Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students
Engineering graduates are expected to demonstrate competence after their engineering programmes in the form of graduate attributes (GAs) prescribed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). It has, however, been challenging to develop and assess these attributes, especially using conventio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate
2022-12-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/996 |
| _version_ | 1811163530097852416 |
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| author | Zesizwe Ngubane Shanley Hay Jacob Adedayo Adedeji |
| author_facet | Zesizwe Ngubane Shanley Hay Jacob Adedayo Adedeji |
| author_sort | Zesizwe Ngubane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Engineering graduates are expected to demonstrate competence after their engineering programmes in the form of graduate attributes (GAs) prescribed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). It has, however, been challenging to develop and assess these attributes, especially using conventional assessment or examination methods, just as on the global scale. Nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that undergraduate research enables students to develop independent critical skills, as they do in graduate studies, by identifying a problem that needs to be solved. Undergraduate research has not been widely explored as a tool in developing and accessing GAs in engineering students. This study examined the impact of undergraduate research in engineering student ECSA GAs development and assessment using a case study of civil engineering diploma students. Therefore, using purposeful quantitative sampling methods, first-year and second-year diploma students were interviewed on their experience with newly introduced undergraduate research. Observations of the students' responses indicated that students' understanding, and views of GAs do improve from the first year to the second year due to continuous exposure to research. A conceptual model for assessing and developing GAs among engineering students is proposed in this study. This conceptual framework can assist in the further development of strategies in the implementation of undergraduate research at universities of technology.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:06:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b2aa87586c92417f8592e9d0d9895e79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2663-4597 2663-4589 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:06:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-b2aa87586c92417f8592e9d0d9895e792023-02-15T01:28:08ZengResearch and Postgraduate Support DirectorateAfrican Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies2663-45972663-45892022-12-014110.51415/ajims.v4i1.996Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering StudentsZesizwe Ngubane0Shanley Hay1Jacob Adedayo Adedeji2Durban University of Technology, South AfricaDurban University of Technology, South AfricaDurban University of Technology, South Africa Engineering graduates are expected to demonstrate competence after their engineering programmes in the form of graduate attributes (GAs) prescribed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). It has, however, been challenging to develop and assess these attributes, especially using conventional assessment or examination methods, just as on the global scale. Nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that undergraduate research enables students to develop independent critical skills, as they do in graduate studies, by identifying a problem that needs to be solved. Undergraduate research has not been widely explored as a tool in developing and accessing GAs in engineering students. This study examined the impact of undergraduate research in engineering student ECSA GAs development and assessment using a case study of civil engineering diploma students. Therefore, using purposeful quantitative sampling methods, first-year and second-year diploma students were interviewed on their experience with newly introduced undergraduate research. Observations of the students' responses indicated that students' understanding, and views of GAs do improve from the first year to the second year due to continuous exposure to research. A conceptual model for assessing and developing GAs among engineering students is proposed in this study. This conceptual framework can assist in the further development of strategies in the implementation of undergraduate research at universities of technology. https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/996conceptual frameworkECSA graduate attributesengineering graduates undergraduate research |
| spellingShingle | Zesizwe Ngubane Shanley Hay Jacob Adedayo Adedeji Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students African Journal of Inter-Multidisciplinary Studies conceptual framework ECSA graduate attributes engineering graduates undergraduate research |
| title | Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students |
| title_full | Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students |
| title_short | Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Graduate Attributes Development: A Case Study of DUT Civil Engineering Students |
| title_sort | assessing the impact of undergraduate research on graduate attributes development a case study of dut civil engineering students |
| topic | conceptual framework ECSA graduate attributes engineering graduates undergraduate research |
| url | https://journals.dut.ac.za/index.php/ajims/article/view/996 |
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