the stu d en ts saw b etter prospects of career achievem ent if th ey retu rn e d to T aiw an; it w as p articu larly tru e for those w h o h av e stayed in the U nited States for less th an three years. 5. Incom e expectations w ere related to the stu d en ts' degree objective, m ajor and sponsorship. 56.8 p ercen t of th e doctoral stu d en ts expected to receive m ore th an NT$40,000 if th ey w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an, com pared to only 15.4 p ercen t of the m aster's stu d en ts w h o expected the sam e m o n th ly incom e. The discrepancy of incom e expectations betw een m aster's an d doctoral stu d en ts w ere even g reater if th ey w ere em p lo y ed in the U n ited States. H igh incom e expectations w ere associated w ith stu d en ts of engineering, law and d en tistry , a n d m edicine-related fields. Low incom e expectations w ere associated w ith stu d en ts of h u m an ities an d social sciences. Som e stu d e n ts of ed u catio n (28%) a n d architecture and arts (28.6%) expected high incom es in T aiw an, b u t only 2 (6.4%) of the form er an d n o n e of th e latter expected high incom e in the U nited States. Finally, self- 94 sp o n so red stu d en ts h eld low er incom e expectations th an scholarship receivers a n d assistan tsh ip holders. 6. u s e stu d en ts in general expected h ig h er incom es th an SUNYB a n d KU students. T hat rem ain ed tru e after co m p arin g v ario u s fields of study. Besides, USC stu d en ts (66.6%) w ere m ore likely to o p t for em ploym ent in th e U n ited states th an w ere th eir co u n terp arts of SUNYB (56.7%) a n d KU (46.3%). 7. S tu d en ts w ith the Ph.D . degree objective p red o m in an tly favored jobs related to research an d teaching w h eth er th ey w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an or in th e U n ited States. The p referred types of jobs for m aster’s stu d en ts w ere evenly d istrib u ted in business, research, teaching, an d m an u factu rin g if th ey w ere em ployed in T aiw an, o r in research, business, m an u factu rin g a n d o th er professional p ractitioner positions if th ey w ere em p lo y ed in the U n ited States. C o m p ared w ith stu d en ts of o th er m ajors, stu d e n ts of en g in eerin g an d n a tu ra l sciences favored jobs m ore research- oriented. A low er p ercentage of engineering stu d e n ts w o u ld assum e a job in m an u factu rin g in T aiw an (12.3%) th an in the U n ited States (17.3%). Except for stu d en ts of business, only a few stu d e n ts w o u ld engage in business ad m in istratio n eith er in T aiw an (0.7%) or in th e U n ited States (5.4%). Fem ale stu d e n ts (31.9%) w ere interested in teaching, com pared w ith only 13.8% of the m ale students. In contrast, a job in academ ic research w as r 95 m uch m o re attractive for m ale stu d e n ts (48.7%) th an fem ale stu d e n ts (29.4%). 8. U niversities a n d research in stitu tio n s w e re th e first em p lo y m en t choices of Ph.D. stu d en ts regardless of the co u n try of I em ploym ent. D octoral stu d en ts w ere also in terested in being ! recru ited b y big corporations. In contrast, th e p referred em ployers ! I for m aste r’s stu d e n ts w ere m ore evenly d istrib u te d am ong I I universities, research in stitu tio n s, tran sn atio n al co rporations, big dom estic corporations a n d personal businesses if th ey w ere e m p lo y ed in T aiw an. T he m ajority of stu d e n ts in m ajors of engineering, hum anities, social sciences, arch itectu re a n d arts, n atu ral sciences, ed ucation a n d m edicine-related fields p referred fu tu re em p lo y m en t b y universities. R esearch in stitu tio n s w ere attractive only for stu d en ts of engineering, n a tu ra l sciences, an d m edicine-related fields. S tudents of business picked tran sn atio n al corporations as the m o st desirable em ployers. In general, fem ale stu d en ts felt th at they w o u ld like to w o rk in the p u b lic sector in T aiw an. M ale stu d en ts (2.5%) show ed little in terest in w o rk in g for A m erican schools at the elem en tary an d secondary levels in com parison w ith fem ale stu d e n ts (33.3%). T he m ales p referred as em ploying o rg an izatio n s in th e U nited States big corporations, sm all or m ed iu m com panies a n d research institutions. T he ideal em ployers for fem ale stu d e n ts w ere m ore d iv erse. 96 9. M ale stu d en ts an d fem ale stu d en ts ran k ed job preferences differently w h eth er th ey w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an or in the U n ited States. "Incom e a n d benefits" w as th e first preference for b o th sexes if they w ere em ployed in the U nited States, b u t it w as ran k e d as second an d th ird for m ale a n d fem ale stu d e n ts respectively if they w ere em ployed in T aiw an. "Location" an d "prestige of em ploying organization" w ere relativ ely u n im p o rta n t for b o th sexes. S tudents of en g in eerin g a n d n a tu ra l sciences h a d alm ost th e sam e preference order. "Type of w ork" w as th e m ost im p o rtan t concern for stu d en ts of h u m an ities, a n d architecture and arts. O nly stu d en ts of education a n d business ran k e d "incom e and benefits" as th eir first consideration w h eth er th ey w ere em ployed in T aiw an o r in the U n ited States. In general, "job security" w as an im p o rta n t concern if the stu d en ts w ere em ployed in the U n ited States rath e r th an in T aiw an. 97 CH A PTER V DISCUSSION A N D IN TERPRETA TIO N In tro d u c tio n The p u rp o se of this chapter is (1) to discuss the likelihood of em igration by overseas stu d en ts based on the findings, (2) to contrast the job preferences of overseas stu d en ts w ith those w h o h av e p u rsu e d a p o st g rad u ate degree in T aiw an, (3) to com pare th e incom e expectations of the overseas stu d e n ts w ith som e num erical d a ta from the U.S. D ep artm en t of L abor (1988), a n d (4) to su p p o rt o r negate the hypotheses of this p resen t stu d y after discussing the findings. F urtherm ore, th e discussion w ill contribute to th e analyses of som e related theories o n ed u catio n al expansion as p resen ted in C h ap ter II. The L ikelihood of E m igration The stu d y assum ed th at the intention to em igrate w as b ased o n the stu d en ts' p erso n al perceptions on job o p p o rtu n ities, degrees of accom m odation to the h o st society, preferences of life styles, o p p o rtu n ities for career achievem ents an d o th er considerations. Since there w ere only 29, or 7.9 percent, of the subjects in th e su rv ey w h o have r 98 ever seriously considered the p ro sp ect of em igrating to any o th er n atio n , m o st overseas stu d en ts w o u ld ev en tu ally stay in th e U n ited States if they d id n o t re tu rn to Taiw an. T he stu d y fo u n d th at 58.5 p ercen t of the resp o n d en ts h a d either decided to be o r w o u ld prefer to be em p lo y ed in th e U n ited States. A p p aren tly the m ajority of the overseas stu d e n ts in this sam ple still favored the o p tio n of em igration ov er retu rn . Yet the reality m ay be m ore com plex th an this n u m b er has suggested. O nly 23, or 