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

    238837_238837.pdf (614.9Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Bennett, Dawn
    Kapoor, Ranjna
    Attar Singh, Rajinder Kaur
    Maynard, Nicoleta
    Date
    2015
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Bennett, D. and Kapoor, R. and Attar Singh, R.K. and Maynard, N. 2015. First year engineering students: Perceptions of engineers and engineering work amongst local and international students. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 6 (1): pp. 89-105.
    Source Title
    The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education
    DOI
    10.5204/intjfyhe.v6i1.272
    School
    Research and Creative Production
    Remarks

    Copyright © 2015 The Authors

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33350
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    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 self-esteem. 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.

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