Session F3D 978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD 41 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference F3D-1 Students‟ Perceptions of the Engineering Profession and Implications for Interest in the Field Emily Towers, Jennifer A. Simonovich, and Yevgeniya V. Zastavker Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Emily.Towers@students.olin.edu, Jennifer.Simonovich@students.olin.edu, Yevgeniya.Zastavker@olin.edu Abstract - Understanding personal learning goals and perceptions of engineering is critical in encouraging students’ interest in the field. This work defines engineering in terms of the students’ course-related learning outcomes (e.g., skills and knowledge) described in the latest version of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000). We argue that aligning students’ perceptions of course task value with the EC2000 should enhance students’ perceptions of the engineering profession and increase their interest in the field overall. Using student interviews from a larger study of instructor and student experiences in three undergraduate engineering programs, this study is guided by the following questions: 1) What are students’ perceptions of the skills required by the engineering profession? 2) How do these perceptions compare to the skill set defined by ABET EC2000? 3) How do these perceptions affect students’ assessment of course value and interest in the relevant coursework? Two required introductory engineering courses, Physics Laboratory and Engineering Design, are investigated. The ensuing theoretical framework is placed in the broader context of Eccles and Wigfield’s expectancy-value model, specifically focusing on utility value. Our findings indicate that students’ perceptions of the skills and knowledge required in professional engineering diverge from those defined by ABET. This disparity is negatively correlated to the students’ assessment of the required coursework utility value. The absence of perceived utility then contributes to the students’ lack of interest in their courses. Index Terms - Expectancy Value Theory, First-Year Program, Student Perceptions, Student Motivation INTRODUCTION Understanding students‟ personal learning goals and perceptions of engineering is critical in encouraging interest in engineering [1]. However, while an extensive body of research describes the specific methods that may be used to increase student interest, there has been little discussion regarding students‟ perception of the engineering profession. Moreover, students‟ narratives about the knowledge and skills required in the field of engineering and defined by ABET, e.g., an ability to design and conduct experiments, have not been thoroughly investigated to date. Incorporating these narratives into our understanding of students‟ personal learning goals and their perceptions of engineering is essential to the development of new curricula and pedagogies. Given the absence of a “universalized narrative” of an engineering profession [2], this work defines engineering in terms of the students‟ course-related learning outcomes (e.g., skills and knowledge) described in the latest version of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000) [3]-[7]. These criteria, summarized in Table I, are a widely accepted, standardized set of competencies believed important for the profession. TABLE I ABET EC2000 PROGRAM OUTCOMES (A) THROUGH (K) [7] ABET EC2000 a) An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering b) An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data c) An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability d) An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams e) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems f) An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility g) An ability to communicate effectively h) The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context i) A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life- long learning j) A knowledge of contemporary issues k) An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. To date, the new ABET Engineering Criteria have been proposed and used in innovative ways to allow students opportunities to develop both their technical and non- technical skills, such as lifelong learning, contextual thinking, and teamwork [8]-[9]. Using the ABET criteria as a commonly-used language to define engineering, educators may be able to work with students to improve their overall understanding of the engineering profession as well as align the perceptions of skills required for an engineering career with those defined by ABET. We posit that by integrating the outcome-related course learning objectives (as delineated in ABET EC2000) with findings about students‟ perceptions of and the skills