6.8 percent, of th e 367 resp o n d en ts h a d decided a n d arran g ed for em p lo y m en t in the U n ited States. A lth o u g h m an y stu d e n ts m ay have th eir preferences to w ork in the h o st country, th ey m ay change th eir m in d s as th e job m ark et in the U n ited States becom es u n fav o rab le to them . It is im p o rtan t to note th a t alm ost half (49.3%) of th e subjects w ere u n certain ab o u t ultim ate co u n try of residence. It im plies th a t re tu rn e d stu d e n ts m ay soon becom e th e m ajority as the w o rk in g conditions in T aiw an am eliorate en o u g h to com pensate for the loss of leaving the U n ited States. The overseas stu d en ts h a d som e conflicting attitu d es to w a rd em igration. O n the w hole, the stu d en ts ap p reciated th e life style in T aiw an slightly m ore th an in the U n ited States (Xc=2.48). W hile th ey felt th a t it is relatively easy to adjust to the A m erican w ay of life (Xb=2.78), at th e sam e tim e th ey also saw d isad v an tag es in career achievem ents in the U n ited States (Xd=2.34). O n th e one h a n d , they th o u g h t th eir ch ild ren , if any, could receive a better education in the U nited States (Xa=2.58). O n th e o th er h a n d , th ey believed th a t their p aren ts w o u ld be pleased if th ey 99 retu rn e d to T aiw an (Xe=2.24). If an equal w eig h t could b e assigned to each of the five categories, th e d a ta w o u ld reveal th a t the stu d en ts w ere m o re in favor of re tu rn th an em igration. As a m atter of fact, stu d en ts in all b u t n a tu ra l sciences an d m edicine-related fields perceived better job o p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an th a n in th e U nited States. T he discrepancies betw een th eir perceptions of job o p p o rtu n ities in T aiw an a n d the U nited States w ere p articu larly sh arp for stu d en ts of business, hum anities, social sciences, architecture a n d arts, and education. It w o u ld b e safe to predict th a t m ost of these 150 stu d en ts w o u ld choose to retu rn . M ore an d m ore engineering stu d e n ts w ill re tu rn to T aiw an as th e discrepancies betw een perceived job o p p o rtu n ities in th e tw o countries dim inishes. C om parison of Tob Preferences Betw een th e O verseas S tudents an d the P ost-G raduate S tudents at H om e A m eaningful com parison of job preferences b etw een overseas stu d en ts and p o st-g rad u ate stu d en ts at hom e is h a n d ic ap p e d b y the shortage of doctoral stu d e n ts in Taiw an. For instance, there w ere 2,277 g ra d u a te stu d en ts in Liao an d Lee's (1984) survey, b u t only 22, o r 1 percent of them , w ere doctoral students. Liao an d Lee's stu d y fo u n d th at "job related to stu d y " w as ran k ed at th e to p by bo th sexes. "Incom e an d benefits" w as ran k ed second a n d third 100 by m ale an d fem ale stu d e n ts respectively. "Prestige of em ploying organization" an d "o p p o rtu n ity for prom otion" w ere of least concern by bo th sexes. But "job security" w as an im p o rtan t consideration for fem ale (ranked 2nd) an d m ale (ranked 3rd) students. "Location" w as of m o d erate concern b y b o th genders. In principle, th e findings o f the p resen t stu d y w ere sim ilar to those of Liao a n d Lee's. For instance, "job related to study" w as ran k ed at the top b y bo th sexes in bo th studies. "Income an d benefits " y ield ed the sam e preference o rd e r in the tw o studies. The m ajor difference betw een the tw o g ro u p s of stu d en ts w as th a t overseas stu d en ts seem ed to care less about job security. Besides, I "location" received little attention by overseas stu d e n ts — it w as ran k ed 7th a n d 6th by m ale an d fem ale stu d en ts respectively. It m ay be th at because th ey have liv ed overseas for years the T aiw anese stu d e n ts in this stu d y have becom e im m u n e to th e em otional im p act often attach ed to a "hom eland" a n d for those w h o h ave stu d ied in the U.S. it has becom e I k n o w n an d fam iliar rath e r th an u n k n o w n , d istan t, a n d strange. T he relative d isreg ard of overseas stu d en ts of the job security factor m ay be because the halo effects of a foreign degree are still at w o rk so th a t the stu d en ts p ay little atten tio n to job security. P o st-g rad u ate stu d e n ts in T aiw an all picked "job related to study" as th eir first consideration in em ploym ent reg ard less of their m ajors. But in the p resen t stu d y , only stu d en ts of engineering, n a tu ra l sciences, social science a n d m edicine-related fields h a d the sam e p rio rity concern. D id "job related to study" really m atter so m uch for T aiw anese stu d en ts? It 101 I I I rem ains to be seen. It m ight have been selected because the stu d e n ts ' w a n ted to p ro v id e a "good" answ er. R egardless of in d iv id u al reasons for j I th eir responses to these item s, it can be concluded th a t to o btain a job j w hich is related to one s academ ic studies is considered highly desirable in T aiw an. In a society w here the division of labor is n o t so specialized, j jobs w hich m atch the area of stu d y w ell are alw ays u n d ersu p p lied . It is p articu larly tru e for m ajors of social sciences, hum anities, a n d arts. T herefore, "job related to study" w as ran k ed to p because of the im m ed iate i value of its applicability for som e m ajors a n d its rarity for others. A n ! in terestin g co n trast w as fo u n d am ong stu d e n ts of ed u catio n at hom e a n d | abroad. S tu d en ts of education abroad ran k ed "incom e" as their u tm o st concern, w hile stu d e n ts of ed u catio n a t hom e th o u g h t "incom e" w as m erely m o re im p o rta n t th an "prestige of em p lo y in g organization." A fter exam ining th e retu rn e d questionnaires, th e w rite r fo u n d th a t ab o u t half of the stu d e n ts of ed u catio n in th e U n ited States specialized in T eaching English as a Second L anguage (TESOL), w hich could lead to a lucrative job of teaching E nglish in Taiw an. i U niversity w as th e m o st attractive org an izatio n to be chosen b y th e | p o st-g rad u ate stu d e n ts in T aiw an, b u t research in stitu tio n s w ere equally u n attractiv e for b o th sexes. The shortage of doctoral stu d e n ts in T aiw an m ig h t explain th e lack of interest in w o rk in g at research institutions. But h o w could one explain the preference to w o rk at a un iv ersity w hich requires sim ilar academ ic qualifications? A factor w hich m u st be co n sid ered is th a t universities still p ro v id e m ore job o p p o rtu n ities for 102 the g ra d u a te students. D espite the u p g ra d in g of qualifications to teach a t th e u n iv ersity level, the su p p ly of Ph.D .s from abroad w ere n o t sufficient to fulfill the d e m an d s from universities. T hus, in m o st cases, stu d e n ts w ith m aster's degrees can teach low er levels of u n d e rg ra d u a te stu d e n ts at th eir alm a m aters. For som e, it is a tran sitio n al p erio d before th ey m ove on to w o rk for the governm ent. For others, it is a step p in g stone for fu rth er study. Besides, teaching at a u n iv