First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst domestic and international students

Abstract

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 selfesteem. 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.

Exploring factors affecting first-year students’ learning experiences: A case study of a private university in Taiwan

“…International scholars have investigated the first year experience of students in higher education. These include: the development of the generic skills (Bautista, 2016;McLean, Murdoch-Eaton & Shaban, 2013); student perceptions of their courses and attitudes toward career prospects (Bennett, Kapoor, Rajinder, & Maynard 2015;van der Meer, 2012); students engagement in the learning process through curriculum design (Bovill, Bulley & Morss, 2011); decreased motivation of students during their first year at university (Busse, 2013); peer mentoring (Carragher & McGaughey, 2016;Chester et al, 2013); the differences between foreign and local lecturers on student learning experiences (Chang, Bai & Wang, 2014); student expectations (Diniz et al, 2016;Surgenor, 2013;Yorke & Vaughan, 2013); gender and ethnic differences on learning experiences (D'Lima, Winsler & Kitsantas, 2014); the impacts of social media (Jenkins et al, 2012); sense of belonging to the university environment (Kane, Chalcraft & Volpe, 2014); intercultural learning (Lee, Williams, Shaw, & Jie, 2014); the impact of lecturers' feedback (Robinson, Pope & Holyoak, 2013); and the role of induction courses (Yan & Sendall, 2016). Based on the studies above, there are two key themes underpinning the learning experiences of FY students: enhancements and obstacles.…”

“…(1) lack of knowledge about program attributes (Bennett et al, 2015;Robinson et al, 2013;Surgenor, 2013;van der Meer, 2012;Yorke & Vaughan, 2013); (2) cultural and educational background differences (Bennett et al, 2015;Lee et al, 2014;McLean et al, 2013); and (3) lack of social integration (Kane et al, 2014;Yan & Sendall, 2016). First, program attributes include objective, purpose, rationale of the courses, teaching formats, and learning activities.…”

“…Differences in cultural and educational backgrounds are also a key factor influencing the learning experience of students. International and domestic students have different perspectives on the nature of the courses they study (Bennett et al, 2015). The difficulties that influence international students' learning include culture, language, education system, social environment, loss of support, and homesickness (Bennett et al, 2015;Yan & Sendall, 2016).…”

Enhancement of learning through field study

“…Students had the opportunity to learn civil engineering principles relevant to the field of construction by observing the way it is used at real construction projects when they start their engineering education. Students enter engineering study without understanding the realities of either their degree program or engineering work, and without a sense of motivation and commitment (Bennett, Kapoor, Rajinder & Maynard, 2015). In addition, they had a chance to understand the application of modern technology in construction field other than they have learned the application in the classroom.…”

Can a Five-Minute, Three-Question Survey Foretell First-Year Engineering Student Performance and Retention?

“…An international study aimed to gain understanding of students' thinking by using the Possible-Selves Framework, 15 allowing international and domestic students to examine their perception of their personal competencies, identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career. 16 Students were asked to answer three open-ended questions: 1.) How do students characterize an engineer?…”