Engineering attitudes: an investigation of the effect of literature on student attitudes toward engineering

The growth of STEM career occupations is outpacing the college enrollment of STEM students in the United States. There have been many research projects investigating this issue. There has not however been a study which investigated the impact non-fiction literature has on student interest in studying STEM (specifically engineering) content. The purpose of this study was to investigate the change of student attitudes toward engineering after reading literature involving non-fiction engineering centric narratives. The study used a modified version of the PATT (Pupils Attitudes Towards Technology) called the TEAS (Technology and Engineering Attitudes Scale) to measure student attitude change. The students were high-school aged students in the United States (ages: 15–17) who were enrolled in an English Literature course. The students completed the TEAS before and after reading and studying two engineering and technology centric non-fiction books (The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind and October Sky). The data revealed that student attitude after reading and studying the two books did not statistically change.     

Attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a project-based learning (PjBL) environment

Many scholars claimed the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is beneficial to the national economy and teachers and institutes have been working to develop integrated education programs. This study examined a project-based learning (PjBL) activity that integrated STEM using survey and interview methods. The participants were 30 freshmen with engineering related backgrounds from five institutes of technology in Taiwan. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to examine student attitudes towards STEM before and after the PjBL activity. The results of the survey showed that students’ attitudes to the subject of engineering changed significantly. Most of the students recognized the importance of STEM in the science and engineering disciplines; they mentioned in interview that the possession of professional science knowledge is useful to their future career and that technology may improve our lives and society, making the world a more convenient and efficient place. In conclusion, combining PjBL with STEM can increase effectiveness, generate meaningful learning and influence student attitudes in future career pursuit. Students are positive towards combining PjBL with STEM.     

Assessing South Africa Learners’ Attitudes Towards Technology by Using the PATT (Pupils’ Attitudes Towards Technology) Questionnaire

The PATT (Pupils’ Attitude Towards Technology) questionnaire, as validated for the USA, was used to assess and analyse South African learners’ attitudes towards technology. The responses of 500 girls and 510 boys, from the Gauteng Province in South Africa, were analysed using a principal component and a principal factor analysis. The explained variance was rather low and indicated that the questionnaire needed adaptation for the South African context. The outcomes of the research were positive in that there were no significant differences regarding the gender attitudes that ‘technology should be for all’ and that ‘technology makes contributions to society’. The fact that girls have a stronger gender discrimination view related to themselves regarding technology needs to be addressed in future curriculum development issues. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Piloting technological understanding and reasoning in Icelandic schools

A pilot research was undertaken in Icelandic schools during the 2013–2014 school year, in order to explore students’ technological understanding and reasoning at the ages of 11 and 13. The survey included a questionnaire regarding mechanical movement, power and thermodynamics, while the project considered the congruity between students’ undertakings within Design and Craft education in the national curricula and their ability to understand technology. This article examines the literature and considers the value of technology lessons within Icelandic Design and Craft education, in terms of students’ technological competence. Data was collected using a questionnaire distributed to three elementary schools and is highlighted with the researchers’ reviews of the national curricula. Findings were discussed and conclusions drawn and the results highlighted a general lack of understanding in technology, within the context of students’ daily lives. In addition, there were differences between boys and girls.     

Making the Processes of Designing Explicit Within an Information Technology Environment

In this paper, technology is described as involving processes whereby resources are utilised to satisfy human needs or to take advantage of opportunities, to develop practical solutions to problems. This study, set within one type of technology context, information technology, investigated how, through a one semester undergraduate university course, elements of technological processes were made explicit to students. While it was acknowledged in the development and implementation of this course that students needed to learn technical skills, technological skills and knowledge, including design, were seen as vital also, to enable students to think about information technology from a perspective that was not confined and limited to `technology as hardware and software'. This paper describes how the course, set within a three year program of study, was aimed at helping students to develop their thinking and their knowledge about design processes in an explicit way. An interpretive research approach was used and data sources included a repertory grid `survey'; student interviews; video recordings of classroom interactions, audio recordings of lectures, observations of classroom interactions made by researchers; and artefacts which included students' journals and portfolios. The development of students' knowledge about design practices is discussed and reflections upon student knowledge development in conjunction with their learning experiences are made. Implications for ensuring explicitness of design practice within information technology contexts are presented, and the need to identify what constitutes design knowledge is argued.     