ersity u su ally brings som e social prestige. U nlike overseas stu d en ts, the p o st-g rad u a te stu d en ts in T aiw an seem ed to be satisfied w ith a gov ern m en tal job. M ale stu d en ts picked in d u stria l a n d ad m in istrativ e sectors of the g o v ern m en t as th eir second a n d th ird choices. Fem ale stu d en ts so u g h t to w o rk for the ad m in istratio n a n d colleges. In T aiw an, a job in g o v ern m en t u su ally requires the ap p lican ts to p ass a rath er com petitive exam ination for qualification. B eing qualified to w o rk for g o v ern m en t im plies th e acquisition of job security for life. The overseas stu d en ts w ere m u ch less interested in w o rk in g for g o v ern m en t because th ey d id n 't feel eith er com fortable or co n fid en t in subjecting them selves to th a t k in d of e n try ex am ination after several years' sojourn abroad. In ad d itio n , overseas stu d y has e q u ip p e d th em w ith b etter qualifications to w o rk in th e p riv ate sector. O verseas stu d e n ts w ith th e Ph.D . degree objective p red o m in an tly chose u n iv ersities an d research in stitu tio n s as th eir d esired o rg an izatio n s for em ploym ent. It w as p artly because the em p lo y m en t itself carries high social prestige, a n d p artly because the retu rn e d Ph.D .s m ay becom e 103 o th erw ise overqualified if th ey w o rk for o th er o rg an izatio n s w hich on ly d e m a n d m aster's stu d en ts. O verseas m aster's stu d e n ts h a d m ore diverse choices, b u t, unlike th eir co u n terp arts in T aiw an, th ey w ere m ore in terested in w o rk in g for p riv ate business an d in d u stry . T here w as a m ajor p arad o x in Liao an d Lee's stu d y . O n th e one h a n d , ab o u t 46 p ercen t of th e g ra d u a te stu d en ts in T aiw an w o u ld w o rk for research in stitu tio n s a n d v ario u s educational in stitu tio n s. O n the o th er h a n d , 68.5 p ercen t of them w o u ld have a job in v o lv in g teaching a n d research. In contrast, th e desirable types of jobs for overseas m aster's stu d e n ts w ere m ore evenly d istrib u te d am ong business, research, teaching, an d m an u factu rin g . Incom e E xpectation As in d icated in th e p rev io u s chapter, "incom e a n d benefits" w as th e first concern for both sexes, a n d for all m ajors b u t h u m an ities a n d arts if th e stu d en ts w ere to b e em ployed in th e U nited States. Yet are th eir expectations of incom e realistic? T he expectations d e p e n d on h o w the stu d e n ts in various m ajors perceive th eir job o p p o rtu n ities a n d th e d e m a n d s of the job m ark et in th e U n ited States. T he com parison betw een "expectation" a n d "reality" w as difficult to m ake for tw o reasons: first, the classification of m ajor fields of stu d y could be different from one source to another; second, the difference of incom e for a p articu la r job could be g reat d e p en d in g on the experience and perform ance of the 104 em ployed person. To avoid the controversy, only fields w ith little difference in classification w ere com pared. F our fields, nam ely engineering, education, social sciences a n d n a tu ra l sciences, w hich com prised 73.8 p ercen t of the resp o n d en ts, m et th a t requirem ent. Since m ost stu d e n ts d id n 't have w orking experience in th e U n ited States, th e com parison h a d to be based on the startin g salary ra th e r th a n the average incom e of an y p articu lar job. A ccording to th e O ccupational O utlook H an d b o o k (1988), in 1986, the startin g salaries for engineers w ith a m aste r’s degree a n d for those w ith a Ph.D . w ere $33,100 an d $42,200 respectively. The stu d y fo u n d th at th e av erag e incom e expectations for T aiw anese stu d e n ts of en g in eerin g w as ap p roxim ately $41,400, regardless of the stu d e n ts’ d egree objectives, an d ab o u t half of th em expected to receive th a t incom e. O n the other h an d , only 23.1 p ercen t of th e engineering stu d en ts expected to receive an an n u al incom e low er th an $33,600. C o nsidering th e fact th at 55 p ercen t of the stu d e n ts of engineering w ere in m aste r’s p ro g ram s, th e incom e expectations of these stu d en ts w ere h ig h er th an w h a t th ey w o u ld pro bably receive if th ey w ere em ployed in the U n ited States. The n u m b ers su g g ested , how ever, th at incom e expectations w ere quite realistic for doctoral stu d en ts of engineering. The sam e source show ed th at th e low est startin g salary for m ajors of social sciences a n d n atu ral sciences w as $22,500 for m aster’s a n d $27,000 for Ph.D .s The stu d y fo u n d th at the average incom e expectations for stu d en ts of social sciences an d n atu ral sciences w ere approxim ately 105 $28,700 an d $34,400 regardless of degree objective. T he incom e expectations for these stu d en ts w ere quite unrealistic. The g a p b etw een "expectation" a n d "reality" w as p articu larly w id e for stu d e n ts of n atu ral sciences. The average incom e expectations for stu d e n ts of ed u catio n w as ab o u t $29,200 if th ey w orked in the h o st country. If th ey w o u ld assum e a job in v o lv in g teaching in k in d erg arten , elem en tary a n d secondary school, th ey probably w o u ld receive a starting salary at ab o u t this level. It ap p ears th a t stu d en ts of ed ucation w ere rath er realistic ab o u t their incom e prospects. It seem ed ev id en t th a t overseas stu d en ts expected h ig h er incom es th an those w h o received g ra d u a te ed ucation at hom e if th ey w ere em p lo y ed in T aiw an. For exam ple, 74.1 percent of th e overseas stu d en ts expected to receive a m o n th ly incom e of m ore th an NT$30,000, com pared to only 11.9 percent for the stu d e n ts w ith o u t overseas education. Just 1 p ercen t of th e overseas stu d en ts expected an incom e low er th an NT$20,000, b u t about 34.5 p ercent of the stu d en ts at ho m e expected th at am o u n t. Even if the factor of inflation is considered, a sh arp co n trast is still evident. N eedless to say, the difference existed in all m ajors, b o th sexes a n d all four degree objectives. A re the overseas stu d e n ts unrealistic ab o u t their incom e expectations? D oes the relative ra rity a n d th e prestige of a U.S. degree m ake them so w elcom ed in T aiw an's job m arket? O r do th eir educational in v estm en ts in the U n ited States ev en tu ally p a y off? T hese answ ers could be all an sw ered affirm atively. W h at w as r 106 m eaningful h e re is th e o p tim istic m in d -set fo u n d am o n g th e overseas stu d en ts w h ile considering their em p lo y m en t in T aiw an. It yields som e im p licatio n s for em igration. A s in d icated earlier, only stu d en ts of ed ucation a n d doctoral stu d e n ts of en g in eerin g w ere m ore realistic ab o u t th eir incom e p rospects if they w ere em p lo y ed in th e U nited States. For stu d e n ts o f education, m ost of th em are n o t likely to w ork as school teachers o r educational ad m in istrato rs because of th e difficulty in o b taining certification a n d their E nglish lan g u ag e incom