This study explores how engineering students studying project management perceive their learning experiences. To facilitate an understanding of the constituent components of engineering students’ experiences and to understand how these experiences influence preferred learning styles, a comparative study of university students studying engineering in South Africa and the United Kingdom is conducted. The study finds no significant demographic differences in learning experiences across the two student cohorts. However, the South African cohort reports higher levels of overall experiences. They also report higher usage of online learning materials but lower levels of blended learning and individual critical evaluation skills experiences.
AinleyJ. (2001). The 1999 Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire.Australian Council for Educational Research.
2.
ArevaloJ., Mola-YudegoB., PelkonenP., & QuM. (2012). Students’ views on forestry education: A cross-national comparison across three universities in Brazil, China and Finland. Forest Policy and Economics, 25, 123–131.
3.
AshleighM., OjiakoU., ChipuluM., & Kai WangJ. (2012). Critical learning themes in project management education: Implications for blended learning. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), 153–161.
4.
Association for Project Management. (APM). (2012). Body of knowledge, 6th ed., High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England: Association for Project Management.
5.
BakerJ. (1960). The contribution of the universities to the teaching of management. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 17(2), 226–231.
6.
BaldockT., & ChansonH. (2006). Undergraduate teaching of ideal and real fluid flows: The value of real-world experimental projects. European Journal of Engineering Education, 31(6), 729–739.
7.
BarhamB., ChavasJ., FitzD., SalasV., & SchechterL. (2014). The roles of risk and ambiguity in technology adoption. Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organization, 97, 204–218.
8.
BarrB. (2008). UK civil engineering education in the twenty-first century. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 161(EH1), 17–23.
9.
BennettR. (2003). Determinants of undergraduate student dropout rates in a university business studies department. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27(2), 123–141.
10.
BennettR., KottaszR., & NocciolinoJ. (2007). Catching the early walker: An examination of potential antecedents of rapid student exit from business-related undergraduate degree programmes in a post-1992 university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(2), 109–132.
11.
BerggrenC., & SöderlundJ. (2008). Rethinking project management education: Social twists and knowledge co-production. International Journal of Project Management, 26(3), 286–296.
12.
BredilletC., ConboyK., DavidsonP., & WalkerD. (2013). The getting of wisdom: The future of PM university education in Australia. International Journal of Project Management, 31(8), 1072–1088.
13.
BrownC., & CzerniewiczL. (2007). If we build it will they come? Investigating the relationship between students’ access to and use of ICTs for learning. South African Journal of Higher Education, 21, 732–747.
14.
BrownC., & CzerniewiczL. (2010). Debunking the “digital native”: Beyond digital apartheid, towards digital democracy. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(5), 357–369.
15.
BruneelJ., D'EsteP., & SalterA. (2010). Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university–industry collaboration. Research Policy, 39(7), 858–868.
16.
ByrneM., FloodB., HassallT., JoyceJ., Arquero MontanoJ. L., González GonzalezJ., & Tourna-GermanouE. (2012). Motivations, expectations and preparedness for higher education: A study of accounting students in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Greece. Accounting Forum, 36(2), 134–144.
17.
CampbellW., ChristianA., & SharpJ. (1984). Education for professional practice. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 76(Part 1), 555–558.
18.
CariniR., KuhG., & KleinS. (2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47(1), 1–32.
19.
CaseJ. (2006, September 26–27). Issues facing engineering education in South Africa. Proceedings of the 3rd African Regional Conference on Engineering Education. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
20.
CaseJ., & MarshallD. (2004). Between deep and surface: Procedural approaches to learning in engineering education contexts. Studies in Higher Education, 29(5), 605–615.
21.
CassidyS. (2012). Exploring individual differences as determining factors in student academic achievement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 37(7), 793–810.
22.
Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). (2014). Code of practice for project management for construction and development, 5th ed., Bracknell, England: Chartered Institute of Building.
23.