Assessing the Attitudinal Technology Profile of South African Learners: A Pilot Study

Various instruments measuring either technological literacy or pupils’ attitudes towards technology are available. Recent research has emphasised that these instruments have not been validated for the South African context, yielded invalid and unreliable data for this specific context, and should therefore be adapted (Ankiewicz, Myburgh & Van Rensburg, 1996; Van Rensburg, Ankiewicz & Myburgh, 1996a, 1996b, 1999). The concept technology profile refers to learners’ knowledge and understanding of technology, their awareness of it, their values and attitudes towards technology, and their technological capability. It also refers to the extent to which these aspects have become part of the learners’ personality, beliefs, perceptions and behaviour. At the PATT (South Africa) Conference, held during October 1996, the developments regarding the design of an Attitudinal Technology Profile (ATP) questionnaire to evaluate the effects of curricula on the technology profile of learners in South African schools, were reported. At the time of the conference, the ATP questionnaire still had to be applied in order to establish its reliability and validity (Ankiewicz et al., 1996, p. 90). This article reports on this application of the ATP questionnaire. A quantitative pilot study was undertaken among 439 South African learners in Grades 9 and 10 in the Gauteng Province in the Johannesburg/Soweto area to determine their attitudinal technology profile. Differences among the learners with regard to their exposure to Technology Education, as well as gender differences, were also investigated. The conclusion is that the ATP questionnaire provides more reliable and valid results than its western counterpart that have been applied in South Africa. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Technology in the rear-view mirror: how to better incorporate the history of technology into technology education

The history of technology can play an important role in illuminating the fundamentals of technological change, but it is important that technology teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and researchers can be provided with good analytical tools for this purpose. In this article, we propose a model of techno-historical interplay, as a help in deciding what historical artefacts and systems should be included in technology curricula and teaching as well as in analyzing and conveying to students the fundamental issues of technological change. We want to emphasize particularly three points of importance in employing the model as a tool of analysis. First of all, it is crucial to decide what one wants the technologically literate student to know about technology and technological change. This should include an awareness of the historical and geographical contingency of any technology. Second, on the basis of this decision one should adapt the model as a tool for selecting relevant technologies. Third, the model should be applied as an instrument of analysis of the history of the selected technological artefacts or systems as well as theories of technological development.     

Engineering and technology students’ perceptions of courses

As cultural, social, political and economic changes take place, the secondary or high school curriculum should reflect and respond to changing needs and aspirations of students. Technology Education has been proactive in this arena as it has transformed over the decades to meet ever-changing societal needs. The most recent change to the discipline has been to add engineering and, as a result, adopting a new name and curriculum-Engineering and Technology Education. The added component and name change in Technology Education is causing discussions about what the new direction means, what professional preparation changes will be incurred, and what work graduating students will be prepared to do. In light of these changes, this study investigated perceptions of high school students in the United States of America about engineering and technology courses they take. To investigate whether students’ perceptions are in accord with current changes in Engineering and Technology Education, 316 students enrolled in engineering and technology courses in Georgia schools that have an affiliation with the Georgia Engineering and Technology Education Association (GETEA) were surveyed. According to data analyses, students’ perceptions can be divided into two factors. Educational Value of Course (factor 1) was extracted from statements measuring the degree to which the courses prepare students for employment and provide them with information regarding future employment. Personal Relevance of Course (factor 2) was derived from statements measuring students’ perceptions about links between engineering and technology education and their personal lives. Such findings suggest these students valued their engineering and technology courses, planned to continue their education, made good grades, and had varied types of career expectations for jobs such as design engineers and architects.     