petence. They, along w ith stu d e n ts in o th er fields w h o face th e u n p leasan t reality of incom e p ro sp ects in the U nited States, m ig h t in fact eventually choose to be em ployed in T aiw an for financial reasons. O n the o th er h an d , doctoral stu d e n ts of engineering w ere m o re likely to em igrate to the U n ited States. D iscussion of the H ypotheses The fin d in g s su p p o rte d H ypothesis 1 th at incom e w o u ld be considered as a to p p rio rity if the stu d en ts seek em p lo y m en t in the U nited States. It w as not only true for m ale an d fem ale stu d en ts, b u t also tru e for stu d e n ts in all b u t arts a n d h u m an ities m ajors. A lth o u g h incom e w as considered a p rio rity factor by b o th sexes considering the em p lo y m en t in T aiw an, it w as never to p -ranked. B esides only stu d e n ts of business a n d ed u catio n chose incom e as th eir first p rio rity for em p lo y m en t in T aiw an. 107 The findings also su p p o rte d H ypothesis 3 th a t th e stu d e n ts w o u ld sh o w p articu lar in terest in o b taining jobs in a u n iv ersity or a research in stitu tio n if they w ere to retu rn to T aiw an. It w as tru e for stu d e n ts of b o th sexes, w ith a difference in preference o rder, it w as tru e for all b u t stu d e n ts m ajoring in business, law a n d dentistry, a n d it w as also tru e for m aste r’s a n d doctoral stu d en ts w ith differences in d eg ree objective (m asters o r doctors). O n th e o th er h a n d , the stu d en ts sh o w ed relatively d iv erse interests in their choices of w o rk in g for a big corporation, u n iv ersity , sm all o r m ed iu m com pany, or research in stitu tio n if th ey stay ed in th e U nited States. T hese seem ingly u n rela te d h ypotheses together carry a v ery significant m eaning. In T aiw an, teaching an d doing research are considered as lofty jobs, th o u g h n o t lucrative ones. T he p restig e from assu m in g these tasks in u n iv ersity a n d research in stitu tio n s is o u tstan d in g . In the U nited States, prestige is m ore w idely d istrib u ted o v er diverse organizations. Since the prestige has to be reco g n ized by friends, relatives a n d acquaintances, th e stu d en ts w ill feel it essential to o b tain a high prestige job in T aiw an. If th e stu d en ts w ere to choose to stay in the U nited States, w h ere their social relations are lim ited, th ey m ig h t in stead consider a b etter-p aid job ahead of other factors. In the U n ited States, a Ph.D. can be p raised an d ad m ired for ru n n in g a profitable restau ran t, b u t, in T aiw an, th e sam e p erso n w o u ld be rid icu led for doing som ething com pletely u n rela te d to his or her field of study. 108 N evertheless, th e above in terp retatio n d o e sn 't len d su p p o rt to H ypothesis 2 th a t o p p o rtu n ity for prom otion, a n d p restig e o f the em ploying org an izatio n w o u ld b e of u tm o st im p o rtan ce if th e stu d en ts so u g h t em p lo y m en t in T aiw an. O n the contrary, p restig e of em ploying o rg an izatio n w as ran k ed sixth and seventh by m ale a n d fem ale stu d en ts respectively regardless of the country of em ploym ent. O p p o rtu n ity for p rom otion w as ran k ed fo u rth by m ale stu d en ts an d fifth b y fem ale stu d e n ts— a o ne-point u p g ra d in g for either sex if th ey w o rk ed in T aiw an rath er th an in th e U n ited States. In short, th e stu d e n ts see p ro m o tio n as relatively u n im p o rta n t if th ey stay in th e U n ited States. The evidence is too w eak to su p p o rt th e hypothesis. H ow ever, this fin d in g d o esn 't m ean th a t it is in contradiction w ith previous findings. A s in d icated earlier, th e stu d en ts are p articu larly in terested in w o rk in g for u n iv ersities and research institutions w hich are associated w ith h ig h social prestige. In T aiw an, the "prestige gap" for teaching at different universities is n o t great. Besides, in m ost cases, overseas stu d en ts alread y possess b etter o p p o rtu n ities to w o rk in any prestigious organization. T herefore, the p restig e of the em p lo y in g organization can n o t be th eir u rg e n t concern. In ad d itio n , p ro m o tio n in th e academ ic w o rld is based o n achievem ent rath e r th an "opportunity." T he n a tu re of th e w o rk can also m ake p ro m o tio n a secondary consideration. T he finding th a t overseas stu d en ts' expectations of incom e far exceeded those g rad u a te stu d en ts w h o w ere ed u cated at h om e easily su p p o rts the first h alf of H ypothesis 4. N evertheless, it w o u ld be 109 erro n eo u s to state th a t overseas stu d e n ts' expectations of incom e w ill be relatively low in term s of th eir ed u catio n al qualifications in relatio n to com parably train ed A m ericans if th ey (the form er) are to stay in th e U n ited States. A s indicated earlier in th is chapter, th e m ajority of the overseas stu d e n ts w ere u nrealistic ab o u t th eir incom e p ro sp ects in the U n ited States. If th ey are eager to em igrate into the U n ited States, they w o u ld h av e to low er their incom e expectation, or, at least, th ey w o u ld have to becom e m ore aw are of realities of th e job m ark et in th e h o st country. The negation o f H ypothesis 4 yields an in terestin g im plication on em igration: stu d en ts are no longer so in terested in em ig ratin g to th e U n ited States. T hey h av e stu d ied enough, th ey h av e in v ested en o u g h , an d th ey h a v e to,be p aid enough. If th e incom e prospects are b etter in T aiw an, th ey w ill go hom e. Som e T heoretical Im p licatio n s In C h ap ter II, four theories of ed u catio n al expansion, nam ely h u m an capital theory, ed u catio n al inflation theory, ed u catio n al consum erism , a n d status g ro u p theory, w ere u sed to explain th e influx of T aiw anese g ra d u a te stu d e n ts in to th e U n ited States. As in d icated , no single th eo ry can explain this phen o m en o n . W e w ill briefly exam ine these theories. H u m a n capital th eo ry suggests th a t ed u catio n al in v estm en t can be co m p en sated a n d ou tw eig h ed by fu tu re incom e. A ccordingly, it is logical 110 I to assum e th a t one w ill expect m ore incom e if h e or she sp en d s m ore on education. In th e light of the findings of the p resen t stu d y , this theory , cannot be fully su p p o rted . It is tru e th at overseas stu d e n ts expected | h ig h er incom es th an those w h o received e d u catio n at hom e, th a t Ph.D. j stu d en ts generally expected m ore incom e th a n m aster's stu d e n ts, and th a t USC stu d en ts, w h o sp en d m ore o n educational a n d living costs, , expected m ore incom e th an KU an d SUNYB stu d en ts. But w h y d id m aste r’s stu d e n ts of en g in eerin g expect m ore incom e th an doctoral | stu d e n ts of hum an ities and social sciences? A nd w h y d id self-sponsored j stu d e n ts expect less incom e th an those w h o received scholarships or assistan tsh ip s? j A gain, these questions can be an sw ered from th e discourses on | educational inflation. Because the d em an d for stu d en ts w ith