Study Abroad as a Catalyst for Student Development: The Case of Engineering Students

Author: jamil

U.S. student participation in study abroad has almost tripled since the mid-1980s, with substantial growth since the mid-1990s. For many, spending time abroad is a highlight of the undergraduate experience. Yet, a disturbing trend exists: for a variety of reasons, certain student populations are severely underrepresented in study abroad programs. Engineering students are a glaring example. study usWhile 22.6% of the 191,321 students who studied abroad in 2003-2004 were social science majors and 17.5% were business majors, engineers represented only 2.9% of the students that studied abroad. Interestingly, from a developmental perspective, engineers could benefit tremendously from an international experience. In first examining the barriers that prevent engineering students from studying abroad in large numbers, then in examining the unique cognitive developmental benefits the experience can afford them, important questions about how study abroad can be employed as a catalyst for student development come into focus. Barriers to Engineering Student Study Abroad In failing to study abroad in large numbers, engineering students forfeit critical opportunities for development. The most commonly cited reason for not pursuing foreign study is that the engineering curriculum's structure makes it very difficult, if not prohibitive. Since many engineering courses must be taken sequentially and are only offered one time per academic year, studying abroad often means committing to a fifth year of study. Given the exorbitant costs of higher education, postponing graduation is a financial impossibility for many. Further, since many higher level engineering classes are highly technical and require expensive laboratories, the countries in which engineering students can study for credit are limited. Also, studying a foreign language is associated with increased rates of study abroad, and very few schools mandate that engineers learn a foreign language or allow time for it. Another factor is students' impressions of the impact of study abroad on career outcomes. Some students believe that courses taken abroad may be regarded as less rigorous or even frivolous. Interestingly, with engineering powerhouse schools like Indian Institute of Technology and in the age of large-scale, international engineering projects led by multinational corporations, graduates' marketability to employers only increases with international experiencestudy us. Study Abroad as a Catalyst for Cognitive Development For many institutions, the desired outcome as students progress through college is that through coursework and social interaction, students will gradually relinquish their belief in the certainty of knowledge and the omniscience of authorities and take increasing responsibility for their own learning. Due to the mathematical and quantitative focus of engineering programs, many engineers have a general penchant for dichotomous styles of thinking. Whereas a Philosophy major is often graded on long term-papers and essay exams, engineering students are usually assessed by tests for which questions have a single correct answer. Operating in this setting, it is no surprise that engineering students may have less tolerance for ambiguity, and despite their work on collaborative deign projects, many engineers have less developed communication skills than their Humanities and Social Science-oriented counterparts. For these reasons, the social and cognitive development associated with study abroad could have a very beneficial impact on engineering students.study us Many of the social benefits of study abroad are obvious: a change in environment causes students to make new connections, encourages exploration of different facets of their personality as well as increased cross-cultural understanding. In examining how study abroad can spur the cognitive development of engineering students, William Perry's Scheme of Intellectual Development is useful. Developed on the basis of extensive interviews with Harvard undergraduates, Perry sought to "map conceptually the structures which the students explicitly or implicitly impute to the world." According to Perry, these structures transcend content in that they describe not what a student thinks, but how they think and arrive at conclusions.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/international-studies-articles/study-abroad-as-a-catalyst-for-student-development-the-case-of-engineering-students-4516583.html

About the Author

i am a student in science college vesit my site study us