Recent Research in Learning Technological Concepts and Processes

This paper examines recent research in student learning of technological concepts and processes. To explore this area three inter-related aspects are considered; existing concepts of technology, technological knowledge and processes. Different views of technology and technology education are reflected in both research outcomes and curriculum documents. Teacher and student perceptions of technology impact on the way in which technology is undertaken in the classroom. Teacher's perceptions of technology influence what they perceive as being important in learning of technology. student's perceptions of technology and technology education influence what knowledge and skills they operationalise in a technological task and hence affect student technological capability. Technological concepts and processes are often defined in different ways by particular groups. Subject subcultures are strongly held by both teachers and students. The influence of subject subcultures and communities of practice will be discussed in terms of defining and operationalising technological concepts and processes. Technological concepts are not consistently defined in the literature. For students to undertake technological activities, knowledge and processes cannot be divorced. Recent research highlights the problems when processes are emphasised over knowledge. This paper will examine different technological concepts in an attempt to create a critical balance between knowledge and process. Much of the literature in technology education has rightly emphasised definitions, curriculum issues, implementation and teacher training. This paper argues that it is now time to place a great emphasis on in-depth research on student understanding of technological concepts and processes and ways in which these can be enhanced.     

Career orientations of software developers in a sample of high tech companies

The career orientations of software developers in 11 high technology companies of different sizes were studied. It was found that the proportion wanting a managerial career was higher than might be expected (34%) and increased with organisational size. Approximately 25% wanted advancement in a technical career, and this remained the same in organisations of different sizes. The same proportion wanted to start up their own company, but this decreased substantially with organisational size. The group wanting a project-based career was the smallest, at 15%, and this varied slightly with organisational size. The four groups showed differences in their ideal job characteristics, organisational versus technical orientation and expected tenure. The extent to which they actually expected to satisfy their career preference varied dramatically, with the great majority of managerially-oriented expecting to actually be managers, but the majority wanting to start their own company not expecting to actually do so. The small high technology company has become an important, almost mythical, component of popular and academic folklore. As Beyer says, the “prevailing wisdom from both lay people and researchers who have been around them says that these firms are somehow different” (Beyer, 1985, p. 483). Within such organisations, the software developer or computer hack has similarly developed a particular aura. As one commentator puts it, “the stereotyped image of the community of programmers is … of a collection of single-minded nerds possessing no interest in life outside the digital realm” (Sandberg-Diment, 1986, p.C3). In spite of the interest in both the nature of such companies and such employees, there has been very little empirical data collected (Turbin and Rosse, 1988, p.17) to substantiate the folklore. In particular there has been an almost complete absence of rigorous academic enquiry into what the individuals choosing to work in this type of company are really like, or what their work needs actually are. The present paper is aimed at filling some of this gap, by addressing the issue of what type of career path software developers in high tech companies want.     

Impacts of innovativeness and attitude on entrepreneurial intention: among engineering and non-engineering students

This study attempted to explore the impacts of attitudinal antecedents on students’ entrepreneurial intention. Comparisons between students of engineering and non-engineering backgrounds and gender groups were made. Total of 998 students from universities in Hong Kong were surveyed, leading to a number of highlights in the study. First, it is found that the learning motivation strongly correlates with innovativeness, which in return affects the entrepreneurship intention. Second, the educational measures designed for senior year students would be slightly different from those for junior year students, whilst the junior year students may need more facilitation to motivate their learning. Thirdly, the ‘innovativeness’ of engineering students is found significantly and strongly correlated to ‘self-efficacy’ and significantly to ‘attitude’. The ‘attitude’ of engineering students is found more significantly contributing to their ‘entrepreneurial intention’. The interesting results show that for engineering students, though perceiving higher levels of innovativeness, ‘attitudes’ and ‘entrepreneurial intention’, the critical attributes in determining ‘entrepreneurial intention’ are ‘attitudes’ and ‘self-efficacy’. Fourthly, attitudes seem a lot more influencing to the entrepreneurial intention among female students, whilst ‘innovation’ is the a lot more influencing among male students. There are some limitations in this study, such as the sample size and survey design. In order to secure a high level of content validity, some items of the constructs are excluded possibly due to the sample size and the uneven numbers of the different sample groups. Future study is recommended to include students from different countries in order to have more representative results, and the research model could be further extended to explore the effects of other demographic parameters.     

