DEVELOPING A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY OF STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN A HUMANITARIAN ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL FIELD EXPERIENCE
Open Access
- Author:
- Knerr, Amanda Renee
- Graduate Program:
- Higher Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 14, 2016
- Committee Members:
- Dorothy Evensen, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Dorothy Evensen, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Michael Dooris, Committee Member
Robert Hendrickson, Committee Member
Thomas Litzinger, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Higher education and administration
engineering education
engineering
service learning
study abroad
social responsibility
professional identity
global competencies
Professional skills - Abstract:
- In the ABET EC2000 engineering accreditation changes there was a renewed focus on developing both engineer’s technical skills as well as professional skills to better prepare engineers to work in a variety of multidisciplinary teams. As society has expanded to a global marketplace, engineers have needed to work within the context of a global society and understand how their work has lasting effects on the world in both positive and negative ways. As institutions have moved to meet the new accreditation standards, experience-based, “hands-on” learning opportunities in international contexts have been hailed as a possible educational initiative that will engage students in new ways that will lead to the development of social responsibility. Although programs are rapidly developing around the country, studies of engineering education concluded that the types of program goals, student motivations, and program pedagogy that lead to student outcomes that are reflected in the ABET EC2000 learning outcomes are not well understood. The focus of this case study was to explore student perceptions of the process through which their experiences in a humanitarian engineering program led to the development of their sense of professional identity and sense of social responsibility. The use of student and affiliated faculty interviews and document analysis allowed for an exploration of the student motivations, program goals, pedagogy utilized, and overall student perceptions that arose from this particular program. As a result of using grounded theory analytical and interpretative strategies, a conceptual model emerged that offers a proposed explanation of how the student motivations, program goals, and pedagogy lead to students developing a sense of professional identity with a socially responsible perspective. This conceptual model provides an initial framework for developing learning programs that help students to meet particular ABET EC2000 student learning outcomes.