ChipuluM., NeohJ., OjiakoU., & WilliamsT. (2013). A multidimensional analysis of project manager competencies. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 60(3), 506–517.
24.
ChipuluM., OjiakoU., AshleighM., & MaguireS. (2011). An analysis of interrelationships between project management and student experience constructs. Project Management Journal, 42(3), 91–101.
25.
ChiuM., ChowB., & McBride-ChangC. (2007). Universals and specifics in learning strategies: Explaining adolescent mathematics, science, and reading achievement across 34 countries. Learning and Individual Differences, 17(4), 344–365.
26.
ChumaW. (2014). The social meanings of mobile phones among South Africa's “digital natives”: A case study. Media, Culture & Society, 36(3), 398–408.
27.
CicmilS., WilliamsT., ThomasJ., & HodgsonD. (2006). Rethinking project management: Researching the actuality of projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 675–686.
28.
ClarkeN. (2010). The impact of a training programme designed to target the emotional intelligence abilities of project managers. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), 461–468.
29.
CollofelloJ. (2000). University/industry collaboration in developing a simulation-based software project management training course. IEEE Transactions on Education, 43(4), 389–393.
30.
CoxM., CekicO., AhnB., & ZhuJ. (2012). Engineering professionals’ expectations of undergraduate engineering students. ASCE Leadership and Management in Engineering, 12(2), 60–70.
31.
CranstonW. (1984). Current teaching: Difficulties and strengths. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 76(Part 1), 284–304.
32.
DalyS., MosyjowskiE., & SeifertC. (2014). Teaching creativity in engineering courses. Journal of Engineering Education, 103(3), 417–449.
33.
DavisonL., & PorrittN. (1999). Using computers to teach. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Civil Engineering, 132(1), 24–30.
34.
De BeerM., & MasonR. (2009). Using a blended approach to facilitate postgraduate supervision. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46(2), 213–226.
35.
De WittM., LessingA., & DickerA. (1998). The comparison of reading skills of non-mother-tongue learners with those of mother-tongue learners. South African Journal of Education, 18(2), 118–123.
36.
Easterby-SmithM., GracaM., AntonacopoulouE., & FerdinandJ. (2008). Absorptive capacity: A process perspective. Management Learning, 39(5), 483–501.
37.
EllisM., & SteynG. (2014). The regulatory context in private higher education in South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 258–271.
38.
Engineering Council. (2000). Measuring the mathematics problem.London, England: Engineering Council.
EtheringtonP. (1977). The education and training of civil engineers: A review of the Chilver proposals. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 62(4), 643–653.
43.
EvansI. (1957). The place of engineering in university education. Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 13(Series A), 196.
44.
FinnistonM., DugganT., & BementJ. (1989). Integrated engineering and its influence on the future of engineering education in the UK. International Journal of Applied Engineering Education, 5(2), 135–145.
45.
FriedmanR., & DeekF. (2003). Innovation and education in the digital age: Reconciling the roles of pedagogy, technology, and the business of learning. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 50(4), 403–412.
46.
GarrisonD., & KanukaH. (2004). Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 7(2), 95–105.
47.
Government of South Africa. (2001). National Plan for Higher Education, 6.
48.
Government of South Africa. (2012). National Development Plan 2030, 317.
HakseverA., & ManisaliE. (2000). Assessing supervision requirements of PhD students: The case of construction management and engineering in the UK. European Journal of Engineering Education, 25(1), 19–32.
51.
HamiltonA. (2006). Project management: Turning engineers into team players. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Civil Engineering, 159(2), 82–87.
52.
HanushekE., & WoessmannL. (2014). Institutional structures of the education system and student achievement: A review of cross-country economic research. In StrietholtRolf, BosWilfried, and GustaffsonJan-Eric (Eds.), Educational Policy Evaluation through International Comparative Assessments.Münster, Germany: Waxmann Verlag GmbH.
53.
HofstedeG. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10(3), 301–320.
JafferS., Ng'ambiD., & CzerniewiczL. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa: One strategy for addressing teaching and learning challenges. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 3(4), Retrieved from http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=421
59.
