Engineering students’ perceptions for engineers and engineering work (original) (raw)
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The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2015
Despite being well ahead of many other disciplines in establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice, engineering in many countries still experiences high rates of student and graduate attrition. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work, and without a sense of motivation and commitment. The research reported here aimed to extend understanding of first year engineering students' thinking about their competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career. The study involved over 1,100 first year engineering students enrolled in a common first year unit. Responses were coded using the Engineers Australia graduate competencies as a framework, and this paper reports findings from the most diverse cohort of students (n=260), of whom 49% were international students with English as their second language. The research identified differences between international and domestic students' perceptions of self and of career competencies, possibly related to selfesteem. Implications include improved confidence and motivation to learn as students consider their strengths, interests and goals. Further, the research raises the need for analysis of international students' cultural and educational background to determine how different cohorts of international students self-appraise and how they associate learning with their future careers.
Engineer professional identity : for an early clarification of student's perceptions
Engineer diplomas greatly facilitate first job offers. However, uncertainty and indecision often result from freshmen appraisal of the career kaleidoscope. Some students struggle to identify career directions and therefore need some time before feeling committed and being operational within their curriculum. In light of this, it is advisable to disclose to students their career perspectives from the early stages of their curriculum, in order to give some meaning to their studies and learning. It is also essential to provide them with means which will enable them to participate actively in their own learning path, to build their future professional identity, and to plan proactively their future career. In order to initiate student's self-efficacy, our engineering school recently reformed its career preparation program over the tree years of the curriculum. In particular, it now integrates some workshops and active sessions which are listed in this paper and linked with the most r...
Despite being well ahead of many other disciplines in establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice, engineering in many countries still experiences high rates of student and graduate attrition. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work, and without a sense of motivation and commitment. The research reported here aimed to extend understanding of first year engineering students’ thinking about their competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career. The study involved over 1,100 first year engineering students enrolled in a common first year unit. Responses were coded using the Engineers Australia graduate competencies as a framework, and this paper reports findings from the most diverse cohort of students (n=260), of whom 49% were international students with English as their second language. The research identified differences between international and domestic students’ perceptions of self and of career competencies, possibly related to self-esteem. Implications include improved confidence and motivation to learn as students consider their strengths, interests and goals. Further, the research raises the need for analysis of international students’ cultural and educational background to determine how different cohorts of international students self-appraise and how they associate learning with their future careers.
Engineering students' perceptions of engineers and engineering work
2014
Background: Engineering is well ahead of many other disciplines in terms of establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice relating to employability. Despite this, there are high rates of student and graduate attrition in many countries. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study without a sense of motivation and commitment, and without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work. Purpose: Educational institutions provide the learning foundation upon which competence for a professional engineering career is established; however, understanding how students position learning in relation to their future careers is a neglected area of research. Working with engineering students in their first semester of study, this research aimed to extend current understanding of students' thinking about competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, career preview, and both career aspirations and fears. Study Design: ...
2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Her research focuses what factors influence diverse students to choose engineering and stay in engineering through their careers and how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belongingness and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning, to understand engineering students' identity development. She has won several awards for her research including
The Influence of Out-of-school High School Experiences on Engineering Identities and Career Choice
2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings
Her research focuses on increasing female enrollment in engineering, how students' attitudes and beliefs affect their choices and their learning, and how to improve engineering education for all students-especially those from underrepresented groups. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. She is the recipient of a 2014 American Society for Engineering Education Educational Research and Methods Division Apprentice Faculty Grant. She also was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow for her work on female empowerment in engineering which won the National Association for Research in Science Teaching 2015 Outstanding Doctoral Research Award.