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Home o Mu zi, Me yn Ma quez, Lloyd Mo is and Miguel And es Gue aExplo ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o enginee ing cul u e: A compa a i e analysis be ween Chile,
Colombia, Ecuado , and he Uni ed S a es - 10.5821/con e ence-9788412322262.1385
doi:10.5821/con e ence-9788412322262.1385
EXPLORING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGINEERING
CULTURE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN CHILE,
COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, AND THE UNITED STATES
H. Mu zi 1
Vi ginia Tech
Blacksbu g, Uni ed S a es
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-3849-2947
M. Ma quez
Uni e si y Aus al
Valdi ia, Chile
ORCID
L. Mo is
Technological Uni e si y o Pe ei a
Pe ei a, Colombia
ORCID
M. A. Gue a Mosque a
San F ancisco Uni e si y
Qui o, Ecuado
ORCID
Con e ence Key A eas: S uden engagemen , Fos e ing Enginee ing Educa ion
Resea ch
Keywo ds: Enginee ing cul u e, Disciplina y cul u e, Enginee ing iden i y,
Compa a i e s udy
ABSTRACT
Se e al s udies ha e explo ed enginee ing cul u e in e ms o how i is pe cei ed by
enginee s, s uden s, o acul y membe s. Howe e , less is known abou how
enginee ing cul u e a ies (o no ) when conside ing na ional cul u e as he lens.
This s udy aims o explo e how enginee ing s uden s pe cei e di e en dimensions
o na ional cul u e and iden i y any pa e ns ha connec o how hey pe cei e hei
enginee ing p og ams. We use Ho s ede’s heo y o dimensions o na ional cul u es
o measu e cul u e in di e en ways in he s uden ’s pe cep ions o enginee ing. Da a
we e collec ed using a alida ed su ey ha explo es dimensions o cul u e and he
sample included enginee ing s uden s om Chile, Colombia, Ecuado , and he
1 Co esponding Au ho
Home o Mu zi
hmu[email p o ec ed]
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532
Uni ed S a es. The su ey was ansla ed in o Spanish and was e iewed by se e al
na i e Spanish speake s. We pilo ed he su ey wi h se e al s uden s. Da a we e
analyzed using desc ip i e and in e en ial s a is ics. Resul s p o ide p elimina y
in o ma ion on how s uden s pe cei e aspec s o cul u e like indi idualism, powe
dis ance, unce ain y a oidance, and masculini y. We discuss he compa ison o he
di e en coun ies and p o ide implica ions o hese esul s o ou unde s anding o
enginee ing cul u e.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Backg ound
Gi en he cen al ole enginee ing plays in echnology and inno a ion, 21s -cen u y
enginee ing p og ams ha e been consis en ly called upon o help s uden s de elop
he a i udes, mindse s, and p ac ices ha can d i e inno a ion [1]–[4]. Simila ly, he
globaliza ion o he con empo a y wo ld equi es ha hose enginee ing
compe encies include a global pe spec i e [5]–[7]. Cul u e, in his case, can be a
lens ha helps enginee ing p og ams unde s and ba ie s o ans o ming cu icula,
emphasizing he impo ance o inno a ion and global awa eness in enginee ing
cu icula o d i e knowledge-based economic compe i i eness.
In his s udy, we ocus on hese issues ia an explo a ion o cul u e in enginee ing.
This app oach is consis en wi h Ma uso ich e al.’s [8] a gumen ha no only
pe sonal bu collec i e belie s and alues a e also essen ial in suppo ing change. As
God ey e al., [9] no e, calls o add ess change in enginee ing educa ion h ough a
cul u al lens da e back a leas o he mid-1990s and encompass s udies o na ional
cul u es, ins i u ional and campus cul u es, acul y cul u es, gende , and mo e.
Cul u e has been a p ominen amewo k used wi h mino i ized g oups, pa icula ly
women, in enginee ing. Di e se pe spec i es in enginee ing a e conside ed o d i e
inno a ion and global awa eness, howe e , he e is a lack o di e si y in he ield
o en a ibu ed o cul u al ai s o he discipline, cha ac e ized as masculine,
indi idualis ic, and unc ion-o ien ed [10]–[15].
