Effects of a first-year undergraduate engineering design course: survey study of implications for student self-efficacy and professional skills, with focus on gender/sex and race/ethnicity

IF 5.6 1区 教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH International Journal of Stem Education Pub Date : 2024-02-01 DOI:10.1186/s40594-024-00467-6
Jessica Sperling, Menna Mburi, Megan Gray, Lorrie Schmid, Ann Saterbak
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Abstract

Students’ academic self-efficacy maximizes likelihood for success and retention, yet prior research suggests that historically underrepresented (minoritized) undergraduate students in higher education and in college-level engineering show lower self-efficacy, which has been linked to histories of systemic exclusion. To address such gaps in student success, this work examines the effect of a new first-year undergraduate engineering design course on students’ self-efficacy, as measured by students’ assessment of their ability to achieve engineering design goals, and their confidence in their professional skills such as teamwork, communication, and leadership. It draws upon two aligned survey studies that examine this development (a) among the students participating in the course during the academic semester and (b) among both course participants and non-participants in the year following the course. Survey results for all students were considered, with attention to specific demographic subgroups traditionally underrepresented in engineering. Analyses indicate effect of the course on self-efficacy and other examined constructs, such as communication and teamwork, during the course semester and continued effects in engineering design self-efficacy and tinkering self-efficacy in the year following course participation. Results also reveal differences for specific racial/ethnic and gender/sex subgroups in numerous constructs, including suggestion of specific effect for female students. This study’s focus on the implication of engineering design education on self-efficacy and other critical professional outcomes, as well as its attention to specific demographic subgroups, adds to research on engineering education and the effect of design-focused coursework using project-based learning. The study indicates an increased potential role for such coursework, as early as the first year of a university trajectory, in fostering student growth and increased representation in the field. Findings on differences by gender/sex and by racial/ethnic groups, including clearer positive effect for female students but more complexity in effect for underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, support added research probing experience and outcomes within and across these groups.
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一年级本科生工程设计课程的效果:对学生自我效能感和专业技能影响的调查研究,重点关注性别和种族问题
学生的学术自我效能感能最大限度地提高成功和保留学籍的可能性,然而,先前的研究表明,在高等教育和大学工程学中,历史上代表人数不足(少数族裔)的本科生表现出较低的自我效能感,这与系统性排斥的历史有关。为了解决学生成功方面的这些差距,本研究考察了新的一年级本科生工程设计课程对学生自我效能感的影响,这种效能感是通过学生对自己实现工程设计目标的能力的评估,以及他们对团队合作、沟通和领导力等专业技能的信心来衡量的。本研究借鉴了两项统一的调查研究,分别考察了(a)参加该课程的学生在学期内的自我效能感发展情况,以及(b)参加该课程的学生和未参加该课程的学生在课程结束后一年内的自我效能感发展情况。我们考虑了所有学生的调查结果,并关注了传统上在工程学领域代表性不足的特定人口亚群。分析表明,该课程在学期内对自我效能感以及沟通和团队合作等其他考察指标产生了影响,并在课程结束后的一年内对工程设计自我效能感和修补自我效能感产生了持续影响。研究结果还揭示了特定种族/民族和性别/性 别小群体在许多方面的差异,包括对女生的特定影响。本研究关注工程设计教育对自我效能感和其他关键专业成果的影响,以及对特定人口亚群的关注,为工程教育研究和使用基于项目的学习方法的以设计为重点的课程效果增添了新的内容。研究表明,早在大学的第一年,这类课程在促进学生成长和提高学生在该领域的代表性方面就发挥了更大的潜在作用。关于性别/性 别和种族/民族群体差异的研究结果,包括对女生的积极影响更为明显,但对代表 性不足的种族/民族群体的影响则更为复杂,这些结果支持对这些群体内部和跨群体 的经验和成果进行更多的研究。
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来源期刊
International Journal of Stem Education
International Journal of Stem Education Social Sciences-Education
CiteScore
12.40
自引率
11.90%
发文量
68
审稿时长
13 weeks
期刊介绍: The International Journal of STEM Education is a multidisciplinary journal in subject-content education that focuses on the study of teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It is being established as a brand new, forward looking journal in the field of education. As a peer-reviewed journal, it is positioned to promote research and educational development in the rapidly evolving field of STEM education around the world.
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