A systemized literature synthesis of encounters with cultural differences in engineering international service-learning literature

Abstract

Abstract – International service-learning (ISL) has been attributed to fostering multicultural education outcomes by impacting the understanding of diversity and cultural competence in students. Within engineering education, international service-learning courses are often designed with an emphasis on engineering technical skills development. Despite the expected encounters with cultural differences, learning outcomes addressing these interactions are often an implicit focus. When not addressed, unintended consequences of these encounters can lead to increased prejudice, stereotypes, and other negative behaviors towards outgroup community members in service-learning partnerships. This manuscript presents a systemized literature synthesis of 20 papers from the engineering ISL literature in order to provide researchers and practitioners with a foundational understanding of how cultural differences have been examined or acknowledged in existing ISL work. The literature synthesis revealed the need for 1) further empirical research on encounters with cultural differences in engineering, 2) more qualitative studies exploring student experiences encountering cultural differences, and 3) a theoretical agenda that examines encounters with cultural differences within the context of engineering research and practice. The outcomes of this synthesis provide insights on research and practice that can be used to inform future work for centering encounters with cultural differences in ISL experiences in engineering.