A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING STUDENTS

The restructuring of engineering education, aimed at enhancing students' ability to thrive in a global society, is increasingly a topic of discussion. Previous studies have proposed varying definitions of global competency for engineering, expanding its scope from a focus on skills and knowledge to encompass attitudes and mindsets, including perceptions of cultural diversity. Although there is a cumulative body of literature that has assessed the cultural competency of engineering students in the United States and Europe, cross-cultural research in this context that incorporates Japan, the United States, and Europe is limited. For this study, a survey was conducted to measure and compare perceptions of cultural diversity among different groups: Japanese students who had participated in international programs, students with no international experience, technical professionals who were engaged in global business, and American and European engineering students. The Millville-Guzman Universality Diversity Scale-Short Form, which comprises 15 items for assessing the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional dimensions of "universal-diverse orientation," was applied in the survey. The results of the study indicated that the scores of students who had participated in international programs were relatively high and close to those of professionals, whereas the scores of students with only sightseeing international experience and those of students who lacked any international experience were roughly equivalent and at a lower level, particularly for the behavioral dimension. The behavioral and cognitive scores of internationally experienced Japanese students were at the same level as those of American and European students. These results show that the experience of studying or working in global environments can change students' perceptions toward cultural diversity. These findings can contribute to developing and improving educational programs for future global engineers.