In addi ion o speci ic wo k on he cul u e o enginee ing, se e al s udies ha e looked
a di e ences in academic disciplines wi h espec o eaching, lea ning, and
p ac ice. One o he ea lies and mos no able is Snow [16]’s Two Cul u es, posi ing
he g owing di ide be ween he “li e a y in ellec uals” and he “physical scien is s.”
Since hen, a ange o social science and educa ion esea che s ha e used empi ical
esea ch o explo e di e ences and simila i ies among disciplines mo e ully. Wo k
by Beche [17], [18] ocused on analyzing disciplina y di e ences om he mic o-
le el (academic depa men s). B adbee [19] looked o he mac o-le el (in e ac ion o
di e en disciplines) wi h wo k based on unde s anding di e ences in disciplina y
epis emologies, discou ses, adi ions o eaching and lea ning, and s uden s’
p e e ed lea ning app oaches. Donald's [20] case s udies examined s uc u es
p o esso s and s uden s c ea e o cons uc and use knowledge. Nul y and Ba e
[21] ocused on expe ien ial lea ning models. Neumann e al. [22] examined he
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na u e o eaching, eaching and lea ning p ocesses, and eaching ou comes ac oss
he di e en disciplines o p opose b oade disciplina y classi ica ions.
As no ed ea lie , ou pa icula in e es in disciplina y cul u es eme ges om wo
in e sec ing needs: o help enginee ing s uden s de elop as inno a o s and o
expand global awa eness in he ield. And, we a gue, hese wo needs a e
in e wined. While exis ing wo k on enginee ing cul u e highligh s se e al issues
ega ding he cul u e o he discipline, ha wo k does no ypically in e sec wi h wo k
on cul u es ha conside na ional di e ences. Simila ly, much o he wo k on
disciplina y cul u e seeks o desc ibe di e ences in ways o knowing and lea ning bu
does no necessa ily link hose epis emologies o pa icula alues o belie s.
Ca be y and Bake [23] explain ha cul u al conside a ions in enginee ing and
enginee ing educa ion spo ligh he impo ance o cul u e and i s implica ions on
lea ning, eaching, enginee ing p ac ice, iden i y, and encul u a ion as an enginee .
We a gue ha unde s anding ou na ional cul u e's in luence on he way we pe cei e
ou disciplina y cul u e is essen ial and has no been s udied ex ensi ely in
enginee ing educa ion.
1.2 Pu pose
The pu pose o his explo a o y pape is o p esen p elimina y esul s o a la ge
s udy being conduc ed wi h enginee ing s uden s in di e en coun ies a ound he
wo ld o compa e how hei na ional cul u e in luences (o no ) he way hey pe cei e
hei disciplina y cul u e. In his pape , we epo he esul s o a su ey conduc ed in
uni e si ies in Colombia, Chile, Ecuado , and he Uni ed S a es wi h unde g adua e
enginee ing s uden s. Ou o e a ching esea ch ques ion is: A e he e any
di e ences in he way s uden s pe cei e hei enginee ing cul u e in di e en
coun ies?
In he ollowing sec ions, we desc ibe he heo e ical amewo k used o shape his
wo k, he con ex o he esea ch in e ms o he cul u al di e ences among he
coun ies s udied, and he ins i u ional con ex o he pa icipan s. Finally, we epo
ou esul s and p o ide some discussion o ou indings and di ec ions o ou u u e
wo k.
