Social Capital Dynamics among Participants in a Qualifications Recognition Program for Internationally-Educated Engineers

摘要

The support structure in a prototypical foreign credentials recognition program for internationally-educated engineers (immigrant engineers) was assessed via survey research with four cohorts of program participants (N = 100; n = 61). The study investigated program participants' experiences with and perceived value of a range of informational, academic, social, personal, and financial supports that the program had developed. The data also allowed for an exploratory interpretation of the dynamics when one cultural group (in this case, Filipino) greatly outnumbers all other cultural groups represented within the overall cohort. The framework of collectivism is used to explain the underlying motives and intentions of group behaviours, and the framework of social capital sheds light on intra-and inter-group dynamics that may not be readily apparent to group members themselves. The findings can serve as a guide to other qualifications recognition programs and to initiatives, regardless of jurisdiction, where culturally diverse cohorts are co-mingling in educational or professional practice settings.