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

Abstract

Several studies have explored engineering culture in terms of how it is perceived by engineers, students, or faculty members. However, less is known about how engineering culture varies (or not) when considering national culture as the lens. This study aims to explore how engineering students perceive different dimensions of national culture and identify any patterns that connect to how they perceive their engineering programs. We use Hofstede’s theory of dimensions of national cultures to measure culture in different ways in the student’s perceptions of engineering. Data were collected using a validated survey that explores dimensions of culture and the sample included engineering students from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States. The survey was translated into Spanish and was reviewed by several native Spanish speakers. We piloted the survey with several students. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results provide preliminary information on how students perceive aspects of culture like individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity. We discuss the comparison of the different countries and provide implications of these results to our understanding of engineering culture.