TY - GEN
T1 - Understanding engineering identity formation mechanisms in graduate and undergraduate education
AU - Elizondo-Noriega, A.
AU - Tiruvengadam, N.
AU - Cargile-Cook, K.
AU - Cross, J.
AU - Beruvides, M. G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Proceedings of the 2020 IISE Annual. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - That engineers are a critical asset to any society that wishes to attain or sustain economic development cannot be understated. Engineers are known to possess unique skillsets and diverse professional characteristics that can be aggregated into what educators and psychologists refer to as “identity,” more specifically an “engineering identity.” Unfortunately, little is known about the mechanisms underpinning the formation of such identity. This work aims to determine the current state of the research concerning this critical area of engineering education and identify areas for future research. To do so, a State-of-the-Art Matrix (SAM) analysis is performed. Based on this study’s results, it is observed that engineering identity per se has not been fully studied at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of engineering education. Even among the limited studies found, the focus of research seems to have predominantly been on the undergraduate level. Such results also evinced two main streams of research concerning engineering identity, one that focuses on the general engineering identity and another one that aims to identify differences in the developed identities formed in engineers across diverse engineering disciplines. Also observed was the existence of only a few theoretical models explaining identity formation mechanisms in engineers. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of such a critical phenomenon in engineering education.
AB - That engineers are a critical asset to any society that wishes to attain or sustain economic development cannot be understated. Engineers are known to possess unique skillsets and diverse professional characteristics that can be aggregated into what educators and psychologists refer to as “identity,” more specifically an “engineering identity.” Unfortunately, little is known about the mechanisms underpinning the formation of such identity. This work aims to determine the current state of the research concerning this critical area of engineering education and identify areas for future research. To do so, a State-of-the-Art Matrix (SAM) analysis is performed. Based on this study’s results, it is observed that engineering identity per se has not been fully studied at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of engineering education. Even among the limited studies found, the focus of research seems to have predominantly been on the undergraduate level. Such results also evinced two main streams of research concerning engineering identity, one that focuses on the general engineering identity and another one that aims to identify differences in the developed identities formed in engineers across diverse engineering disciplines. Also observed was the existence of only a few theoretical models explaining identity formation mechanisms in engineers. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of such a critical phenomenon in engineering education.
KW - Engineering Education
KW - Human Development Mechanisms
KW - Identity Formation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105659470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85105659470
T3 - Proceedings of the 2020 IISE Annual Conference
SP - 616
EP - 621
BT - Proceedings of the 2020 IISE Annual Conference
A2 - Cromarty, L.
A2 - Shirwaiker, R.
A2 - Wang, P.
PB - Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, IISE
Y2 - 1 November 2020 through 3 November 2020
ER -