Longitudinal Analysis of Co-Curricular Involvement Among Engineering Undergraduates: Exploring Timing, Type, and Self-Reported Skills Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the self-reported professional competencies gained by engineering students involved at different rates and types of co/extra-curricular activities (CECAs) between their grade 12 and junior years of undergraduate engineering education. The contribution of this work is in using longitudinal data to understand how student engagement and learning outcomes might evolve to inform potential co-curricular programming changes. We analyzed data from an annual professional development survey from 970 students from 2016-2019. Findings show that higher engagement may not necessarily lead to higher skill acquisition for all students per unit of time, particularly in engineering-focused facets of professional skills. Co-curricular spaces are prone to be dominated by certain demographic profiles, and students are likely to engage in nontechnical work and clubs, as compared to co-curricular projects and research experiences. We conclude that future work should attempt to specify the “goldilocks” level of involvement, understand barriers to participation, and robustly characterize the nature of learning and students’ recognition of their learning through CECAs.