2 EXPLORATION OF THE LITERATURE
2.1 Ho s ede
To unde s and how na ional cul u e in luences he pe cep ions o enginee ing cul u e
s uden s ha e, we used Ho s ede’s [24] heo y o dimensions o na ional cul u e o
guide ou wo k. Ho s ede's [24]–[28] heo y has been one o he mos ci ed a ound
coun ies’ cul u al di e ences. His wo k s a ed in he mid-1960s when he su eyed
employees a IBM -wi h simila wo king condi ions and esponsibili ies- in mo e han
50 coun ies. The su ey explo ed employees’ alues, and he in o ma ion helped
him iden i y he di e en dimensions in a cul u e ha can demons a e di e ences
ac oss coun ies. Ho s ede [26] de ined cul u e based on his da a and explained ha
cul u al pa e ns a e oo ed in he alue sys em o majo g oups o indi iduals and
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became s abilized o e long pe iods as he accep able way o hinking. This includes
pa e ns o hinking, eeling, and ac ing ha e e y human being ca ies and ha
usually people will collec i ely sha e as he app op ia e way o hinking based on
whe e hey a e om. These pa e ns a e c ea ed by social in e ac ions and
expe iences collec ed since he ea ly li e o an indi idual, s a ing “wi hin he amily; i
con inues wi hin he neighbo hood, a school, in you h g oups, a he wo kplace, and
in he li ing communi y” [28] (p. 6). Ho s ede’s [26] o iginal dimensions o cul u e a e:
• Powe Dis ance add esses he deg ee o which he less powe ul membe s o
ins i u ions and o ganiza ions wi hin a coun y expec and accep ha powe is
dis ibu ed unequally.
• Unce ain y A oidance/Accep ance add esses how membe s o a cul u e can
ope a e com o ably wi h unce ain y.
• Indi idualism/Collec i ism add esses he ela ionship be ween indi iduals and
he la ge g oup. In an indi idualis ic cul u e, indi iduals a e loosely connec ed:
e e yone is expec ed o ope a e independen ly, and people do no s ongly
iden i y wi h a g oup no m.
• Masculini y/Feminini y e e s o he con inuum ep esen ing how emo ional
oles a e dis ibu ed ac oss gende s, wi h asse i e oles aligned wi h he
masculine pole o he con inuum and ca ing oles aligned wi h he eminine pole.
Ou s udy compa es di e en coun ies in he wo ld ha a e cul u ally di e en in
e ms o hese dimensions. This pape ocuses on Chile, Colombia, Ecuado , and he
Uni ed S a es. Using Ho s ede's online ool [29], i is possible o ob ain an o e iew
o some o he cul u al dimensions o people in he coun ies we s udied. Figu e 1
p esen s a isual ep esen a ion o he main dimensions.
Fig. 1. Cul u al compa ison be ween he ou coun ies in his s udy
F om Figu e 1, i is possible o see ha , in e ms o Indi idualism, he Uni ed S a es
has one o he mos indi idualis ic socie ies. In con as , Ecuado has one o he less
indi idualis ic ones. In e ms o Powe Dis ance, Ecuado has a e y high powe
dis ance, Colombia and Chile a e in he middle, and he Uni ed S a es has a
ela i ely low one. Masculini y is also di ided be ween Chile and he Uni ed S a es
(low) and Colombia and Ecuado (high). Finally, unce ain y a oidance also has a
signi ican di ision ha ing Chile wi h he highes one ollowed by Colombia, Ecuado
63
23
28
86
67
13
64
80
78
8
63
67
40
91
26
46
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM MASCULINITY UNCERTAINTY
AVOIDANCE
Chile Colombia Ecuado Uni ed S a es
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anking in he middle, and he Uni ed S a es ha ing a ela i ely low unce ain y
a oidance.
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Con ex o he s udy
The s udy was conduc ed on 4 ins i u ions in he di e en coun ies. In Colombia, he
Technological Uni e si y o Pe ei a i ’s a echnical ins i u ion wi h 17971 s uden s.
