China's Higher Engineering Education Goal

The goal of higher engineering education is to develop advanced engineering and technical personnel, which is the general direction of the development of higher engineering education and the starting point of all higher engineering education; it plays a normative role in the results of higher engineering education. China’s higher engineering education emerged from the Westernization Movement, now one hundred years of history, its goal is not absolutely fixed, but dynamic. In different cognitive background, different subjects, namely, education policy makers, executors and researchers, have a different perception on the goal of the higher engineering education.In a hundred years of higher engineering education is divided into four stages of development. Firstly, it is the bud time periods which from the end of the nineteenth century to early twentieth century; secondly, it is the start-up and exploration period which from the beginning of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China to reform and opening up; furthermore, it is the reforming period which from period of reform and opening up to the end of the twentieth century; last, it is the period of rapid development since the twenty-first century. In the production stage, China’s higher engineering education originated from the salvation and against foreign aggression, its goal was to foster the "generalist", mainly military engineers, but they hurried to learn and applied their knowledge. In the start-up and exploration period, China’s higher engineering education copied the Soviet model. Both red and expert engineers, which was the goal of higher engineering education was accounted by education policy makers and executors. Educational researchers thought that we should be reasonable to learn from the Soviet model, and the goal of higher engineering education was the rough engineers. During the reforming period, China’s higher engineering education learned from European and American models, education policy makers and executors adjusted strategically to the goal of China’s higher engineering education, they thought that the goal of the higher engineering education was comprehensive physical and moral development engineer with thick foundation and wide caliber. Education researchers believed that China’s higher engineering education should focus on developing the human qualities of the engineer, but could not deviate from the engineering essence. Since the twenty-first century, in the cognitive background of merger of the institutions, education policy makers and executors thought that China’s higher engineering education should return to engineering and develop distinguished engineers with innovation capability. In the process of implementing the goals of higher engineering education, Education researchers found some problems, for example, blindly climbing and positioning imbalance, they thought China’s higher engineering education should be different levels to train engineers, focus on developing "high, fine, sharp" engineers to meet the pyramid structure of higher engineering education.Education policy makers acknowledge the goals of higher engineering education from macro point of view, the executors focus on micro-realistic point of view, the researchers understood the goal of higher engineering education from the perspective of pedagogy and student development, They have a mutual restraint and promotion relationship,which deeply promote our studies with the goal of higher engineering education to close to the truth, enrich and improve the theory and practice of China’s higher engineering education.