Manufacturing curriculum issues of two-year mechanical engineering technology program in Taiwan, R.O.C.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate current practices and possible changes in the mechanical engineering technology manufacturing curriculum in Taiwan\u27s two-year junior technical colleges. The study was based on survey responses from three populations: (a) graduates of mechanical engineering (manufacturing division) programs in two-year junior technical colleges, (b) their manufacturing supervisors, and (c) their company chief executive officers (CEOs). The survey was designed to develop responses for following: 1. Determine the degree of importance of courses in the current Taiwanese two-year curriculum in manufacturing, in the opinion of the three groups surveyed. 2. Determine what the future curriculum components of a two-year manufacturing program should be, in the opinion of the three groups surveyed. 3. Report the employment characteristics of Taiwanese two-year junior technical college graduates. 4. Develop the specific recommendations for Taiwan\u27s two-year technical junior college manufacturing education programs. The survey\u27s return rate was 46.7% for program graduates, 54.5% for supervisors, and 43.6% for CEOs. The data were statistically analyzed using the Borich Discrepancy Model to measure the degree of importance respondents assigned to subjects in the current curriculum and possible future curricula. Pearson correlation coefficients indicate a strong consensus on both current practices and desired curriculum changes. The data show that respondents judged the most important subject areas of the current curriculum to be material science, computer assisted engineering techniques, basic manufacturing control techniques, and English as a second language. The most important areas to include in a future curriculum were judged to be physics, ethical and value sensitivity, human relationships and organizational behavior, and advanced manufacturing and inspection technologies. Based on the data and review of the literature, five recommendations are made for Taiwan\u27s manufacturing curriculum in the two-year technical junior colleges. They are: (a) greater emphasis on engineering and computer-based subject matter areas, (b) greater emphasis on industrially oriented decision-making models, (c) shorter revision intervals, (d) greater flexibility to meet local conditions and student needs, (e) a permanent advisory organization to design, implement, and evaluate curriculum content