The Uni e si y has 93 academic p og ams. The e a e 6199 enginee ing s uden s
and 10 di e en enginee ing p og ams. In Chile, Aus al Uni e si y has 16893
s uden s dis ibu ed among 52 academic deg ees. The e a e 8 enginee ing p og ams
wi h a. o al o 2424 unde g adua e enginee ing s uden s. The Uni e si y San
F ancisco de Qui o in Ecuado is a p i a e uni e si y loca ed in Qui o Ecuado and
has abou 7000 unde g adua e s uden s. Vi ginia Tech, in he Uni ed S a es, is a
public land-g an esea ch uni e si y and o e s 280 unde g adua e and g adua e
deg ee p og ams o some 34,400 s uden s and manages a esea ch po olio o
mo e han $500 million. The College o Enginee ing o e s 14 unde g adua e deg ee-
g an ing enginee ing majo s.
3.2 Da a collec ion
To be e unde s and he di e ences be ween enginee ing cul u al pe cep ions o
enginee ing s uden s om Chile, Colombia, Ecuado , and he Uni ed S a es, da a
we e collec ed quan i a i ely using a su ey adap ed by Sha ma [30] o measu e
Ho s ede’s cul u al dimensions wi hin enginee ing s uden s. This su ey was
alida ed by Sha ma [30], bu he au ho s also alida ed i o i s use in academic
disciplines [31].
Sha ma’s su ey econcep ualizes i e cul u al ac o s--Powe Dis ance,
Indi idualism, Masculini y, Unce ain y A oidance, and Long-Te m O ien a ion as en
pe sonal cul u al o ien a ions (PCO) and uses a 40-i em scale o measu e hem.
Sha ma belie ed ha Ho s ede’s na ional-le el cons uc s “may no ully ep esen
he di e si y in he cul u al o ien a ions o he ci izens o a coun y since hey may no
possess he same le el o hei na ional cul u al cha ac e is ics” ([30], p.788); in o he
wo ds, Ho s ede’s o iginal scale p esen ed challenges when measu ing cul u e a an
indi idual le el. Fo ou pu poses, we ocus on he i s ou o iginal cul u al ac o s
and adap Sha ma’s su ey based on hese ac o s alone. Below is a desc ip ion o
he ou o iginal ac o s econcep ualized as pe sonal cul u al o ien a ions acco ding
o Sha ma:
• Indi idualism-Collec i ism as Independence and In e dependence, wo
nega i ely co ela ed dimensions in which Independence is associa ed wi h
indi idualism and In e dependence is ela ed o con o mi y
• Powe Dis ance as Powe and Social Inequali y, wo posi i ely co ela ed
dimensions, in which Powe is associa ed wi h ela ionships be ween people and
au ho i y and Social Inequali y is ela ed o hie a chy e sus egali a ianism

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• Unce ain y A oidance as Risk A e sion and Ambigui y In ole ance, wo
posi i ely co ela ed dimensions, in which Risk A e sion ep esen s eluc ance
o aking isks and Ambigui y In ole ance ep esen s he ex en o ole ance
owa d unce ain si ua ions
• Masculini y-Feminini y as Masculini y and Gende Equali y, wo independen
dimensions, in which Masculini y ep esen s asse i eness, sel -con idence,
agg ession, and ambi ion, and Gende Equali y ep esen s he pe cep ion o
men and women as equal conce ning social oles, capabili ies, igh s, and
esponsibili ies.
The su ey was adminis e ed elec onically using Google o ms. I was dis ibu ed in
all pa icipa ing ins i u ions in he ou coun ies. The su ey was ansla ed in o
Spanish and pilo ed wi h expe s. Pa icipan s included 131 Enginee ing s uden s
om Chile, 85 enginee ing s uden s om Colombia, 167 enginee ing s uden s om
Ecuado , and 211 enginee ing s uden s om he Uni ed S a es
Da a we e analyzed o ini ial di e ences, and in his pape , we p esen ou
p elimina y esul s o show some o he di e ences be ween he coun ies selec ed.
In he ollowing sec ion, we epo on he mean o each o he cons uc s o show he
gene al di e ences in each o hose. In he nex sec ion, we p o ide some
discussion.
