First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students
<p><em>Despite being well ahead of many other disciplines in establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice, engineering in many countries still experiences high rates of student and graduate attrition. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Queensland University of Technology
2015-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://fyhejournal.com/article/view/272 |
| _version_ | 1818513273996181504 |
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| author | Dawn Bennett Ranjna Kapoor Kaur Rajinder Nicoleta Maynard |
| author_facet | Dawn Bennett Ranjna Kapoor Kaur Rajinder Nicoleta Maynard |
| author_sort | Dawn Bennett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p><em>Despite being well ahead of many other disciplines in establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice, engineering in many countries still experiences high rates of student and graduate attrition. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work, and without a sense of motivation and commitment. The research reported here aimed to extend understanding of first year engineering students’ thinking about their competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career. The study involved over 1,100 first year engineering students enrolled in a common first year unit. Responses were coded using the Engineers Australia graduate competencies as a framework, and this paper reports findings from the most diverse cohort of students (n=260), of whom 49% were international students with English as their second language. The research identified differences between international and domestic students’ perceptions of self and of career competencies, possibly related to self-esteem. Implications include improved confidence and motivation to learn as students consider their strengths, interests and goals. Further, the research raises the need for analysis of international students’ cultural and educational background to determine how different cohorts of international students self-appraise and how they associate learning with their future careers.</em></p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:58:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33e911754c8543b09a2ab45ce717685c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1838-2959 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:58:55Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | Queensland University of Technology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-33e911754c8543b09a2ab45ce717685c2022-12-22T01:28:31ZengQueensland University of TechnologyInternational Journal of the First Year in Higher Education1838-29592015-03-01618910510.5204/intjfyhe.v6i1.272131First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international studentsDawn Bennett0Ranjna Kapoor1Kaur Rajinder2Nicoleta Maynard3Curtin UniversityCurtin UniversityCurtin UniversityCurtin University<p><em>Despite being well ahead of many other disciplines in establishing strong and evidence-based research and practice, engineering in many countries still experiences high rates of student and graduate attrition. One possible reason for this is that students enter engineering study without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work, and without a sense of motivation and commitment. The research reported here aimed to extend understanding of first year engineering students’ thinking about their competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career. The study involved over 1,100 first year engineering students enrolled in a common first year unit. Responses were coded using the Engineers Australia graduate competencies as a framework, and this paper reports findings from the most diverse cohort of students (n=260), of whom 49% were international students with English as their second language. The research identified differences between international and domestic students’ perceptions of self and of career competencies, possibly related to self-esteem. Implications include improved confidence and motivation to learn as students consider their strengths, interests and goals. Further, the research raises the need for analysis of international students’ cultural and educational background to determine how different cohorts of international students self-appraise and how they associate learning with their future careers.</em></p>https://fyhejournal.com/article/view/272Identity, transition, career awareness |
| spellingShingle | Dawn Bennett Ranjna Kapoor Kaur Rajinder Nicoleta Maynard First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education Identity, transition, career awareness |
| title | First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| title_full | First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| title_fullStr | First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| title_full_unstemmed | First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| title_short | First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| title_sort | first year engineering students perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students |
| topic | Identity, transition, career awareness |
| url | https://fyhejournal.com/article/view/272 |
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