ad v an ced I I degrees in hu m an ities, social sciences, an d ed u catio n is n o t g reat and the I job m ark et is n o t w id e-o p en for them , overseas stu d y for stu d e n ts in j these fields functions m o re o n im p ro v in g job o p p o rtu n ities ra th e r th an | assu rin g a lucrative job. Since scholarships an d assistan tsh ip s are m ore | often aw ard ed to stu d e n ts of engineering, n atu ral sciences a n d o th er "hard " sciences, self-sponsored stu d en ts are u su ally in th e fields of | I h u m an ities, social sciences, a n d ed ucation w ith m aster's d eg ree objectives. These stu d en ts, to a certain degree, reflect the educational inflation an d the accom panying qualification escalation in T aiw an. T hus, it is quite n a tu ra l for them to expect low er incom es th an stu d e n ts in Ill o th er fields, a n d h ig h er incom es th an those w h o cannot afford an ed u catio n abroad. A s revealed in the stu d y , th e overseas stu d en ts differ from th eir co u n terp arts in T aiw an in expectation of incom e, p referred ty p e of job, fav o red em p lo y in g organizations an d preference o rd er for a job. T hus, overseas ed u catio n cannot sim ply be an activity of co n su m p tio n w hich is g o o d in itself. R ather, it is p u rp o sefu l to achieve som e practical values, therefore, th ere are n o g ro u n d s to su p p o rt the arg u m en t of ed u catio n al c o n su m e rism . Finally, alth o u g h the socio-econom ic status of the stu d e n ts w as n o t identified in the stu d y , the survey fo u n d th a t at least 54 p ercen t of all th e resp o n d en ts w ere w ealthy enough to afford an overseas ed u catio n b y them selves or their fam ilies. A ccordingly, it is reasonable to assu m e th a t the socio-econom ic status (SES) of overseas stu d e n ts is generally h ig h er th an it is for those w h o w ere ed u cated at hom e, because the ed u catio n al costs in th e U n ited States are m u ch m ore expensive. G iven th e fin d in g s th a t overseas stu d e n ts are concerned m ore ab o u t th e o p p o rtu n ities for p ro m o tio n in T aiw an th an in th e U n ited States a n d th a t they p re d o m in an tly p refer to w o rk for u n iv ersities or research in stitu tio n s, it can be concluded th at stu d en ts w ith a h ig h SES are m ore likely to occupy p o sts in the m ost prestigious organizations. T hus, the stu d y su p p o rts statu s g ro u p theory. 112 CH A PTER VI R ECO M M EN D A TIO N S A N D SUGGESTIONS As the p resen t stu d y proceeded, the political en v iro n m en t a n d econom ic conditions in T aiw an w ere u n d e rg o in g trem en d o u s change. O n th e one h an d , political dem ocratization facilitated academ ic freedom w hich influenced m o re T aiw anese scholars to retu rn ; on the o th er h a n d , the econom ic p ro sp erity there, as show n by the $8,000 G N P p e r capita since 1989 im plies b etter career o p p o rtu n ities for retu rn in g stu d en ts. As in d icated in C h ap ter I, th e econom y of T aiw an is export-oriented. The w ealth of T aiw an is d eriv ed from very successful in tern atio n al trade. H ow ever, as G N P grow s, the econom y can no longer p ro v id e cheap labor to com pete w ith n eighboring countries. T hus, it becom es im p erativ e to advance technological capacity and capability a n d to u p g ra d e the quality of p ro d u cts in o rd e r to rem ain com petitive in the w o rld ’s m arkets. The h ealth of T aiw an's econom y w ill d e p en d on h o w w ell it can be tran sfo rm e d from a labor-intensive to m ore cap ital-in ten siv e econom y. In these circum stances, the U .S .-trained stu d e n ts a n d th eir talents becom e im m e d ia te a n d in v alu ab le h u m an capital. 113 ~1 I R ecom m endations for Policy I I It w o u ld be w ise for the G overnm ent of T aiw an (GOT) a n d big j corporations to actively seek to absorb these "capitals." D eterio rated job ! ! o p p o rtu n ities an d the legal b arrier to im m igration in th e U n ited States j can m ake recruiting them for T aiw an v ery fruitful. In effect, as T he Los I A ngeles T im es (Dec. 29, 1989) rep o rted , the recruiting activity is w ell u n d e r w ay. A s a result, "the p ercentage of g rad u ates w h o stay in A m erica has d ro p p e d [from 80%] to ab o u t 60%." It seem s th a t the tren d to w a rd "brain overflow " is in accordance w ith th e findings in this stu d y . j H o w ev er, th e G o vernm ent of T aiw an can fu rth er facilitate its recru itin g j activities by observ in g th e follow ing recom m endations: 1. The G overnm ent of T aiw an sh o u ld a w ard m ore sch o larsh ip s to overseas stu d en ts. In the p ast, the G ov ern m en t p ro v id e d too few scholarships to overseas students. As a result, as low as 10 p ercen t of these stu d en ts chose to return. The stu d y fo u n d th at 320 o u t of the 369 subjects w h o resp o n d ed to the su rv ey w ere either sp onsored by personal fu n d s or w o rk ed in u n iv ersity teaching or research assistant positions, a n d only 13 received scholarships from th e G overnm ent. T his m eans th a t m ost overseas stu d en ts from T aiw an are n o t u n d e r any obligation to retu rn . Even if stu d en ts d o receive stip en d s from th eir assistantships, their stu d y m ay be d eterred to a certain degree. It d o esn 't p a y if the kn o w -h o w of high technology is in u rg e n t 114 d em an d for T aiw an's econom y. T hus, th e G o v ern m en t sh o u ld m ore gen ero u sly sp o n so r overseas stu d e n ts u n d e r condition th at th ey re tu rn a n d sh o u ld treat scholarships as a form of in v estm en t ra th e r th an sheer sp en d in g . 2. Since alm ost half (49.3%) of th e subjects h a d n o t y et d ecid ed to seek em p lo y m en t eith er in T aiw an o r in th e U n ited States, th ere are significant o p p o rtu n ities for recru itin g them for positions in T aiw an. T he recruiting agents sh o u ld be aw are of the findings th a t stu d e n ts w ho w ere older, m arried w ith one or m ore children, h a d previously h a d m o re years of w o rk in g experience in T aiw an, or few er years of residence in the U n ited States, w ere m ore likely to re tu rn to T aiw an for em ploym ent. R ecruitm ent can be m ade m ore successful if th e em phasis is placed on these groups. As long as the stu d e n ts keep considering universities a n d research in stitu tio n s as th e m o st desirable places for em p lo y m en t, positions available to th em in these organizations in T aiw an w ill constantly be in sh o rt supply. R ecently, d u e to the ad o p tio n in T aiw an of an educational policy in h ig h er ed u catio n w hich liberalizes the restrictions o n the fo u n d in g of in stitu tio n s, m an y new in d e p e n d e n t colleges, m o stly technological in o rien tatio n , have been established. T he n ew colleges w ill create m an y positions, b u t these positions w ill be quickly filled by re tu rn in g students. Since h ig h er ed u catio n can n o t be ex p an d ed indefinitely, m o st overseas g ra d u a te stu d e n ts m u st ev en tu ally choose 115 o th er areas for em ploym ent. O n the o ne h a n d , the stu d e n