2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work in progress paper is a case study of an undergraduate engineering student who identified a low sense of belonging within his department based on survey and interview data collected as part of a larger project. From interview data, the participant described how attainment of his engineering degree was one of many of his ongoing responsibilities, and thus he did not seek out strong connections within his department. Recognizing that some students who view degree attainment as a transaction (i.e., they prioritize efficiency over engagement) may not value traditional means of support and engagement within their engineering program, we ask the research question: "What are the unique values and experiences of a student who views attaining an engineering degree as transactional?" With the goal of effective professional formation of diverse types of engineering students, this WIP seeks to provide insights that will help frame future studies of students who do not value engaging with or belonging in their engineering programs.

We analyzed data from one engineering student: two responses to surveys about sense of belonging, engineering identity and personality traits (sophomore and senior year), and one interview about the student’s experiences in engineering (9 months post-graduation). The student’s survey responses indicated a low sense of belonging, which identified him as an interview participant per our study protocol. Interview data were initially coded using a priori coding to identify key themes related to engineering identity and sense of belonging, followed by open coding to identify other aspects of the student’s engineering journey related to our research question.

The student’s survey responses at both time points revealed a very low sense of belonging at the university and department levels. His survey responses also indicated personality traits of introversion and conscientiousness, a feeling of being invisible in engineering courses, high confidence in his choice of major, and feeling capable of mastering tasks. Themes related to the student’s engineering identity were primarily related to performance/competence (his sense that he could do the work), with little mention of recognition or interest. He noted very little about his sense of belonging or connections with others in the department;, his responses were impersonal and directed back to the importance of hard work and dedication. Thus the interview did not reveal insights into this student’s needs within the department because he articulated few personal insights in response to our questions.

While existing literature suggests undergraduate engineering students’ sense of belonging and engineering identity are indicators of their likelihood of graduating and feeling empowered within their major, not all undergraduate engineering students desire a strong sense of belonging among their departmental cohort or instructors. In future work, our interview protocol will be modified to focus on the needs of students who view attaining an engineering degree as transactional to provide educators and researchers with insights into the professional formation of this unique group of students.