Systems thinking of secondary and post-secondary students majoring in engineering

Systems thinking, i.e. the ability to understand the interrelationships between the system components and the resulting synergy, occupies a central place in engineering education on all its levels. In view of its importance, the study described in the article characterised the systems thinking level of students majoring in engineering. The research involved 157 participants: high-school, two-year college and university students. During the school year, the students filled out a self-reporting questionnaire or took an achievement test designed to assess their systems thinking. According to the results, the systems thinking score of high-school and university students was moderate, with no significant difference between the two groups. It was also found that the systems thinking skills of two-year college students were significantly lower than that of their peers in high school and academia.