Sally Male

Perceptions of Competency Deficiencies in Engineering Graduates

Summary Engineering education in Australia continues to evolve. This study asks: “Are current changes to engineering education consistent with competence deficiencies in engineering graduates perceived by engineers ? “The method is different from previous international and Australian studies, and the findings are consistent with the results of previous studies. Practical engineering competencies and engineering business competencies featured strongly. The findings support continuation of current trends in the evolution of engineering education: cultural change, broadening of curricula, and introduction of non-traditional pedagogies, assessments and learning environments.

An Australian study of generic competencies required by engineers

Engineering curricula have expanded in recent decades. In addition to science and technical engineering, they now include several non-technical competencies. This is a trend reinforced by programme accreditation. The authors take the viewpoint that it is important to ensure that graduates have the competencies they will require for their work. The following question is addressed: What are the generic competencies that engineers graduating in Australia require for their work as engineers? Competencies were identified from a broad range of literature and then rated by 300 established engineers for importance to their jobs. The results indicated that non-technical, attitudinal and technical competencies were perceived to be important. Eleven competency factors were revealed empirically. Profiles of these competency factors among graduates would assist evaluation and improvement of engineering programmes. This is the first quantitative study conducted in Australia that encompassed all engineering disciplines and focused on established engineers rather than recent graduates.

Think engineer, think male?

Engineering education needs to develop the competencies required for engineering work, and attract and retain students from diverse backgrounds. This study investigated the possibility that the perceived importance of competencies is subconsciously influenced by gendered assumptions, and as a consequence, this lowers the status given to stereotypically feminine competencies. In two surveys, engineers rated the importance of 64 competencies. The ratings made by the first sample were assumed to be relatively unaffected by gender typing. However, engineers in the second sample were asked to think of a typical engineering job, and therefore their responses were more likely to have been affected by gender typing. Results confirmed that there are stereotypically feminine competencies that are important to engineering, and suggested that senior male engineers in the study gender typed engineering jobs, consequently under-rating the importance of some stereotypically feminine competencies recently added to the engineering curricula.

Understanding Generic Engineering Competencies

Abstract This paper contributes to understanding of the generic engineering competencies required by engineers graduating in Australia and to competency theory. The Competencies of Engineering Graduates (CEG) Project was conducted to identify the generic engineering competencies required by engineers graduating in Australia. The methodology adapted a theoretical framework for understanding key competencies developed by the Definition and Selection of Competencies Project commissioned by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The phases of the CEG Project included a literature review, a panel session, two large-scale surveys and a focus group. By reflecting on the whole CEG Project, this paper provides insight into the nature of competencies required by engineers in Australia. Implications for engineering educators are described.

Students’ responses to authentic assessment designed to develop commitment to performing at their best

ABSTRACT Engineering educators should motivate and support students in developing not only technical competence but also professional competence including commitment to excellence. We developed an authentic assessment to improve students’ understanding of the importance of ‘perfection’ in engineering – whereby 50% good enough will not be acceptable in industry. Subsequently we aimed to motivate them to practise performing at their best when they practice engineering. Students in a third-year mechanical and mechatronic engineering unit completed a team design project designed with authentic assessment features to replicate industry expectations and a novel marking scheme to encourage the pursuit of excellence. We report mixed responses from students. Students’ ratings of their levels of effort on this assessment indicate that many perceived a positive influence on their effort. However, students’ comments included several that were consistent with students experiencing the assessment as alienating.

Threshold Capability Development in Intensive Mode Business Units.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore: student perceptions of threshold concepts and capabilities in postgraduate business education, and the potential impacts of intensive modes of teaching on student understanding of threshold concepts and development of threshold capabilities. Design/methodology/approach – The student experience of learning was studied in two business units: strategic management, and accounting. The method involved two phases. In the first, students and unit coordinators identified and justified potential threshold concepts and capabilities. In the second, themes were rationalized. Findings – Significantly more so in intensive mode, the opportunity to ask questions was reported by student participants to support their development of the nominated threshold capabilities. This and other factors reported by students to support their learning in intensive mode are consistent with supporting students to traverse the liminal space within the limited time available in intensive mo...

Pilot exploration of gender inclusivity of engineering students’ exposure to engineering practice in an Australian university

Abstract To society’s detriment, women remain under-represented among engineering students and practicing engineers in Australia. Many studies have shown that engineering workplaces have features that are not gender inclusive. Efforts to improve engineering education by increasing industry engagement might therefore also result in non-inclusive student experiences, with potentially detrimental outcomes. This study reports on a pilot investigation of the gender inclusivity of industry engagement by student engineers. We explored experiences of exposure to engineering practice by students who were studying at an urban Australian university. The study used the framework of possible selves, which examines the factors that motivate people to achieve or avoid possible future selves [Markus, H., and P. Nurius. 1986. “Possible Selves.” American Psychologist 41: 954–969.]. Through interviews with four female and two male engineering students, we discovered gendered encounters experienced by students and the impacts these had on their perception of their future and their current directions. The female students reported marginalising gendered encounters similar to those reported by female engineers in other studies. The pilot highlights the need for further investigation.

Investigation of students’ experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces

ABSTRACT Women remain severely under-represented in engineering in Australia as in all Western countries. This limits the pool of talent, standpoints and approaches within the profession. Furthermore, this under-representation equates to restriction of the benefits of being an engineer mainly to men. Gendered workplace experiences have been found to contribute to women leaving the profession. In this study we explore students’ experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces, using interviews with a purposive sample of 13 students (4 male) recruited following a previous survey. Although the overall experience of workplace learning is positive for many students, male and female engineering students reported experiences consistent with masculine cultures. Educators and employers must proactively lead improvements to the culture in engineering workplaces, prepare students for gendered workplaces and support students to reflect during and after workplace experiences. The experiences presented here could be adapted to enhance inclusivity training.

A Student-Staff Community of Practice Within an Inter-University Final-Year Project

In Australia, final year Bachelor of Engineering students complete an engineering research project. A small number of students (often between four and ten at any one university) elect topics in the field of engineering education. Relative to research in technical engineering, the insulated status of engineering education research can leave these students feeling isolated from other final year engineering students and faculty members. In 2013, we saw an opportunity to engage final year students and academics from two universities in a project to enhance industry engagement in engineering education. We established a research group of nine students and supervisors across the two universities. Each week the group met on campus and joined peers at the other university via a free Internet telephony service. Drawing on the reflections of community members, this chapter reports on the learning community that emerged within this project and the features that supported it. Critical to the community’s success were the regular meetings, the shared knowledge domain of engineering education, the commitment, diversity and quality of team-members, and engagement with the wider faculty and engineering education communities. Students and supervisors learned from and with each other and generated knowledge about the topic, collaboration, disciplines, research and themselves.

An Australian study of possible selves perceived by undergraduate engineering students

ABSTRACT In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their engineering fears, expectations, and aspirations. The findings revealed many students to have a poor understanding of the realities of engineering work. Moreover, perceived gaps between self-efficacy and the requirements of engineering work appeared to be motivating if students deemed it possible to reduce the gap, but demotivating if they identified a characteristic over which there was perceived to be no control. The study suggests that these engineering students needed more opportunities to explore both the roles of engineers and their own possible selves. Overall, the findings indicate that higher education students may need encouragement and support to explore potential future roles, and they strengthen calls for further research in this area.