Cultivating Higher Order Competencies: Complex Thinking in Latin American University Context

In the rapidly evolving context of Education 4.0, the urgency to cultivate complex cognitive competencies is increasingly paramount, especially within the multifaceted educational landscape of Latin America. Despite this, there exists a paucity of scholarly inquiry investigating the nuanced perceptions of these competencies across various academic disciplines, genders, and nationalities within the region. To address this research gap, the present study offers an exhaustive multivariate descriptive statistical analysis, examining the perceptions of complex cognitive skills among undergraduate students in Latin America. Drawing upon a sample of 150 students from diverse Latin American nations, the investigation reveals marked disparities in the perception of complex cognitive competencies as a function of gender, academic discipline, and nationality. Specifically, male students consistently reported a higher self-assessment of their complex cognitive abilities compared to their female counterparts, a trend that was observed across multiple nations. Additionally, students enrolled in social science programs exhibited higher self-ratings of their competencies compared to those in technology-oriented disciplines, thereby underscoring the necessity for pedagogical refinements in curriculum design. Conducted under the rigorous ethical supervision of the R4C Interdisciplinary Research Group and the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey, this study not only provides invaluable insights for educators seeking to enhance their pedagogical approaches but also establishes a foundation for subsequent research in this critically underexplored area.