Using an analogical thinking model as an instructional tool to improve student cognitive ability in architecture design learning process

Lack of creativity is a problem often plaguing students from design-related departments. Therefore, this study is intended to incorporate analogical thinking in the education of architecture design to enhance students’ learning and their future career performance. First, this study explores the three aspects of architecture design curricula, interaction and students’ cognitive development. Then the study discusses learning based on analogical thinking into two parts: analogical learning and analogical reasoning. The samples in this study were the freshmen of the Department of Architecture, China University of Technology. The model was used in a five-week unit of the course of Architecture Design, a required course for all the freshmen. Questionnaires were given to the students before and after the unit to evaluate the influences of the model in the dimensions of Teaching, Teacher-student Interactions, Student–student Interactions, Cognitive Development, and Overall Learning Performance. The questionnaire results were collected and statistically analyzed. The analysis results indicated that, the students scored significantly higher in each of the dimension after the unit than before the unit. These findings suggested that the use of an analogical thinking model can be helpful in the teaching of architecture design. Hopefully, the findings of this study can provide helpful references for not only teaching of architecture design but also future related research.     

A model of junior high school students’ attitudes toward technology

The purposes of this study were to develop and verify a model that contributes to our understanding of the attitudes toward technology held by students in junior high school, as well as to explore relationships among the factors in this model. We distributed questionnaires to research participants selected on the basis of stratified random sampling. A total of 1,437 questionnaires were distributed, and 1,330 valid questionnaires were collected, reflecting a valid return rate of 92%. Structural equation modeling was used to construct and verify a model of student attitudes toward technology. The results of the study included (1) a complete model of student attitudes toward technology and (2) identification of the main factors influencing the pursuit of careers in technology, identification with technology, and experiences with technology-related curricula.     

Perspectives on pupil creativity in design and technology in the lower secondary curriculum in England

This paper is based on work carried out as part of a research study into the professional practices of secondary design and technology teachers in England. It focused on fostering creativity or teaching for creativity as defined by the Robinson Report (1999, All our futures: creativity, culture and education. London: Department for Education and Employment (DfEE)) for pupils aged 11–14 years. The overall research question that drove this study was “to what extent can teachers influence the creativity of pupils aged 11–14 years in design and technology lessons?” The paper provides the basis used to generate a unique theoretical three-feature model or framework that can be used to explore creativity within an educational context.The findings of three investigations in the study are presented in this paper. The first and second investigations looked at what could be learnt from the professional practices of art and design and design and technology teachers and the views of four ‘expert’ teachers known for their ability to develop the creative potential of their pupils. The data is discussed under emerging themes and it is used to inform specific criteria in the evolving theoretical three-feature model for creativity. The model is then used to analyse the data from the third classroom based investigation and the findings are discussed under the emerging themes to help identify the issues related to fostering creativity within the design and technology classroom.This paper discusses the implications of the research for classroom practice and suggests that, as creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept and process, the theoretical three-feature model and related criteria evolved in the study provides a sound framework to explore creativity within an educational context. As a tool it helps identify examples of good practice and highlight areas that require further attention by teachers aiming to foster their pupils’ creativity. It is suggested that design and technology teachers have lessons to learn from the practices of their art and design colleagues and ‘expert’ design and technology teachers. It is concluded that there is a need for greater understanding by teachers of their implicit theories regarding teaching, learning and creativity. A wider use could be made of the breadth of strategies outlined by the ‘expert’ teachers. This would help address the weakness identified in the school based study and strengthen classroom practice when teaching for creativity.     

Modeling the relation between students’ implicit beliefs about their abilities and their educational STEM choices

Despite the large body of research on students’ educational and career choices in the field of technology, design, and science, we still lack a clear understanding of how to stimulate more students to opt for a study path or career within the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). In this article, we outline a new theoretical framework to describe how students’ implicit belief about the malleability of their intelligence can be an important precursor of their STEM educational and career choice behavior. Based on the different bodies of literature about STEM choices and about students’ implicit beliefs about their abilities, we present three hypothetical pathways, in the form of testable models, that describe potential relations between the implicit theories that students may hold regarding the malleability of their STEM ability and students’ intentions to pursue a STEM career. Each pathway outlines a specific mediating factor influencing this relation: (a) self-efficacy beliefs, (b) stereotypical thinking, and (c) motivational beliefs. These pathways provide more insight into the underlying mechanisms that may affect STEM choice behavior. In our view, such a theoretical underpinning is a necessary prerequisite for further scientific investigation into the potential relations between students’ implicit beliefs about their potential development, relevant psychological variables, and STEM choice behavior. Furthermore, we believe it provides a theoretical foundation for practical interventions that aim to stimulate STEM choice behavior.     

