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Exploring engineering identity development through an arts-based approach
Polmear, Madeline Penn, Jordan
Polmear, Madeline
Penn, Jordan
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Date
2025
Educational Level
ISCED Level 4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education
Curriculum Area
Geographical Setting
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Abstract
This educational research paper explores engineering identity development among international students in a foundation program at a UK university. Engineering identity is a phenomenon that describes how one sees themself as an engineer, and it has important social and academic implications for students, such as persistence and sense of belonging. The study context is a yearlong engineering module (class) that is taken by international students as part of a foundation program, in which they complete one year of study before progressing into their undergraduate degree. The module thus provides an opportunity to introduce students to not only fundamental physics and design concepts, but also what it means to be an engineer through a macroethical lens, in which engineering has a responsibility to societal and environmental issues like sustainability. A framework for developing the module was the Inner Development Goals, a set of skills and qualities needed to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). To understand if/how students see themselves as engineers and whether that sense of identity changed throughout the year of study, students completed the'draw an engineer' test on the first and last days of class. This activity is a written reflection on what engineering is, what engineers do, and what an engineer looks like at work. Analysis of the open-ended responses and student drawings of engineers is presented to provide insight into students' preconceptions of engineering, the extent to which students see themselves as engineers, and the extent to which sustainability is integrated with their understanding of engineering. Given the role of engineering identity in shaping students' academic experience and persistence, this exploratory research contributes an empirical understanding of identity development of international students who are navigating study in a new country and their first formal exposure to engineering through a macroethical lens.
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Keywords (free text)
engineering identity, UN SDGs, engineering education, engineering for sustainable development, education for sustainabilty, sustainability in engineering