The Importance of Collaborative Design for Narrowing the Gender Gap in Engineering: An Analysis of Engineering Identity Development in Elementary Students

Abstract

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative engineering design on the development of engineering identities in elementary-school students and compared the findings across gender. We focused on three tiers of collaboration embedded into the engineering design process: peer groups, role models, and shared goals. More specifically, the elementary students worked in small teams and partnered with undergraduate engineers to help design and build dancing robots that come together for a coordinated dance performance. We used ethnographic methods, including pre-and post-program student interviews, videorecorded program sessions, and documentation of student work, to investigate elementary students' engineering identities. Three themes emerged from our analysis. First, working with peers encouraged students who were initially uninterested in engineering, the majority of whom were girls, to join the program and helped them to engage in the activities. Second, partnering with engineer role models contributed to the elementary students' developing identities as engineers: The girls were most influenced by the personal bonds they formed, while the boys were most influenced by the technical skills they learned. Third, all girls and most boys preferred the idea of working toward a shared goal over competitive projects that, as described by the students, can cause bad feelings and hurt friendships. Our work supports and extends elementary engineering literature by considering the role of multiple tiers of collaboration in identity development in girls and boys. Our results suggest that engineering design programs that foster collaboration can help more students, especially more girls, engage in and identify with engineering, thereby contributing to the narrowing of the gender gap.

Children's engineering identities‐in‐practice: An exploration of child–adult interactions in an out‐of‐school context

“…Similarly, Hughes et al (2013) found an increase in girls' interests and self-concepts, and ultimately their STEM identities, in a summer camp that exposed them to STEM professionals and STEM careers. Further, collaboration in out-of-school contexts may provide opportunities for individuals to construct, negotiate, and position themselves as an engineer (e.g., McLean et al, 2020;S. A. Pattison et al, 2018;Riedinger & McGinnis, 2017;Schnittka et al, 2012).…”

“…A. Pattison et al, 2018;Riedinger & McGinnis, 2017;Schnittka et al, 2012). For example, McLean et al (2020) documented the affordances of a community-based program grounded in collaborative engineering projects with peers and mentors in supporting children's identification with engineering. Through collaborative participation, students expressed feeling more confident and capable in their skills as an engineer.…”

“…Similarly, Hughes et al (2013) found an increase in girls' interests and self‐concepts, and ultimately their STEM identities, in a summer camp that exposed them to STEM professionals and STEM careers. Further, collaboration in out‐of‐school contexts may provide opportunities for individuals to construct, negotiate, and position themselves as an engineer (e.g., McLean et al, 2020; S. A. Pattison et al, 2018; S. Pattison, Gontan, et al, 2020; Riedinger & McGinnis, 2017; Schnittka et al, 2012). For example, McLean et al (2020) documented the affordances of a community‐based program grounded in collaborative engineering projects with peers and mentors in supporting children's identification with engineering.…”

“…Further, collaboration in out‐of‐school contexts may provide opportunities for individuals to construct, negotiate, and position themselves as an engineer (e.g., McLean et al, 2020; S. A. Pattison et al, 2018; S. Pattison, Gontan, et al, 2020; Riedinger & McGinnis, 2017; Schnittka et al, 2012). For example, McLean et al (2020) documented the affordances of a community‐based program grounded in collaborative engineering projects with peers and mentors in supporting children's identification with engineering. Through collaborative participation, students expressed feeling more confident and capable in their skills as an engineer.…”

Factors to consider from education to promote an image of science and technology with a gender perspective

“…Currently, the studies show that all these educational implications are being carried out in the classroom in isolation. For example, Mclean, Nation, and Spina [ 63 ] investigated the impact of collaborative engineering design on the development of engineering identities and found that collaborative engineering design programs helped reduced the gender gap; and Hill, Overton, and Thompson [ 64 ] who investigated whether engaging students in reflection would increase their ability to recognize and articulate their skill development. So, our proposal involves adopting a methodology that encourages the design of STEM programs focused on socio-scientific issues close to the lives of students that promote the collaborative work, reflection, and the contrast of ideas; and that allow the creation of favourable expectations of achievement in students though their attributes and the elimination of beliefs based on stereotypes or barriers.…”