JesiekB. K., BorregoM., & BeddoesK. (2010). Advancing global capacity for engineering education research: Relating research to practice, policy and industry. European Journal of Engineering Education, 35(2), 117–134.
KaplowitzM., HadlockT., & LevineR. (2004). A comparison of web and mail survey response rates. Public Opinion Quarterly, 68(1), 94–101.
62.
KemberD., NgS., TseH., WongE., & PomfretM. (1996). An examination of the interrelationships between workload, study time, learning approaches and academic outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 21(3), 347–358.
63.
KruskalJ. (1964). Multidimensional Scaling by optimizing goodness of fit to a non-metric hypothesis. Psychometrika, 29, 1–27.
LawK., RasdorfW., KaramouzM., & AbudayyehO. (1990). Computing in civil engineering curriculum: Needs and issues. ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering, 116(2), 128–141.
66.
LikertR. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archive of Psychology, 22(140), 1–55.
67.
Lopez-PerezM., Perez-LopezM. C., & Rodriguez-ArizaL. (2011). Blended learning in higher education: Students’ perceptions and their relation to outcomes. Computers & Education, 56(3), 818–826.
68.
LouwT., & RwelamilaP.D. (2012). Project management training curricula at South African public universities: Is the balanced demand of the profession sufficiently accommodated?Project Management Journal, 43(4), 70–80.
69.
Mar-MolineroC., & MingersJ. (2006). An evaluation of the limitations of, and alternatives to, the Co-Plot methodology. Journal of Operations Research Society, 58, 874–886.
70.
MarshallD., & CaseJ. (2010). Rethinking “disadvantage” in higher education: A paradigmatic case study using narrative analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 35(5), 491–504.
71.
MartonF., HounsellD., & EntwistleN. (Eds.). (1984). The experience of learning.Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Academic Press.
72.
McLeanM., & WalkerM. (2012). The possibilities for university based public-good professional education: A case-study from South Africa based on the capability approach. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), 585–601.
73.
MillerL. (2007). Issues in lecturing in a second language: Lecturer's behaviour and students’ perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 32(6), 747–760.
74.
MooreD., & VoltmerD. (2003). Curriculum for an engineering renaissance. IEEE Transactions on Education, 46(4), 452–455.
75.
NeophytouE., & Mar MolineroC. (2004). Predicting corporate failure in the UK: A multidimensional scaling approach. Journal of Business Financial Accounting, 31(5-6), 677–710.
76.
OjiakoU., AshleighM., ChipuluM., & MaguireS. (2011). Learning and teaching challenges in project management. International Journal of Project Management, 29(3), 268–278.
77.
OjiakoU., ChipuluM., AshleighM., AwindaK., SamwingaV., BrownD., & MaguireS. (2013). Pedagogical imperatives in the teaching of project management. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Management: Procurement and Law, 166(2), 68–76.
78.
OjiakoU., ChipuluM., AshleighM., & WilliamsT. (2014). Project management learning: Key dimensions and saliency from student experiences. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), 1445–1458.
79.
OliverR., & McLoughlinC. (1999). Curriculum and learning-resources issues arising from the use of web-based course support systems. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 5(4), 419–435.
80.
OsguthorpeR., & GrahamC. (2003). Blended learning environments: Definitions and directions. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4(3), 227–233.
81.
OwensC., & FortenberryN. (2007). A transformation model of engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education, 32(4), 429–440.
82.
PantI., & BaroudiB. (2008). Project management education: The human skills imperative. International Journal of Project Management, 26(2), 124–128.
83.
PrenskyM. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9, 1–9.
84.
PrenskyM. (2001b). Digital natives, digital immigrants, Part 2: do they really think differently?On the Horizon, 9, 1–9.
85.
Project Management Institute (PMI). (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) – Fifth edition. Newtown Square, PA: Author.
86.
