Dimensions of Diversity in Engineering: What We Can Learn from STS

Abstract

in the program of Science, Technology and Society (STS) within the department of Engineering and Society. She received advanced degrees in Communication Studies, and Religious

The importance of female crash test dummies: Bringing equity discussions into engineering classrooms through questioning inequitable product design

“…We were generally impressed with the range in the categories of responses that we received from students, which demonstrates that students in engineering are considering many facets of inequity in design. As Odumosu et al (2018) saw, having students be active knowledge producers in the classroom was a useful pedagogical tool.…”

“…We look to others who have previously implemented interventions to create inclusive and equitable educational spaces. One such example comes from Odumosu et al (2018), who provide data on multiple interventions implemented in engineering classrooms. One intervention, in particular, centered on the idea of not viewing undergraduates as "empty vessels" but rather potentially valuable agents of knowledge construction.…”

“…In an educational setting, this often boils down to the admittance of historically underrepresented students, usually marginalized across gender, race, class, and first-generation status. Diversity initiatives have been (pessimistically) interpreted as "enriching the experiences of already privileged participants in the nation's engineering schools by exposing them to alternative perspectives" (Odumosu 2018). Inclusion can be conceptualized as the efforts of the institution to support the diverse body of individuals and is a necessary complement to diversity programs looking to retain students they admit into STEM fields.…”

In Search of Integration: Mapping Conceptual Efforts to Apply STS to Engineering Education

“…As Figure 5 below shows, 72% of the papers retrieved through the "science, technology, and society" search are linked with the ASEE Diversity Committee or the topic of diversity. Papers that take substantive approaches to diversity include "Putting Diversity in Perspective: A Critical Cultural Historical Context for Representation in Engineering" [8], "Revealing the Invisible: Conversations about -Isms and Power Relations in Engineering Courses [9], and "Dimensions of Diversity in Engineering: What We Can Learn from STS" [10]. The three papers mentioned in the previous paragraph [8] - [10] illustrate other pervasive features of papers in 2017 and 2018: (1) locating their analysis in the context of a broad range of intellectual traditions and frameworks and (2) going beyond the obvious connections between STS and engineering to investigate in detail what is required for meaningful integration of STS perspectives, concerns, and topics into engineering education and practice.…”

Students' Complex Perspectives on Diversity—A Mixed Methods Pilot Study

“…For example, several scholars argue that it is important to expand the definition of diversity to include other demographic factors such as disability, age, parental status, and religion [4,5]. In addition, others discuss other aspects to diversity such as viewpoints and perspectives [6], and "embodied diversity" that emphasizes the importance of body and emotion in affective responses [7].…”