Exploring Factors Impacting Engineering Identity Among Students
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Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Learning and leadership (MPLOL), MSc
Publicerad
2024
Författare
Chouha, Leonardo
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
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Volymtitel
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Sammanfattning
We are living in a society where products and services are becoming more complex which implies that jobs require a deeper understanding and higher level of compe- tence. Over time the social and cultural expectation in pursuing higher education has also changed where many younger people are encouraged to pursue higher ed- ucation as it is known to increases personal and economical success and stability. In Sweden and other countries, concerns are often raised about the number and trajectories of students enrolled in engineering education.
In research on engineering education, engineering identity has become a central concept for understanding students’ relations to engineering. This refers to how individuals see themselves as engineers and involves the internalization of the roles, skills, and values associated with the engineering profession. Fostering a strong en- gineering identity among students can make a positive impact on future engineering workforce, enhance the country’s technical knowledge and its global competitiveness.
For this study, a survey was conducted with 359 students enrolled in their first to third academic year at Chalmers University of Technology. The aim of the study was to identify the factors that shape the students’ engineering identity and influence their choice of engineering program at Chalmers. The results suggests that the engineering students’ background, field of study, gender, and year of study does have an influence on their relationship to engineering. A key finding in this study was the correlation between students with at least one parent with STEM background and their self perception of engineering identity, where it was found that students with parental STEM background had stronger engineering identity and sense of belonging in the field. This implies that universities need to enhance inclusion strategies and develop relation to engineering for all students, regardless of their background. Future research suggestions based on these findings are presented in the discussion and analysis chapter.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
engineering identity, stem, statistical data analysis, spss, independent two-sample t-test, anova