Professional integration of international engineering graduates in Canada: exploring the role of a co-operativeeducation program

• Autores: Sandra Ingram, Marcia Friesen, Anita Ens
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 29, no. 1, 2013, págs. 193-204
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper presents findings from an exploratory study designed to examine the role of a cooperative education term in theintegration of international engineering graduates (immigrant engineers) into the Canadian engineering profession. Theparticipantsin this studywere allenrolled in a university-based qualificationsrecognition program, ofwhich a co-operativeeducation term is one critical component. Data were gathered through focus group interviews, which were designed toobtain their perceptions of the cooperative education experience and its relationship to their career development. Datawere interpreted through a theoretical framework of cultural categories and social and cultural capital, with the aim ofdiscerning enabling and disabling aspects of a cooperative education experience to immigrant professionals’ careerdevelopment. Data reveal that the most profound obstacles concerned participants’ expectations and competencies in thecultural norms and interactional styles that are unique to the North American professional workplace. The implementa-tion of a professional practice component in the academic portion of the university-based program (prior to cooperativeeducation placement) helped students to develop a heightened awareness of cultural differences in the workplace. The co-op term built on this preparation and equipped them with opportunities to recognize and develop social and culturalcapital in the Canadian context, relative to the cultivation of professional skills (soft skills) and exposure to mentoring andnetworking opportunities. Implications are drawn regarding the integration of immigrant professionals and the relation-ship of findings to other under-represented groups.