ts h av e to a d a p t them selves to th e econom ic stru ctu res a n d value o th er types of org an izatio n s so as to p rev en t fru stratio n in seeking em ploym ent; on th e o th er h a n d , em p lo y ers have to p ro v id e m ore incom e incentives, b etter p ro m o tio n system s, an d im p ro v ed w o rk in g conditions to com pensate for their lack of prestige. By so doing, the g a p betw een preferred o rg an izatio n s a n d others can be n a rro w ed an d th e favored em ployers can be m ore ev en ly d istrib u te d to include g o v ernm ent, business a n d others. A s Yao (1987) indicated, the su p p ly of overseas stu d e n ts train ed in h u m an ities a n d social sciences has exceeded the dem and. It im plies th a t stu d e n ts in these fields w ill h av e to assum e jobs n o t related to th eir fields of stu d y , w hich is the first concern in th eir o rd er of preference for em ploym ent. O bviously, th e stu d e n ts m u st be responsible for th eir in sen sitiv ity to th e job m ark et to em p lo y m en t o p p o rtu n ities. N ev erth eless, th eir hum an ities an d social sciences stu d ies sh o u ld n o t be considered a w aste. It w ould be u n w ise to value things u n iq u ely from an econom ic view point. Econom ic g ro w th w o u ld n o t be th e only ta rg e t of n atio n al d ev elo p m en t. The G o v ern m en t of T aiw an has to reo rie n t its perspective to see cultural dev elo p m en t as eq u ally im p o rtan t. T herefore, the stu d e n ts of hum anities a n d social sciences, like stu d en ts of en g in eerin g a n d n atu ral sciences, sh o u ld be reg a rd ed as im p o rtan t resources. It is ev id en t th a t T aiw an ’s cu ltu ral achievem ent a n d academ ic rep u ta tio n are n o t parallel to its w ealth. The stu d y suggests th a t the G o v ern m en t of T aiw an sh o u ld establish som e research in stitu tes w ith 116 em phases on th e h u m an ities, arts, social sciences, ed u catio n a n d others. By so doing, th e cu ltu ral d ev elo p m en t in T aiw an could be p ro m o ted , an im p ro v ed academ ic re p u ta tio n could be achieved, a n d m an y o u tstan d in g stu d en ts could be p ro p erly em ployed. The stu d y also suggests th a t these stu d e n ts sh o u ld receive m ore solid train in g in th eir respective fields so th at the said objectives can be accom plished. S uggestions for F u rth er Studies The p rim ary p u rp o se of this stu d y w as to identify the em p lo y m en t o rientations of T aiw anese overseas students. It failed to seriously consider em igration as a h id d e n m otive for stu d y in g in the U n ited States. The p u rp o se of em igration for T aiw anese stu d e n ts m ay be for fam ily unification, for econom ic reasons, for political causes o r for the said factors com bined. It w o u ld be interesting to find o u t w h a t p o rtio n s of the p o p u latio n in T aiw an te n d to use overseas stu d y as a m eans for em igration. In th e p ast, stu d en ts w hose p aren ts w ere from M ainland C hina ten d ed to stay p erm an en tly in the U n ited States because of the fear of C o m m unism an d the tendency to see T aiw an only as tem p o rary residence. But as the b o u n d a ry betw een "Taiw anese" a n d "M ainlander" h as d im in ish ed a n d "C om m unism phobia" decreased, it has becom e m ore technically difficult an d m ore politically sensitive to d eterm in e the differences in attitu d e s to w a rd em igration betw een these tw o g roups. As the year 1997 approaches, T aiw an is facing a n ew political situation. The I 117 conflicts b etw een tw o cam ps, n am ely "pro-im ificationists" an d "pro- in d ep en d en tists," are tense. N o consensus h a d y et been achieved to g u id e political action for T aiw an's u n iq u e interest. Such factor of "uncertainty" w ill surely play a role in overseas stu d en ts' decisions on em igration. T hus, it w o u ld be im p o rtan t to pro b e the political a ttitu d es of T aiw anese stu d e n ts on the issues of unification a n d in d ep e n d en c e because political com m itm ent can p a rtly d eterm in e in w hich co u n try th e stu d en ts w o u ld like to be em ployed. 118 I I REFERENCES 119 R eferences A garw al, V. B., & W inkler, D. R. (1985a). Foreign d em an d for U n ited States h ig h er education: A stu d y of dev elo p in g countries in th e E astern I H em isp h ere, Econom ic D evelopm ent a n d C u ltu ral C hange, 34, 623-644. I A garw al, V. B., & W inkler, D. R. (1985b). M igration of foreign stu d en ts to the U n ited States. Tournai of H igher E ducation, 56, 509-522. A garw al, V. B., & W inkler, D. R. (1984). M igration of professional m an p o w er to the U nited States. S outhern E conom ic Tournai, 50, 814-830. A ltbach, P. G., A m ove, R. E., & Kelly, G. P. (eds.). (1982). C o m p arativ e ed u catio n . N e w York: M acM illan. Babbie, E. R. 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T he relevance of U.S. g ra d u a te p ro g ram to foreign stu d e n ts from dev elo p in g countries. W ash in g to n , D C.: NAFSA. N atio n al Science F oundation. (1981). F oreign p articip atio n in U.S. science a n d engineering h ig h er ed u catio n a n d labor m arket. (A m erican Statistical Index accession No.: 9626128). W ashington, D C.: N atio n al Science F o u n d atio n . O h, T. K. (1977). T he A sian b rain drain: A factual an d casual analysis. San Francisco: R & E R esearch A ssociation. 123 O xenham , J. (Ed.). (1984). E ducation v ersu s qualifications? L ondon: G eorge, A llen & U nw in. P alm er, R. W. (1982). E ducation a n d em ig ratio n from developing countries. In L. A n d erso n , & D. M. W indham , (Eds.). E d u catio n a n d d ev elopm ent. L exington, MA.: D. C. H e ath and C om pany, p p . 113-127. P sacharopoulos, G. (1981). R eturns to education: A n u p d a te d in tern atio n al com parison. C om parative E ducation, 17, 321-341. Pyle, C. A. (1979). G rad u ate E ducation for in tern atio n al students. In j. W . R yan (Ed.). P roceedings of the E ighteenth A n n u al M eeting of the C ouncil of G rad u ate Schools in the U nited States: C h anging p a tte rn s in g rad u ate ed u catio n (pp. 120-130). W ashington, D C.: C ouncil of G rad u ate Schools. Rao, G. R. (1979). Brain d rain an d foreign students. N ew York: St. M artin 's Press. R itterbrand, P. (1978). E ducation, em ploym ent, a n d m igration. C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press. Sanyal, B. C. (1987). H ig h er education a n d em ploym ent. Philadelphia: The P alm er Press. Sm ith, A., W oesler, C., & Jarousse, J. R. (1981). Foreign stu d e n ts flow s a n d policy in an in tern atio n al perspective. In P. W illiam (Ed.). T he overseas stu d e n t q u estio n (pp. 165-222). L ondon: H ein em an n E ducational Books. Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investm ent in h u m an capital. A m e ric a n Econom ic R eview , 51, 1-17. U.S. D ep artm en t of Labor. 