Jennifer M. Case

Engineering graduates’ perceptions of how well they were prepared for work in industry

This study investigated how well chemical engineering graduates perceive they were prepared for work in industry. To this end, sixteen interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of recent University of Cape Town chemical engineering graduates. Qualitative analysis of the interview data showed that graduates felt that overall, they were well prepared for work in industry. They perceived their strengths to be their technical background, problem solving skills, formal communication skills and life-long learning abilities. The following areas of weakness were also identified: work in multi-disciplinary teams, leadership, practical preparation and management skills. The use of interviews for data collection is a significant departure from the methods used in other studies in this area. The rich and contextual data gathered from the interviews justified this choice and contributed to the identification of issues not previously mentioned in the literature. For example, an unexpected finding of the study was that there was a clear link between the technical and non-technical attributes of engineering graduates, a result which has clear implications for the design of undergraduate engineering programmes.

Between deep and surface: procedural approaches to learning in engineering education contexts

This article describes two approaches to learning (in addition to the classic deep and surface approaches) identified in studies of student learning in engineering contexts. The first study identified the ‘procedural deep’ approach in a group of engineering foundation programme students in the UK, while the second study identified the ‘procedural surface’ (originally termed algorithmic) approach amongst second‐year South African chemical engineering students. Both these approaches involve a strategy of focusing on problem solving, but they have respectively deep and surface intentions (the former involving the intention to understand and the latter not). From both studies it was clear that the approaches students use are adaptations to particular course contexts, and it is suggested that a course focus towards a procedural deep objective might preclude the adoption of a deep approach.

Alienation and Engagement: Exploring Students' Experiences of Studying Engineering.

This article reports on an investigation of students’ experiences of learning, using a framework that focuses on the concepts of alienation and engagement. Thirty-six third year chemical engineering students were interviewed about their learning experiences. Alienation is defined here as the absence of a relationship that students might desire or expect to experience. Using this focus, six possible ‘relationships’ were identified: to ones studies; to the broader university life; to home; to the career; to ones classmates; and to the lecturer. In each category a range of both alienated and engaged experiences were identified. With regard to the latter two categories, important de-alienating strategies were noted, and in particular the role that lecturers can play in facilitating these strategies.

Student-Centredness: The Link between Transforming Students and Transforming Ourselves.

It is widely accepted in the higher education literature that a student-centred approach is pedagogically superior to a teacher-centred approach. In this paper, we explore the notion of student-centredness as a threshold concept and the implications this might have for academic staff development. We argue that the term student-centred in the Rogerian sense implies a focus on the person of the student and is deeply resonant with Barnetts assertion that the emergent being of the student is as important as the development of skills and knowledge. To facilitate transformative learning in higher education an academic must know how to value the person of the student in the learning process. Academic staff development initiatives need to work with the person of the academic and take into account the level of personal development required for each academic to be able to facilitate this kind of learning.

Learning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: improving student learning in engineering education

In this paper, we propose that learning in engineering involves taking on the discourse of an engineering community, which is intimately bound up with the identity of being a member of that community. This leads to the notion of discursive identity, which emphasises that students’ identities are constituted through engaging in discourse. This view of learning implies that success in engineering studies needs to be defined with particular reference to the sorts of identities that students develop and how these relate to identities in the world of work. In order to achieve successful learning in engineering, we need to recognise the multiple identities held by our students, provide an authentic range of engineering-related activities through which students can develop engineering identities and make more explicit key aspects of the discourse of engineering of which lecturers are tacitly aware. We include three vignettes to illustrate how some of the authors of this paper (from across three different institutions) have applied this perspective of learning in their teaching practice.

Rethinking ‘disadvantage’ in higher education: a paradigmatic case study using narrative analysis

This article explores the use of narrative analysis to provide a methodology for student learning research with a sociocultural orientation. The narrative which is the primary focus of this article is drawn from a study in which a series of individual interviews was conducted with a class of senior engineering students. The interview with a particular student emerged as a ‘paradigmatic’ case, in that it represented a rich example of student success against a background of disadvantage. The analysis presented in the article leads to a questioning of some of the commonly held views on disadvantage in higher education. It is argued that the coping strategies developed in a ‘disadvantaged’ social background could form useful resources for succeeding in higher education, and that the construction of identity could be crucial for mobilising these resources. Questions are consequently raised about the extent to which these aspects of personal growth are supported by the formal curriculum and the professional workplace.

‘Approaches to learning’ research in higher education: a response to Haggis

This article responds to the concerns raised by Haggis in 2003 regarding the use of approaches to learning theory in higher education. It is argued that the misrepresentations of the theory observed in the literature are not a reason for discarding the theory entirely. This article reasserts key features of the theory, argues for its relevance to mass higher education, and suggests that the incorporation of other theoretical perspectives would be appropriate.

Researching student learning in higher education : a social realist approach

Part I: Setting the Scene 1. Contemporary Chellanges in Higher Education 2. Researching Student Learning: Accounting for structure and agency Part II: A Theoretical Framework 3. Critical realism as philosophical function 4. Realist Social Theiry: Archers morphogentic approach 5. A Socialist Realist Perspective on Knowledge and Curriculum 6. Conceptualising Student Agency Part III: Developing a Case Study in Engineering Education 7. Geographical Context for the Study: Locating UCT Chemical Engineering 8. Disciplinary Context for the Study: Locating engineering education 9. Choosing Engineering 10. Studying Engineering- defining your project 11. Studying Engineering - engaging with others 12. Studying Engineering - the knowledge project 13. Conclusions for the Case Study Part IV: Drawing the Strands Together 14. A Social Realist Approach to Research on Student Learning

Communicating your findings in engineering education: the value of making your theoretical perspective explicit

The authors observe that many research papers in engineering education do not explicitly state the theoretical perspective underpinning their work. In this article they argue for the value of theory in assisting researchers in communicating their research findings. Three theoretical perspectives that can be used to support ones research are described, namely; positivism, constructivism and critical inquiry, and in each case examples of research questions that best match the particular framework are given. Researchers are advised to be aware of the limitations of each perspective and to use the one that best assists them in understanding and solving the problems they wish to address.

What do student learning inventories really measure? A critical analysis of students' responses to the Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory

Student learning inventories are used by both researchers and educators as tools to identify ‘at risk’ students. This article critically interrogates the results of one of these inventories, the 18-item Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory. In-depth interviews were held with a purposive sample of 10 first-year engineering students who had completed the inventory. During interviews, students were asked to elaborate on their responses for those items where they gave inconsistent or contradictory responses. The analysis of these data pointed to a range of underlying reasons for apparently contradictory responses to the inventory items. In some instances students were confused by the statement, in some they picked on a particular word instead of the meaning of the statements, and sometimes they gave responses which referred to a particular context. These findings highlight the difficulties in interpreting inventory responses, particularly when used in a culturally diverse classroom.