Turkish – Ottoman Miniature Art Within the Context of Electronic Information Design Education

The article firstly examines the techniques of miniature art, and attempts to identify those which can serve as an inspiration for artistic aspects of today’s information design in the electronic environment. It also brings forward the idea whether miniature art could be used in our existing new media education models and finally answers the research question: does student really learn something from ‘technology practice’ in the design work using both minimalistic approach of miniature art and interactive media as high-end representation technique? We believe that the answers to above research question will help especially technology educator involved with design, to think what they need to improve students? creativity in parallel with teaching the use of software tools and programming.     

What is the function of a figurine? Can the repertory grid technique tell?

Teaching design and product development at upper secondary school level in Sweden is a matter of interdisciplinary considerations. Education in product development, at this level, prepares students for further studies and career in engineering or industrial design. Knowledge of artefacts is an important element in the education. In coherence with the visual and rhetorical strategies characterising the knowledge field, students learn how to develop an idea to a final product. In this study twelve engineers and industrial designers, professionals representing the knowledge field of product development are studied regarding their interpretations of eight pre-selected artefacts. Data is collected and analysed using repertory grid technique. The aim of the study is to examine whether/what we can learn from the informants’ experiences and knowledge that is relevant to education in design and product development at upper secondary school level. Findings show that four of the artefacts appear to be carriers of attributes that reveal the interviewees’ definitions of the artefacts’ functional nature. From these findings it is shown that the interviewees’ definitions of concepts concerning aesthetics/decoration and function can be seen as cultural expressions. How the repertory grid technique is used in this particular study is thoroughly described and the results relevance for education is discussed.     

Sustainability awareness in engineering curriculum through a proposed teaching and assessment framework

Engineers play a vital role in enabling the sustainable development of their societies. Thus, it is necessary to teach sustainability in universities, especially for engineering students, for a more sustainable future. The present work aims to measure and enhance engineering students’ awareness of sustainability by monitoring and evaluating learning and student outcomes during the last stages of an engineering curriculum and its culminating major design experience. A questionnaire to assess students’ awareness of sustainability and its tools is implemented. From this empirical study, obstacles to the awareness of sustainability through engineering education are discussed. The analysis of the results of the questionnaire implies the modification of the structure of senior projects and other capstone design courses in order to include a proposed teaching and assessment framework. This framework emphasizes students’ ability to understand and use effective sustainability tools, within the environment of their major design experience. The framework is composed of two paths. The first path concerns course design through which sustainability concepts and methods are included in several course elements. The second path addresses the assessment of the attainment of sustainability objectives by the students.

     

Visible parts,invisible whole: Swedish technology student teachers’ conceptions about technological systems

Technological systems are included as a component of national technology curricula and standards for primary and secondary education as well as corresponding teacher education around the world. Little is known, however, of how pupils, students, and teachers conceive of technological systems. In this article we report on a study investigating Swedish technology student teachers’ conceptions of technological systems. The following research question is posed: How do Swedish technology student teachers conceive of technological systems? Data was collected through in-depth qualitative surveys with 26 Swedish technology student teachers. The data was analysed using a hermeneutic method, aided by a theoretical synthesis of established system theories (system significants). The main results of the study are that the technology student teachers expressed diverse conceptions of technological systems, but that on average almost half of them provided answers that were considered as undefined. The parts of the systems that the students understood were mostly the visible parts, either components, devices, or products such as buttons, power lines, hydroelectric plants, or the interface with the software inside a mobile phone. However, the ‘invisible’ or abstract aspects of the technological systems, such as flows of information, energy or matter, or control operations were difficult to understand for the majority of the students. The flow of information was particularly challenging in this regard. The students could identify the input and often the output of the systems, that is, what systems or components do, but the processes that take place within the systems were elusive. Comparing between technological systems also proved difficult for many students. The role of humans was considered important but it was mostly humans as users not as actors on a more systemic level, for example, as system owners, innovators, or politicians. This study confirms previous research in that the students had a basic understanding of structure, input and output of a technological system. Thus, the adult students in this study did not seem to have better understanding of technological systems than school pupils and teachers in previous studies, although this is in line with previous investigations on the general system thinking capabilities of children and adults. The most important implication of this study is that students need to be trained in systems thinking, particularly regarding how components work and connect to each other, flows (especially of information), system dependency, and the human role in technological systems.