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In O verseas Scholars, 172, pp. 4-7. K ao, T. J., Lu, G., & Kai, Z. S. (1983). A n investigation on th e m an p o w er u tilizatio n of college g rad u a te stu d e n ts in T aiw an. Taipei: E xecutive Y uan. Liao, J. C., & Li, J. T. (1984). A n investigation o n th e condition of e m p lo y m en t of g rad u ate stu d e n ts in T aiw an. Taipei: E xecutive Yuan. Liao, J. C., & T an, M. Y. (1984). A su rv ey o n th e em p lo y m en t condition of the retu rn e d overseas stu d en ts. Taipei: Executive Yuan. Lin, W. D. (1984). E conom ics of ed u ca tio n . Taipei: San M ing Books. Yao, S. (1987). A rep o rt on the g u id an ce of em p lo y m en t for overseas stu d en ts. In O verseas scholars, 177, p. 4-9. Yee, H . M. (1982). A survey on th e preference for fu rth er stu d y and e m p lo y m en t of en g in eerin g stu d e n ts in T aiw an. Taipei: E xecutive Yuan. APPENDICES 125 126 APPENDIX A: TH E QU ESTIO NNA IRE 127 A p p en d ix A Id en tificatio n N o.: R esearcher u se only Please fill o u t y o u r an sw er to the questions a n d check w ith "X" in a p p ro p ria te box. C hoose only one an sw er in each q uestion unless o therw ise specified. 1. U n iv e rs ity a tte n d e d : _________________________________ 2. M a j o r : _________________ (P lease fill o u t d e p a rtm e n t n am e) 3. D egree objective: 1. B achelor 2. M aster 3. D octorate 4. P ost-doctorate 5. N o n -d eg ree g ra d u a te 6. O ther (please specify) 4. Sex: M ale Fem ale 5. Y ear of birth: 6. M arital status: ____ S ingle M a rrie d If m arried , h o w m an y children: _____ O th e r (D ivorced, S eparated) 7. D o y o u h ave an y o th er fam ily m em ber currently resid in g or stu d y in g in U.S.A.? _______ Yes N o 128 8. W h at w as y o u r m ajor p rio r to stu d y in g ab ro ad ? 9. H av e you ever been em ployed in T aiw an before you stu d y abroad? I Yes If yes, h o w long? ____ u n d e r 1 year j N o ____ 1-2 years I ____ 2-3 years I ____ 3-4 years ! ____ 4-5 years I ____ O ver 5 y ears I 10. W hat is y our p rim a ry resource to finance y o u r ed u catio n in the U.S.? I 1. S ponsored b y y o u r fam ily I 2. S p onsored from y o u r ow n savings ' 3. R eceived sch o larsh ip from T aiw an g o v e rn m e n t 4. R eceived sch o larsh ip from U.S. g o v e rn m e n t 5. R eceived sch o larsh ip from y o u r u n iv ersity 6. R eceived teaching o r research a ssistan tsh ip from y o u r u n iv e rs ity 7. R eceived scholarship from U.S. p u b lic o r p riv ate fo u n d a tio n ! 8. S ubsidized b y corporation ' 9. O th er (Please specify) 11. H ow long have y o u been in the U nited States? u n d e r 1 y ear 1-2 years 2-3 years 3-4 years 4-5 years O ver 5 years I 129 j 12. U p o n com pleting y o u r cu rren t p ro g ram of stu d y , w h a t do y o u p lan to do? 1. Begin to stu d y for a m aster's degree 2. Begin to stu d y for an o th er m aster's degree 3. Begin to stu d y for doctoral degree 4. Begin y o u r post-doctoral research 5. Secure p erm issio n for "practical training" from Im m igration Service 6. Be em p lo y ed im m ed iately 7. U n certain 13. U p o n com pleting y o u r stu d y in the U nited States, h o w do you p lan y o u r fu tu re career? Please check one of th e follow ing statem ents: 1. D ecide to be em p loyed in USA, an d the job has been arranged. 2. D ecide to be em ploye in USA, b u t th e job is n o t arran g ed 3. U ndecided, b u t prefer to be em p lo y ed in USA | 4. U ndecided, b u t prefer to be em ployed in T aiw an i 5. D ecide to be em p lo y ed in T aiw an, b u t the job is n o t a rran g ed 6. D ecide to be em p lo y ed in T aiw an, a n d the job has been arranged 14. H ave you ever considered to be em ployed in countries o th er th a n in T aiw an or in the U n ited States? 1. N ev er considered 2. C onsidered, b u t th e chance is slim 3. Seriously considered, a n d try to arran g e 4. D ecid ed to be e m p lo y ed i n ___________________ (C ountry nam e) 130 15. Som e factors are p articularly im p o rtan t for you in deciding to be em p loyed in T aiw an, USA, or som e o th er country. Please check each of th e item s below once according to the d egree of im portance you perceive it to have: Extremely Very Slightly Not Important Important Important Important Important Expectation of Family ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Related to College Studies ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Education of Children ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Opportunity for Research ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Environmental Quality ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Income Feeling of Achievement Life Style^ (*The term is referred to the way of using leisure time, consuming goods, and interpersonal relations.) 131 16. If you w ill b e em ployed in T aiw an, d o you th in k th a t g ettin g a job w hich is related to y o u r stu d y is V ery easy E asy D ifficult V ery difficu lt 17. If y ou retu rn to T aiw an, in w hich of the follow ing o rg an izatio n s w o u ld you choose to be em ployed? Please check TW O of the item s p ro v id ed below : A. G o v ern m en t — a d m in istratio n B. G o v ern m en t — in d u stry , business C. U niversity or in d e p e n d e n t college D. T echnical college E. E lem entary, m id d le or high school F. R esearch in stitu tio n or laboratory G. T ransnational corporation (e.g. C itibank, Sony) H . Big dom estic co rporation (e.g. T aiw an Plastics) I. Sm all o r m ed iu m com pany (less th an 200 em ployees) J. Self-em ployed business K. C o m m u n icatio n n etw o rk (e.g. C h in a T im es, TTV) L. Public o r p riv ate fo u n d atio n M. H o sp ital N . Fam ily O. O th e r (P lease s p e c i f y ) _______________________ 18. If y o u retu rn to T aiw an, in w hich type of w o rk w o u ld y o u be m ost interested? (please check only O N E of the item s) j A. A cadem ic research & ex p erim en t ] B. T eaching | C. Social & R eligious w o rk ; D. Public ad m in istratio n 1 E. B usiness a d m in istratio n & m an a g em en t | F. M a n u fac tu rin g i G. Q u ality control & m aintenance I H. M usic, art, d esign o r o th er p erfo rm in g ] I. M ass com m unication & journalism J. H ealth care & m edicine K. O th er professional p ractitio n er (e.g. accountant, law yer) L. Service (e.g. in surance, real estate) M. Fam ily N . O th e r (P lease s p e c i f y ) __________________________ 132 19. If you re tu rn to T aiw an, there are som e factors y o u w ill consider before y o u decide to accept or decline a job offering. Please check each of the item s below once according to the degree of im p o rtan ce you perceive it to have. Extremely Very Slightly Not Important Important Important Important Important A. Income & Benefits B. Location C. Prestige of organization D. Opportunity for Promotion E. Related to University Studies F. Job Security ______ G. Type of w o r k * ______ (*Please refer to Q 18 for illustration) ------------------ j 133 20. If y ou retu rn to T aiw an, th e seven factors listed above m ay be of u n e q u al im p o rtan ce in influencing y o u r choice of em ploym ent. Please ran k in o rd er of im portance y o u perceive (1 to 7 w ith 1 being m ost im p o rtan t an d 7 being least). A. Incom e & Benefits B. L ocation C. P restige of O rganization D. O p p o rtu n ity for P rom otion E. R elated to U niversity Studies F. Job Security G. T ype