Social capital dynamics among participants in a qualifications recognition program for internationally-educated engineers

• Autores: Marcia Friesen
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 31, no. 4, 2015, págs. 927-937
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The support structure in a prototypical foreign credentials recognition program for internationally-educated engineers(immigrant engineers) was assessed via survey research with four cohorts of program participants (N = 100; n = 61). Thestudy investigated program participants’ experiences with and perceived value of a range of informational, academic,social, personal, and financial supports that the program had developed. The data also allowed for an exploratoryinterpretation of the dynamics when one cultural group (in this case, Filipino) greatly outnumbers all other cultural groupsrepresented within the overall cohort. The framework of collectivism is used to explain the underlying motives andintentions of group behaviours, and the framework of social capital sheds light on intra- and inter-group dynamics thatmay not be readily apparent to group members themselves. The findings can serve as a guide to other qualificationsrecognition programs and to initiatives, regardless of jurisdiction, where culturally diverse cohorts are co-mingling ineducational or professional practice settings.