Exploring Complex Thinking in Latin American Universities: Comparative Analysis Between Programs and Alternative Credentials

Figures & data

Table 1. Components of educational models based on M. S. Ramírez-Montoya (2010).

Components of educational models
Philosophical component	Shows the ideal and the path to understanding what education is and its purposes. It is related to the underlying paradigm: a set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and procedures.
Theoretical component	Considers the theories of learning, teaching, and socio-educational practices.
Political component	Defines the strategies through which philosophy and theory intervene in educational reality. It requires methods that help to learn throughout life and promote meaningful learning.
Educational process	Refers to the operation of the model in the institution. Different types of learning and performance profiles and plans that respond to those profiles are addressed.

Figure 1. Methodological design based on Matarranz (2019).

Table 2. Institutions analyzed in benchmarking.

Institution	Type of institution	Country	Foundation year	Website
Universidad de Barcelona	Public	Spain	1450	https://web.ub.edu/es/inicio
Universidad de Cantabria	Public	Spain	1972	https://web.unican.es/
Universidad de Granada	Public	Spain	1531	https://www.ugr.es/
Universidad de Panamá	Public	Panama	1935	https://www.up.ac.pa/
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL)	Private	Ecuador	1971	https://www.utpl.edu.ec
Tecnológico de Monterrey	Private	Mexico	1943	http://www.tec.mx/
Universidad Autónoma de México	Public	Mexico	1910	https://www.unam.mx/
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León	Public	Mexico	1933	https://www.uanl.mx/
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo	Public	Mexico	1869	https://www.uaeh.edu.mx/
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (UASLP)	Public	Mexico	1923	https://www.uaslp.mx/
Servicio Andaluz de Salud/Biblioteca del Área de la Axarquía	Government	Spain	1984	http://www.bvsspa.es
Stanford University	Private	United States	1885	https://www.stanford.edu/about/
Vanderbilt University	Private	United States	1873	https://www.vanderbilt.edu/
University of California (UC)	Public	United States	1869	https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/
Michigan State University	Public	United States	1885	https://msu.edu/
University of Cambridge	Private	United Kingdom	1209	https://www.cam.ac.uk/
University of Edinburgh	Public	United Kingdom	1583	https://www.ed.ac.uk/
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)	Public	Brazil	1960	https://ufsc.br/
University of Auckland	Public	Australia	1883	https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html

Figure 2. Components of the educational model analyzed for benchmarking, based on M. S. Ramírez-Montoya (2010).

Table 3. Components of the educational model for developing complex thinking competencies.

Components of the Education Model	Purpose	Competencies	Contribution to Complex Thinking	Universities where Competences were found
Philosophical component	Improvement of quality of life	Social commitment	Establishes an educational paradigm that promotes deep understanding, critical analysis, and social responsibility, key elements of complex thinking.	University of Barcelona, University of Cantabria, University of Granada, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Stanford University, University of Panamá, UNAM, UANL, Autonomous University of Hidalgo, University of Edinburgh, UFSC, University of Auckland, Michigan State University, University of Cambridge, UTPL
	Sustainable development	Critical thinking
		Leadership
		Research
		Creativity
Theoretical component	Competency-based education	Interdisciplinary	Provides a foundational educational approach that fosters complex thinking by integrating educational theories for critical competencies in addressing complex problems continuously.	UFSC, Tecnólogico de Monterrey, UNAM, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, University of California, University of Edinburgh, University of Auckland, University of Granada and the Andalusian Health Service, University of Cambridge.
	Lifelong learning	Complex reasoning
		Collaboration
		Microcredentials
Political component	Strategies	Center or research groups	Support collaboration, effective formative assessment, and educational approaches that focus on developing advanced skills, innovation, and adaptability to digital transformation.	UASLP, Tecnólogico de Monterrey, UNAM, University of Cambridge, University of Panama, UTPL, UFSC in Latin America, University of Edinburgh, Auckland University, Vanderbilt University, University of California, Michigan State University.
	Evaluation	Teacher training
		Collaborative spaces
		Formative assessment tools
Educational process	Graduate profile	Types of programs	Addresses and fosters understanding of complexity in education and society, promoting critical thinking, adaptation and connection to the real world, impacting industry by meeting their needs.	Tecnológico de Monterrey, UTPL, UASLP, Cambridge, Stanford, University of Barcelona, Cantabria, Granada, and the Andalusian Health Service, Cambridge, UC, and Edinburgh, UNAM, UASLP, and Michigan State University, University of Auckland.
	Needs for careers and personal lives	Educational modalities
		Emerging technologies

Figure 3. Philosophical component in developing complex thinking competencies.

Figure 4. Theoretical component in developing complex thinking competencies.

Figure 5. Political component in developing complex thinking competencies.

Figure 6. Educational process for developing complex thinking competencies.

Ramírez-Montoya, M. S. (2010). Modelos de enseñanza y método de casos. Trillas.

 Google Scholar

Matarranz, M. (2019). Propuesta metodológica para estudiar la política educativa supranacional: alumbrando el marco axiológico de la Unión Europea. Revista Española de Educación Comparada, 34(34), 73–96. https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.34.2019.23079

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are publicly available for evaluators at: https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_base_OEM4C_project_2023_xlsx/22492894.