Exploring students’ perceptions of engineering culture: a comparative analysis between Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States

50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 531 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] 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 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 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 533 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 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 534 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 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 535 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 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 536 • 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. 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 537 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. 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 538 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. 50 h Annual Con e ence in Sep embe 2022 539 REFERENCES [1] K. Bö ne, W. Rouse, P. T un io, and E. 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