Dr Geng Wang
- Lecturer in Education (School of Education)
Biography
I joined the School of Education, University of Glasgow as a lecturer in September 2023. Previously, I worked as an Associate Researcher at Tianjin University, China (2020-2023). I hold a PhD (University of Glasgow) in education, MSc (University of Edinburgh) in English Literature. I worked as a teacher in vocational colleges in China from 2013-2016.
Research interests
My research interests revolve around the sociology of vocational education and training, i.e. the "bigger picture" of skill formation. I am also interested in investigating how vocational or higher education programmes influences young people’s transition and their learning and development.
Using a sociological lens, I have researched topics such as students’ aspirations in vocational colleges, student agency, skill policies, the institutional arrangement of skill formation, and labour market outcomes. My research is cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, and comparative, I have conducted projects in contexts such as the UK, China, and South Africa in collaboration with international researchers. Most recently, I was a Co-I for a British Academy-funded project on precarious work and future careers for young people in South Africa and China.
By pursuing these topics, I have established a track record of publications, guest talks and other scholarly activities. I have published extensively on vocational education as well as young people’s experience in vocational pathways. My paper ‘A cultured man is not a tool’: the impact of Confucian legacies on the standing of vocational education in China, ranked as the most frequently read article on Journal of Vocational Education and Training in 2022.
Grants
2021. Precarious work and future careers in the context of the gig economy in South Africa and China, British Academy, UK (Co-Investigator).
2020-2023. Innovation Research Grant, Tianjin University, China (Principal Investigator).
2020. The New Engineering Education Institute Project, Tianjin University, China (Co-Investigator).
Supervision
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD scholars with respect to the following areas:
- Sociology of learning
- Vocational education and training
- Skill formation
- The hidden curriculum
- Skill/education policies
- Precarious worker and labour market
- Young people's school-to-work transition
- Wei, Dichen
Rethinking the Demand-side of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in China: From Practice to Theory
Teaching
Research Methods: Ethics and Research in Communities
Vocational Education and Training
Working with Youth