Assessing the Impact of Humanitarian Engineering Coursework on Upper-Division Undergraduate Engineering Identity Development
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
Lack of diversity in construction is a tenacious issue. One highly visible manifestation of this issue is the underrepresentation of women within the industry and classroom. In undergraduate engineering education, the presentation of particular engineering persona and professional problems may motivate women to leave the field by hindering their identification with engineering. Recognizing that service-oriented engineering can encourage women’s participation, the authors assessed the gender-specific effect of humanitarian engineering contexts on students’ engineering identity development. Forty-two upper-division undergraduate civil and construction engineering students across two years were surveyed before and after taking a development engineering technical elective to measure changes in how central engineering was to self-concept, how positively they viewed and perceived others to view engineers, and how they felt they belonged in engineering. Results from a two-way mixed analysis of variance suggested that upon course completion students’ engineering identity did not change significantly, nor were women’s engineering identities differentially strengthened. The authors interpret the results in light of data limitations and course timing/elective nature to inform future engineering identity research and service-learning efforts.
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Construction Research Congress 2022
Pages: 31 - 39
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Published online: Mar 7, 2022
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