Editorial

Welcome to this special issue of The International Journal of Construction Education and Research (IJCER, Volume 18, Issue 4), which results from the ARCOM 2020 conference. We are pleased to have partnered with The Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) to bring you several of these manuscripts. The Association of Researchers in Construction Management is a professional organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of knowledge in all aspects of management in construction by supporting education, dissemination and research. Much like the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC), ARCOM seeks to bring together all those interested in construction management (CM) research. Although principally based in the United Kingdom (UK), researchers from around the world regularly participate with the organization. The annual ARCOM conference, held every September in various cities around the UK, provides an engaging format for the exchange of ideas with other like-minded construction management researchers from around the globe. At the Associated Schools of Construction, we acknowledge the importance of fostering collaborative relationships and creating healthy robust research communities focused on a common aim of enhancing construction education and research worldwide.

We offer a special heartfelt thank you to Lloyd Scott for his efforts in helping to initiate this special issue! In addition to recently completing his service as an Associate Editor for the IJCER, a position he held for nearly six years, Lloyd also served as the Chair of the ARCOM 2020 conference. Leveraging these dual roles, Lloyd was able to propose the special issue and help initiate the connection with potential manuscripts. Seven papers submitted to the ARCOM conference were initially invited to expand their manuscripts and resubmit to the IJCER. A total of three manuscripts from ARCOM 2020 were successfully modified and ultimately selected for publication in the IJCER as part of this special issue.

Falling within the ARCOM 2020 theme of Building for the Common Good, the first paper we present is “Barriers to Mentoring of Graduates in Quantity Surveying Firms in Tanzania: A Factor Analysis Approach,” by Sospeter, Kilwasi, and Chileshe. Although other research has focused on exploring barriers to mentoring within higher education, this study specifically targeted understanding the barriers of mentoring graduates in quantity surveying firms in developing countries. Using a factor analysis approach, the researchers identified four principal types of barriers to mentoring that exist. These include multicultural and social-injustice, relationship, personal behavior, and attitudinal and knowledge related barriers. Recognizing and addressing these barriers is a key step in providing appropriate mentoring post-graduation.

Two additional papers were selected from the ARCOM 2020 theme of Community Engagement: The Case for Service to the Community. In “Efficacy and Benefits of a Required Service-Learning Course in Construction Management Education,” Redden and Bugg presented a case-study investigating the benefits of providing a stand-alone service-learning course as a requirement for graduation. The course presented was centered on student participation in a hands-on construction project that fulfilled the dual requirement of serving the community while incorporating key components of students’ CM education. The research demonstrated that utilizing this approach helped increase students’ interpersonal engagement and management skills, while gaining a greater respect for civic responsibility and understanding of diverse needs. This paper is an excellent example of connecting construction education and community service. The other paper from the ARCOM 2020 theme of Community Engagement is “Land-Grant University Strategic Plans: Are University-Level Service-Learning Goals Aligned with Construction Programs’ Goals?” by Farrow and Reyes. In this paper, the authors took a holistic look at the connection between service learning and program and university strategic direction. Although nearly all universities in the study had university-level strategic plans that included social and civic engagement, a much smaller percentage of construction programs included community engagement within their unit plans or goals. The authors make a compelling case for strategy alignment, and provide recommendations for stronger inclusiveness of community engagement within teaching, research, and citizenship requirements for tenure and promotion documents.

Although not part of the ARCOM 2020 proceedings, two other complementary papers were selected to be published within this special issue. Both of these papers align well with the ARCOM 2020 theme of The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and the Future of Construction. “Industry Perspective on the Role of Visualization Technology in Construction Safety Training,” by Polmear and Simmons, focuses on how visualization technology might be used to enhance safety training. Although the construction industry is still in the early stages of applying visualization technologies within safety training, the research identified a number of potential opportunities that would benefit from continued application and study. In “Influence of Virtual Reality on Student Learning in Undergraduate Construction Education,” Lucas and Gajjar explored the benefits of introducing a virtual reality simulation into an undergraduate CM materials and methods course. As demonstrated in these papers, technology advancement continues to be an essential area of construction management teaching and research.

International Journal of Construction Education and Research is proud to partner with Procore, who sponsors our electronic subscription for ASC Institutional Members in part.