Social, Cognitive, and Cultural Factors of STEM Career Aspirations and Decision-Making in Taiwan
I am so lucky and grateful for the opportunity to conduct my Fulbright research in Taiwan. For most of my fellow grantees, Taiwan is a new place. But for me Taiwan is like home. Returning to Taiwan means returning to my cultural roots, for that’s where I was born. Although I have visited Taiwan several times since I left in 1983, this is the first time in 33 years that I was able to have Chinese New Year Eve dinner (nianye fan年夜飯 or tuanyuan fan 團圓飯)with my family. This is also the first time I was able to visit my father and father-in-law’s tombs on the Tomb-Sweeping Day, known in Chinese as the Qingming 清明 Festival. Recently, I attended a high school reunion for the very first time since graduating 40 years ago. Reconnecting with so many classmates and learning about their career paths, I realize all that I missed during Taiwan’s economic heyday of the 1980s and 1990s. Taiwan was then one of Asia’s success stories, and was designated one of the four Asian Dragons 亞州四小龍. I discovered that several of my classmates are listed among Taiwan’s most successful businesspeople. The
