In the Chinese context, there is a tendency to divide college majors into two broad categories: STEM (li ke) - or those with a direct vocational implication in their names, such as Engineering and Computer Science - and Liberal Arts (wen ke), such as certain disciplines in the Arts, Humanities and many of the Social Sciences, which are seen as being less directly linked with a specific job position. In this paper, the rationales for individuals to have selected a liberal arts major in a transnational university are unraveled. This study strives to capture the mental journey of these young adults before their embarkation on their educational experiences, namely how they mapped their anticipated future blueprints into immediate major choices within limited time period. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with students and graduates who enrolled in two non-applied, non-vocational first degree courses (Communications and International Relations) in a transnational campus were conducted. Empirical data collection and analyses suggest that: (1) Students’ major decisions are often entwined with their choices of the university, especially the Sino-foreign institutional features; (2) The majority of students were sifted out from their initially desired majors due to their college entrance examination (Gaokao) scores; (3) Some students demonstrated a rational understanding of their strengths, preferences and career plans, while others admitted their decision-making under ignorance; (4) A small group of students are intrinsically motivated by a liberal arts field as they hold distinct perceptions and expectations, which are in line with the ideas of a liberal arts education.

Authors:
Shan He, Ningxia University, China

About the Presenter(s)
Shan He is Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor in the School of Teacher Education, Ningxia University. Her research areas include early childhood education, comparative and international education and higher education.

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shan-He-57

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