Preparing for Engineering Work: Interpersonal Relationships in the School to Work Transition

Paretti, Marie C.; Ford, Julie Dyke; Kotys-Schwartz, Daria; Howe, Susannah; Ott, Robin

doi:10.1109/fie56618.2022.9962508

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The richness of responses combined with the efficiency of the method suggests that it may prove useful for researchers in other hard-to-reach groups. In more recent work, Paretti and colleagues [19,45,46] have employed the method to follow more than 60 participants from multiple universities into the workplace. This research has provided valuable insight into the school-to-work transition and the ways that educators can promote the transfer of skills and professional preparation [19,47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Lutz and Paretti (2021) explore the role of social and cultural learning during the school-to-work transition and show how engineers engage with both technical and non-technical learning [7]. Further, Paretti, Ford, Kotys-Schwartz, Howe, and Ott (2022) highlight challenges in managing interpersonal interactions and point to the need for greater attention to relationship management skills beyond senior design courses [19]. This same project also examined the transfer of communication skills from school to work and noted challenges that stem from inherent contextual differences across school and work and the situatedness of effective communication practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the Setting of Significant Learning Events during the Engineering School-to-Work Transition

Lutz,

Paretti

2023

Education Sciences

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The school-to-work transition is a critical time for engineers that involves rapid learning across multiple fronts, but relatively little is known about the setting (i.e., how, where, and with whom) of significant learning experiences during this time. The purpose of the study is to examine the setting of significant learning events for recent engineering graduates. We used a multi-case study in which 12 recent engineering graduates responded to weekly reflective journal prompts for the first twelve weeks of their transition from school to work. Participants described significant learning events through a series of open-ended questions. We used both deductive and inductive coding to identify the setting of the event in terms of how, where, and with whom engineers engaged in learning at work. The findings highlight the emergent, social nature of workplace learning and point to critical differences across school and work. To better prepare students for professional practice, engineering educators should consider how they might create learning environments that promote effective transfer of knowledge and skills.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Setting of Significant Learning Events during the Engineering School-to-Work Transition

Lutz,

Paretti

2023

Education Sciences

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“…The following sections summarize study details salient to the present analysis; full details of the C2W methods are available at Paretti et al (2021a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As reported in Paretti et al (2021a), 140 students were interviewed prior to graduation; 119 provided work start dates, 7 matriculated to graduate school, and the remainder did not respond to subsequent data collection invitations. Demographic data was collected via a screening survey in which participants self-identified gender (male, female, transgender, gender non-conforming, other, prefer not to answer) and self-described race/ethnicity (free response).…”

Section: Participant Profilementioning

confidence: 99%

What does it mean to be “prepared for work”? Perceptions of new engineers

Deters,

Paretti,

Perry

et al. 2023

J of Engineering Edu

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BackgroundEngineering education seeks to prepare students for engineering practice, but the concept of preparedness is often ill‐defined. Moreover, findings from studies of different populations or in different contexts vary regarding how well new graduates are prepared. These variations, coupled with the lack of clarity, suggest the need to better understand what it means to be prepared for engineering work.PurposeThis study contributes to research on workplace preparation by exploring how new graduates describe being prepared for engineering work.MethodApplying secondary analysis to data from the multi‐institution Capstone To Work (C2W) project, we used thematic analysis to explore new engineers' descriptions of preparedness. We analyzed written responses to structured questions about the school‐to‐work transition collected weekly during participants' first 12 weeks of work; 105 graduates drawn from four universities provided 956 responses, with a mean of 9 (out of 12 possible) responses per participant.ResultsParticipants' descriptions of preparedness included applying concrete skills, recognizing familiar situations, and having strategies for approaching challenging tasks even when they lacked relevant knowledge or skill.ConclusionOur findings suggest that although many discussions about workplace preparation implicitly focus narrowly on mastery of skills and knowledge, that focus may not fully capture new graduates' experiences, and may limit discussions about the ways in which school can (and cannot) prepare students for work. A more expansive understanding may better support both student learning and workplace onboarding, though more research is needed across stakeholders to establish shared understanding.

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Preparing for Engineering Work: Interpersonal Relationships in the School to Work Transition

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

Examining the Setting of Significant Learning Events during the Engineering School-to-Work Transition

Examining the Setting of Significant Learning Events during the Engineering School-to-Work Transition

What does it mean to be “prepared for work”? Perceptions of new engineers

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