1. Introduction
The classroom is a learning environment of a group of learners from different family background, practices,
cultures and norms. It caters to students coming from numerous communities and regions with widely different
cultural practices. Culture is defined as the distinct of life of a group of people, their complete design for living. It
is their norms, values, beliefs, expectations, actions, and emotional reactions wherever they may be even inside
the classroom. With this, classroom is considered as to be multicultural group of learners.
At most times, however, the teaching and learning strategies used in a classroom can be considered as being
conflict with the natural learning strategies of the learner. Teachers, not purposely, can use classroom practices
each, but also to create and set the class in atmosphere conductive
to learning. Out of the enthusiasm of the teacher, better interaction takes place, which is to the advantage of the
learners. Teaching enthusiasm is important even in college students who frequently stress it in explaining why
they like certain professors and instructors and do not like others.
Teaching effectiveness depends on the ability of the teacher to create a interactive learning especially in
structural engineering courses , which involves the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, bridges,
towers, flyovers, tunnels and off shore structures . According to Ackerman [1]
as a cultural artifact, still educational institution encounters the conventional teaching learning problems in the
classroom. There is an increasing need, especially for engineering and architecture educators to be sensitive in
the important cultural milieu into which their teaching is placed [2].
In particular, structural engineering is considered the professional course in Civil Engineering. Moreover, it is
considered as one of the foundation course in Architecture that needs a deeper research to determine the
the non-engineering
courses because of the difficulties they encounter in studying structural engineering.
The aimed of this study is to assess the cultural factors that affect the architecture and civil engineering
ed competencies in structural engineering. Awareness of each factor will
guide the structural engineering lecturers and professors in their continuous search for effective teaching.