of W ork 21. If you retu rn to T aiw an, how m uch gross m o n th ly incom e d o y o u anticipate to receive from y our job? 1. U n d e r NT$20,000 2. NT$20,000 to 25,000 3. NT$25,001 to 30,000 4. NT$30,001 to 35,000 5. NT$35,001 to 40,000 (US$1.00 = NT$28.00) 6. NT$40,001 to 45,000 7. NT$45,001 to 50,000 8. NT$50,001 or m ore 22. If y o u stay in the U nited States, do y o u th in k th at getting a job w hich is related to y o u r stu d y is V ery easy E asy D ifficu lt V ery d iffic u lt 134 23. If y o u stay in th e U nited States, in w hich of the follow ing organizations w o u ld y o u choose to be em ployed? Please check TW O of th e follow ing item s p ro v id ed below : A. F ederal g o v ern m en t B. State a n d local g o v ern m en t C. U n iv ersity D. Junior college E. E lem entary, m id d le o r high school F. N on-college research in stitu tio n G. Big co rp o ratio n H. Sm all or m ed iu m com pany (less th an 500 em ployees) I. Self-em ployed business J. C om m unication n etw o rk (e.g. Los A ngeles T im es, CBS) L. Public or p riv ate fo u n d atio n M. H o sp ital N . Fam ily O. O th e r (P lease s p e c i f y ) _______________________ 24. If you stay in the U nited States, in w hich type of w o rk w o u ld y o u be m ost interested? Please check only O N E o f th e item s: A. A cadem ic research & experim ent B. T eaching C. Social & religious w o rk D. Public a d m in istratio n E. B usiness a d m in istra tio n & m an ag em en t F. M an u factu rin g G. Q uality control & m aintenance H. M usic, art, d esig n o r o th er p erform ing I. M ass co m m unication & jo u rn alism J. H ealth care & m edicine K. O ther professional p ractitio n er (e.g. accountant, law yer) L. Service (e.g. insurance, real estate) M. Fam ily N . O th e r (P lease s p e c i f y ) __________________________ 135 25. If you are em ployed in the U n ited States, h o w m uch gross m o n th ly incom e d o y o u anticipate to receive from y o u r job? 1. U n d e r US$1,200 2. US$1,201 to 1,600 3. US$1,601 to 2,000 4. US$2,001 to 2,400 5. US$2,401 to 2,800 (US$1.00 = NT$28.00) 6. US$2,801 to 3,200 7. US$3,201 to 3,600 8. US$3,601 to 4,000 9. US$4,001 to 4,400 10. US$$,401 o r m ore 136 26. If you stay in the U nited States, there are som e factors y o u w ill consider before y o u decide to accept or decline a job offering. Please check each of the item s below once according to the degree of im portance y o u perceive it to have. Extremely Very Slightly Not Important Important Important Important Important A. Income & Benefits B. Location C. Prestige of organization D. Opp>ortunity for Promotion E. Related to University Studies F. Job Security G. Type of work _____ 137 27. If you stay in the U nited States, the seven factors listed above m ay be o f u n e q u al im portance in influencing y o u r choice of em ploym ent. Please ran k in o rd er of im portance you perceive (1 to 7 w ith 1 being m o st im p o rtan t an d 7 being least). A. Incom e & Benefits B. L ocation C. Prestige of O rganization D. O p p o rtu n ity for P rom otion E. R elated to U n iv ersity S tudies F. Job Security G. T ype of W ork 28. D o y o u agree w ith the follow ing statem ents? Please choose y o u r an sw er in each of the item s below : A. I w o u ld like to h ave m y ch ild ren ed u cated in U.S.A. _____ _____ _____ ______ B. I h av e ad ju sted to the w ay of life in U.S.A. v ery w ell _____ _____ _____ ______ C. I like the life style* in U.S.A. m o re th an th a t of in T aiw an (*Please refer to Q 15 for illustration) D. I can achieve better in m y career if I stay in U.S.A. ra th e r th an re tu rn to T aiw an _____ _____ _____ ______ E. M y p a re n ts w o u ld be h a p p ie r if I stay in U.S.A. rath e r th an re tu rn h om e ***** T he E nd ***** 138 APPENDIX B: I ! I M AJOR CODE BREAKDOW N IN DETAIL I I I 139 A ppendix B: M ajor C ode B reakdow n in D etail The p resen t stu d y d iv id ed the stu d e n ts’ m ajors into nine large categories, nam ely, engineering an d com puter science, n a tu ra l sciences, business, th e hum anities, social sciences, architecture an d arts, m edicine- related fields, an d law and dentistry. This categorization w as based on a related stu d y by Liao & Lee (1984) in w hich ten fields w ere p ro v id ed w ith an ad d itio n of agriculture. In this survey, law a n d d en tistry w ere com bined because there w ere only 3 resp o n d en ts in these m ajors. The division w as m ade w ith certain arbitrariness. For instance, h isto ry w as co u n ted as a m ajor in the hum anities, alth o u g h it m ay be also considered as a social science. A rea studies w ould be categorized according to the stu d en ts' specialties, b u t it w as p u t u n d e r social science because no d etailed specification w as m ad e by the respondents. G eography w as u n d e r the n atu ral sciences here, alth o u g h it can be a social science d e p en d in g on its approach. Fortunately, there w ere only 9 cases in such am bivalent situation. The detailed b reak d o w n of m ajors can be fo u n d as follow s: (A) E ngineering and C o m p u ter Science: aeronautical engineering, chem ical engineering, civil en g in eerin g co m p u ter science, electrical engineering, en v iro n m en tal e n g in e er ing, in d u stria l en g in eerin g , m aterial science, m echanical e n g in eering, nuclear engineering, p etro leu m engineering, u rb a n p la n n in g . 140 (B) N a tu ra l Sciences: A p p lied m athem atics, astronom y, biochem istry, biology, chem istry, geography, m athem atics, neurobiology, physics, statistics, zoology. (C) Business: A ccounting, business a d m in istratio n , in tern atio n al b u sin ess, m an ag em en t & organization, m ark etin g , o p eratio n al research, safety. (D) T he H um anities: A rt history, com parative literatu re, E nglish, history, linguistics, p h ilo so p h y . (E) Social Sciences: A m erican studies, an th ro p o lo g y , com m unication theory. E ast A sian stu d ies, econom ics, in tern atio n al relations, L atin A m erican studies, political science, psychology, public adm inistration, religion, social w ork, sociology. (F) A rchitecture a n d Arts: A rchitecture, art design, cinem a, d ram a, m usic. (G) E ducation: C ounseling, cu rricu lu m a n d in stru ctio n , ed u catio n al ad m in istratio n , educational technology a n d psychology, physical education, special education. T eaching E nglish as a Second L anguage (TESOL). (H) M edicine-R elated Fields: M edicine, pharm aceutical science, pharm acy, physical th erap y , psychiatry. (I) L aw an d D entistry.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Duh, Ming Cherng (author)

Core Title The orientation toward employment of Taiwanese graduate students in the United States

School School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Degree Conferral Date 1990-11

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c30-415214

Unique identifier UC11228786

Identifier DP27324.pdf (filename),usctheses-c30-415214 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier DP27324.pdf

Dmrecord 415214

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Duh, Ming Cherng

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA