Tensions of Integration in Professional Formation: Investigating Development of Engineering Students\u27 Social and Technical Perceptions

Tensions of Integration in Professional Formation: Investigating Development of Engineering Students\u27 Social and Technical PerceptionsTwenty-first century engineers face incredible challenges and opportunities, many of which aresocially complex, transcending the traditional “technical” boundaries of engineering. Thetechnology produced by engineers must not only function as predicted by mathematical andtheoretical models but must also operate beneficially and seamlessly in complex social contexts.In this sense, engineers must embody an integrated social and technical – or sociotechnical –identity rather than a dualistic social/technical one.A growing body of scholarship has discussed how dominant cultures of engineering shapestudents’ and professionals’ understandings of social and technical dimensions of their work.Further, engineering education research has advanced understanding of how engineering identityis formed by external, structural forces. Yet, from a psychological perspective, we know littleabout how engineering students come to perceive and embody their identities as engineers,especially in relation to social and technical dimensions of these identities. Thus, we organizedthis study around the following research questions.RQ0: How do students psychologically experience identity trajectories of becoming engineers?RQ1: How do students perceive the social and technical features of engineering identity?RQ2: How do students internally experience their identities as engineers, particularly with regard to social and technical dimensions of these identities?RQ3: How do social and technical perceptions of their engineering identity develop and change in the course of the engineering curriculum or in the transition to the workplace?To respond to these research questions, we have conducted two longitudinal studies usinginterpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). One study focused on graduating seniors as theytransitioned into the workplace, and the second study focused on first-year students transitioningto engineering degree coursework. These investigations produced robust and nuancedunderstanding of students’ engineering identity trajectories throughout and beyond thecurriculum. These findings are being leveraged in order to provide our initial understanding in athematic analysis on sophomore engineering students.Thus far, the findings of the investigation highlight the complexity of becoming both engineers,specifically by demonstrating a somewhat contradictory relationship between what participantsperceived to be engineering and how they actually embodied an engineering-self. They furtherdemonstrate the manifold ways that participants realized and prioritized identities outside ofengineering and how these multiple selves interacted in ways that affected their engineeringidentities. Additionally, findings for both male and female groups suggest that somepsychological patterns might be related to gender. In sum, the findings depict a complex pictureof engineering-students-turned-engineers as whole persons. By focusing on how engineeringidentity development is embodied, the findings generate multiple theoretical insights that bearrelevance for engineering education research and provocative implications that bear significancefor engineering educators, students, and employers

Which 'culture'? A critical analysis of intercultural communication in engineering education

Background It is increasingly acknowledged that technical expertise is not sufficient for engineers today, given the complex intercultural global contexts in which they are required to work. This article, therefore, examines how the concept of culture is typically operationalized in engineering education and discusses possible reasons for this approach. Purpose/Hypothesis The specific research question explored here is “How is culture conceptualized in engineering education?” Design/Method To examine this previously unasked question, a mixed‐methods methodology was developed, one that uses both quantitative and qualitative tools. More specifically, a corpus‐assisted discourse analysis of relevant engineering education articles published in leading academic journals between 2000 and 2015 was combined with a close reading of each and a critical discussion of two representative articles. Results Our findings reveal that, first, intercultural communication has not received the attention it deserves, given the multidisciplinary, diverse, global nature of the engineering profession. Furthermore, when intercultural concerns are discussed, the predominant approach is essentialist, meaning that culture is regarded as given (rather than constructed), framed in terms of differences between nations and potentially offering a causal explanation for individual behavior. This approach has been criticized for reinforcing stereotypical thinking and offering simplistic answers to complex problems. Conclusions We conclude by exploring reasons for the relatively wide‐spread acceptance of the “culture‐as‐given” approach in engineering education, then by urging educators to adopt a “small culture” approach for constructing culture in engineering, and finally by suggesting alternative ways for developing intercultural communicative competence

Scientometric approach of productivity in scholarly economics and business

Some scientometric studies attempt to explain the factors affecting a country’s scientific output, which is usually measured by proxy variables such as the number of articles and citations in internationally-renowned journals. This paper highlights the main drivers for scientific output in economics and business, namely, financing of education and research, population size, the number of scholarly journals and English as the official language. We use multiple OLS regressions and data provided by Web of Knowledge and the World Bank covering 56 nations. The study also highlights the relationship between scientific output and the efficiency in using the research funding. The rankings of sample countries show that there is a learning process at national level, the output being doubled by efficiency

Development of a situational judgment test for global engineering competency

Background: As globalization continues to impact the engineering profession, many programs aim to prepare current and future engineers to work across national and cultural boundaries. Yet there remains a lack of quality tools for assessing global competency among engineers and other technical professionals, including their behavioral tendencies in global work situations. Purpose: We introduce development of a situational judgment test (SJT) covering three dimensions of global engineering competency (GEC) in Chinese national/cultural context. The main aim of this article is to describe how the SJT was developed through a systematic multistep process. Secondarily, we explore relationships between SJT performance and other theoretically relevant variables. Methods: After generating a large initial pool of SJT scenarios and behavioral response items, we used ratings from subject matter experts (SMEs) to select six SJT scenarios and create scoring keys for 26 response items. To further explore the instrument\u27s validity, we deployed the SJT items, other relevant measures, and a demographic survey to a sample of practicing engineers (n = 400). Results: SME ratings provide strong evidence for the content relevance of the GEC–SJT tool. Survey results also suggest positive relationships between SJT performance and Chinese cultural knowledge, age, and years of work experience. However, more validity and reliability evidence is needed before recommending wider use of the instrument. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the SJT format as a promising behavior-based approach to measuring global competency and other professional attributes in engineering. We also discuss directions for future research and training efforts related to assessing and developing global competency

From Methods to Methodology: Reflection on Keeping the Philosophical Commitments of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

This paper details the transition of one researcher in his journey from attending to the methods of research to identifying and enacting the methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In the backdrop of this paper is a larger qualitative study that is employing IPA to understand a rich picture of how engineering student become engineers, particularly by attending to the fuzzy boundaries between technical and social features of this identity. To ground the discussion of the paper, we draw on a transcript from a single interview in this study conducted with Kevin, a graduating mechanical engineer. We transparently share a reflexive account of conducting IPA research in order to introduce IPA as an excellent research tool for open areas of engineering education research. Further, our goals are to instill confidence in novice qualitative researchers as they embark on the arduous but rewarding path of conducting engineering education research using qualitative methods

Identity in Engineering Adulthood: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Early-Career Engineers in the United States as They Transition to the Workplace

Prior research has established emerging adulthood to be a time characterized by robust identity explorations in professional and nonprofessional domains. However, extant literature provides little contextual explanations in relation to how these identity explorations are experienced by early-career professionals. This article presents idiographic findings from a qualitative study that used interpretative phenomenological analysis on interviews with seven engineering students as they transitioned to their respective workplaces. These findings describe how the participants experienced a strong sense of commitment to their career identities while also exploring features of their identities that were unrelated to their careers. Additionally, we discuss how women participants experienced a gendered form tension in managing their career and family roles. In sum, this article contributes detailed insight regarding coherence and complexity of personal identity development as lived by early-career professionals