Disciplinary Differences in Engineering Students' Aspirations and Self-Perceptions

Potvin, Geoff; Hazari, Zahra; Klotz, Leidy; Godwin, Allison; Lock, Robynne M.; Cribbs, Jennifer; Barclay, Nicole

doi:10.18260/1-2--19452

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although research has explored the factors influencing students' decisions to pursue BME as a major (e.g., [1][2][3]), limited work has investigated factors related to students' choice of specialization within the BME major. Moreover, while studies have examined how BME students describe their career interests and job prospects [1,16], as well as gender differences in career outcomes [17] to our knowledge, no research has examined how gender influences track choice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on engineering student major selection indicates that students choose bioengineering or biomedical engineering (BME) 1 based on interest in the content, because the broad scope allows for pursuit of various careers upon graduation and because they believe they can help others [1][2][3] among other reasons. While most engineering majors remain largely dominated by men [4,5], many undergraduate BME programs have shown equal or higher rates of women students enrolled than men compared to other engineering disciplines [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of Intra-major Specialization and Career Decisions Among Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students

Miller,

Lopez-Alvarez,

Cardador

et al. 2024

Biomed Eng Education

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Biomedical engineering is a broad and interdisciplinary field that prepares graduates for a variety of careers across multiple career sectors. Given this breadth, undergraduate degree programs often have formal or informal opportunities for students to further specialize within the biomedical engineering major to develop skills in subdisciplines of biomedical engineering. While previous work has explored factors that influence student decision-making of engineering major choice, including the role of gender, limited work has explored factors that influence intra-major specialization in biomedical engineering. The present study sought to expand on existing research to understand factors that influence biomedical engineering students’ choice of intra-major specializations and how, if at all, these factors are related to gender. Grounded in social cognitive career theory, the present study leveraged quantitative surveys from undergraduate biomedical engineering students to understand factors influencing intra-major specialization choice, including the impact that students viewed on their career plans. Participants rated multiple factors as important in their intra-major specialization decisions, with professors/classes rated as the most important influence and alumni as the lowest. Similarly, participants rated multiple outcome expectations of their specialization, although income was rated lower than other factors. Participants most commonly indicated interest in pursuing careers in industry and medicine. We found some differences in intra-major specialization, outcome expectations, and career interests by gender, with women students indicating a higher influence of professors/classes and higher expectations for their track decision to provide a career with a good income. Further understanding of how undergraduate students select specializations in engineering coursework will inform curriculum design and student advising.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of Intra-major Specialization and Career Decisions Among Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students

Miller,

Lopez-Alvarez,

Cardador

et al. 2024

Biomed Eng Education

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“…Students tend to focus on a solution-oriented discourse when talking about climate change (Zummo et al 2020). Students also create their engineering identity from the courses they take and their cocurricular experiences (Potvin et al 2013). Engineers tend to focus more heavily on the technical aspects rather than on the context and impact of their engineering solutions on society.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Civil Engineering Students’ Beliefs about Global Warming and Misconceptions about Climate Science

et al. 2021

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Civil engineers will face increasing challenges in their careers due to climate change. The infrastructure they design and construct will directly contribute to or mitigate it. Action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change requires both a belief in human-caused global warming and a basic understanding of climate science. To understand which current engineering education efforts are successful or may need more consideration, a national sample of civil engineering students and students from other engineering disciplines was asked about their belief in global warming, understanding of greenhouse gases, the causes of global climate change, and ways to help reduce or slow it. The overwhelming majority of civil engineering students (83%) and students from other engineering disciplines (81%) acknowledged that global warming is happening. Nearly three of every four civil engineering students (73.5%) and other engineering students (71.3%) believed that global warming is caused by humans. However, only about half of civil engineering students (55.6%) and other engineering students (52.3%) felt that global warming is personally important. The majority of civil engineering students and other engineering students did not understand the causes and actions to reduce global warming. More than half of civil engineering students (60%) believed that nuclear power generation is a cause of global warming, which is significantly more than students from other engineering disciplines (52.6%). More than 8 of every 10 civil engineering students (83%) incorrectly believed or were unsure that the ozone hole in the upper atmosphere is a cause of global warming. A possible explanation for these misconceptions is that civil engineering students recognized general problems, such as nuclear waste and the ozone hole, but they did not link particular causes with particular consequences. Possible interventions were discussed for making climate change information personally relevant to engage students to think about cause and effect related to the climate.

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“…Previous work using the SaGE survey investigated students’ beliefs about human-caused climate change and possible predictive variables for it from high school experiences (Shealy et al , 2019); civil engineering students beliefs in climate change and possible predictive variables for it from high school experiences (Shealy et al , 2017); the correlation between career choices (civil engineering or noncivil engineering) and interest in addressing sustainability challenges (Shealy et al , 2016); career outcome expectations of engineering versus nonengineering students related to sustainability and relation between sustainability challenges and engineering (Klotz et al , 2014); or focused on understanding (Potvin et al , 2013) and assessing students’ decisions to pursue a career in engineering (Godwin et al , 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering students’ agency beliefs and career goals to engage in sustainable development: differences between first-year students and seniors

France

Milovanovic

Shealy

et al. 2022

IJSHE

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Purpose This paper aims to explore the differences in first-year and senior engineering students’ engineering agency beliefs and career goals related to sustainable development. The authors also sought to understand how topics related to sustainable development in engineering courses affect senior engineering students’ goals to address these issues in their careers. This work provides evidence of how students’ agency beliefs may be shaped by higher education, which is essential to workforce development. Design/methodology/approach Findings stem from two national surveys of engineering first-year (Sustainability and Gender in Engineering, n = 7,709) and senior students (Student Survey about Career Goals, College Experiences, n = 4,605). The authors compared both groups using pairwise testing by class standing. Findings The results indicate that undergraduate studies tend to reinforce students’ engineering agency beliefs to improve their quality of life and preserve the environment. Significantly more senior students selected career goals to address environmental issues compared to first-year students. In general, students undervalue their roles as engineers in addressing issues related to social inequities. Those topics are rarely addressed in engineering courses. Findings from this work suggest discussing sustainability in courses positively impact setting career goals to address such challenges. Research limitations/implications The study compares results from two distinct surveys, conveyed at different periods. Nonetheless, the sample size and national spread of respondents across US colleges and universities are robust to offer relevant insights on sustainable development in engineering education. Practical implications Adapting engineering curriculum by ensuring that engineering students are prepared to confront global problems related to sustainable development in their careers will have a positive societal impact. Social implications This study highlights shortcomings of engineering education in promoting social and economic sustainability as related to the engineering field. Educational programs would benefit from emphasizing the interconnectedness of environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. This approach could increase diversity in engineering education and the industry, and by ripple effect, benefit the communities and local governance. Originality/value This work is a first step toward understanding how undergraduate experiences impact students’ engineering agency beliefs and career goals related to sustainability. It explores potential factors that could increase students’ engineering agency and goals to make a change through engineering.

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Disciplinary Differences in Engineering Students' Aspirations and Self-Perceptions

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Determinants of Intra-major Specialization and Career Decisions Among Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students

Determinants of Intra-major Specialization and Career Decisions Among Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students

Civil Engineering Students’ Beliefs about Global Warming and Misconceptions about Climate Science

Engineering students’ agency beliefs and career goals to engage in sustainable development: differences between first-year students and seniors

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