RamazaniJ., & JergeasG. (2014). Project managers and the journey from good to great: The benefits of investment in project management training and education. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 41–52.
87.
Rodriguez-LargachaM., Garcia-FloresF., Fernandez-SanchezG., Fernandez-HerediaA., MillanM., MartinezJ., VilardagaI., & BernaldoM. (2014). Improving student participation and motivation in the learning process. ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education & Practice, 141(1), 04014005.
88.
SchexnayderC., & AndersonS. (2011). Construction engineering education: History and challenge. ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 137(10), 730–739.
89.
SchiffmanS., ReynoldsM., & YoungF. (1981). Introduction to multidimensional scaling: Theory, methods and applications.New York, NY: Academic Press.
90.
ScottI., YeldN., HendryJ. (2007). A case for improving teaching and learning in South African higher education.Council on Higher Education (CHE) and Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), Pretoria, South Africa.
91.
SevernR. (2009). The development of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, 1909–2009: A history to mark its centenary.University of Bristol, Bristol, England.
92.
SewchurranK. (2008). Toward an approach to create self-organizing and reflexive information systems project practitioners. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 1(3), 316–333.
93.
SillerT. (2001). Sustainability and critical thinking in civil engineering curriculum. ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 127(3), 104–108.
South African Institution of Civil Engineers. (2012, March). Presidential address: A succession plan for South African Civil Engineering. Civil Engineering, 13–16.
97.
SvejvigP., & AndersenP. (2015). Rethinking project management: A structured literature review with a critical look at the brave new world. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 278–290.
98.
TeichlerU. (2004). The changing debate on internationalisation of higher education. Higher Education, 48(1), 5–26.
99.
TekinarslanE. (2008). Computer anxiety: A cross-cultural comparative study of Dutch and Turkish university students. Computers in Human Behaviour, 24(4), 1572–1584.
100.
van EckN., WaltmanL., & van den BergJ. (2005). A novel algorithm for visualizing concept associations. IEEE Proceedings: Sixteenth International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications, 405–409.
101.
van EgmondM., KühnenU., LiJ. (2013). Mind and virtue: The meaning of learning, a matter of culture? Learning. Culture and Social Interaction, 2(3), 206–216.
102.
VibergO., & GrönlundA. (2013, November). Cross-cultural analysis of users’ attitudes toward the use of mobile devices in second and foreign language learning in higher education: A case from Sweden and China. Computers & Education, 69, 169–180.
103.
VisserS., McChleryS., & VrekenN. (2006). Teaching styles versus learning styles in the accounting sciences in the United Kingdom and South Africa: A comparative analysis. MeditariAccountancy Research, 14(2), 97–112.
104.
WalkerD. (2008). Reflections on developing a project management doctorate. International Journal of Project Management, 26(3), 316–325.
105.
WawrzynskiM., HeckA., RemleyC. (2012). Student engagement in South African higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 53(1), 106–123.
106.
WearneS. (2004). Professional engineers’ needs for managerial skills and expertise. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Civil Engineering, 157(1), 45–48.
107.
WilsonT. (2008). New ways of mediating learning: Investigating the implications of adopting open educational resources for tertiary education at an institution in the United Kingdom as compared to one in South Africa. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/485/1000
108.
WinterM., SmithC., Cooke-DaviesT., & CicmilS. (2006). The importance of “process” in rethinking project management: The story of a UK government-funded research network. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 650–662.
109.
WinterM., SmithC., MorrisP., & CicmilS. (2006). Directions for future research in project management: The main findings of a UK government-funded research network. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 638–649.
110.
ZahraS., & GeorgeG. (2002). Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185–203.
111.
ZhouC. (2012). Fostering creative engineers: A key to face the complexity of engineering practice. European Journal of Engineering Education, 37(4), 343–353.
112.
ZhuC., ValckeM., & SchellensT. (2008). A cross-cultural study of Chinese and Flemish university students: Do they differ in learning conceptions and approaches to learning?Learning and Individual Differences, 18(1), 120–127.