4 RESULTS
4.1 Indi idualism-Collec i ism
In indi idualism-collec i ism ( igu e 2), Ecuado ian s uden s epo ed being he mo e
indi idualis ic ones. These esul s a e signi ican ly di e en , wi h 95% con idence
using he Tukey me hod. Howe e , all coun ies ha e ela i ely high pe cep ions o
his cons uc .
Fig. 2. Resul s o Indi idualism
4.2 Powe Dis ance
In Figu e 3, i is possible o obse e ha Colombia has he lowes Powe Dis ance
and Ecuado has he highes one, al hough all coun ies ha e a ela i ely low powe
dis ance pe cep ion.
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Fig. 3. Resul s o Powe Dis ance
4.3 Unce ain y A oidance
Rega ding Unce ain y a oidance ( igu e 4), Chile anks highe han o he coun ies,
and Colombia has he lowes one. All coun ies ank in he middle o his cons uc .
Fig. 4. Resul s o Unce ain y A oidance
4.4 Masculini y – Feminini y
The e a e no signi ican di e ences in his masculini y- eminini y ( igu e 5), wi h all
coun ies anking high.
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Fig. 5. Resul s o Unce ain y A oidance
5 DISCUSSION
To unde s and he di e ences and simila i ies in enginee ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o
enginee ing cul u e conce ning Ho s ede’s dimensions o Na ional Cul u e be ween
Chile, Colombia, Ecuado , and he Uni ed S a es, we conduc ed a quan i a i e s udy.
Ou su ey da a we e analyzed using desc ip i e and in e en ial s a is ics. We
wan ed o unde s and i enginee ing s uden s’ pe cep ions would ma ch hei na ional
cul u e da a when esponding o he ques ions. We compa ed ou ins i u ions ha ,
al hough hey migh look di e en , hei enginee ing p og ams a e s uc u ed e y
simila ly.
The i s in e es ing esul is ega ding indi idualism. Despi e all 3 Sou h Ame ican
coun ies being e y collec i is ic cul u es and he Uni ed S a es ha ing one o he
mo e indi idualis ic socie ies, in ou da a, s uden s in all coun ies epo
conside ably high in indi idualism. Fu he mo e, Ecuado is one o he mos
collec i is ic socie ies. Howe e , in ou da a, s uden s epo ed he highes
pe cep ions o indi idualism. This esul is in e es ing and wo h explo ing u he o
unde s and i he way ha enginee ing p og ams a e s uc u ed is omen ing he
p e alence o indi idualism o e collec i ism, o example, he high ocus on g ades
and he impo ance o inding he igh solu ion - ypical in an enginee ing cul u e-
could be mo i a ing his pe cep ion.
We we e expec ing some signi ican di e ences in e ms o powe dis ance, as
Ecuado has one o he highes powe dis ance indexes and he Uni ed S a es a
ela i ely low one, ha ing Chile and Colombia anking in be ween. Ou da a con i m
his inding; howe e , in gene al, ou esul s show ha all coun ies a e anking in he
middle in powe dis ance. Ha ing Colombian s uden s anking he lowes and
Ecuado , as expec ed, anking he highes . I was also su p ising o see he Uni ed
S a es anked he second-highes , despi e he coun y ha ing a lowe powe
dis ance han Colombia and Chile. We also conside his esul in e es ing and wo h
explo ing u he o be e unde s and i powe dynamics in enginee ing class ooms
make s uden s ha e a gene ally low pe cep ion o powe dis ance.
Rega ding unce ain y a oidance, we did no ind any signi ican esul s. Ins ead, he
pa e ns beha ed simila ly o wha was expec ed based on he na ional cul u al
di e ences.
Finally, o Masculini y-Feminini y, we expec ed Colombia and Ecuado o ha e
highe sco es and Chile and he Uni ed S a es o ha e he lowes ones; howe e , all
coun ies anked e y high in ou da a. Su p isingly, we also had Chile and he
Uni ed S a es wi h highe sco es han Colombia. We also conside his dimension
wo h explo ing u he as i can be seen ha he cul u al pe cep ion o enginee ing
migh impac how s uden s pe cei e his dimension.
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