2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

When looking at diversity, equity, and inclusion, having conversations about power dynamics is critical to understanding the structural and interpersonal role of power in maintaining or disrupting norms. The research question this paper explores is: How do engineering students understand power dynamics within their engineering education context? This paper reports the findings of interviews and reflection prompts from engineering students, as part of a longer research engagement with this cohort of individuals. For the interviews, researchers used an semi-structured, open-ended interview protocol and audio recorded the responses. The interviews along with the reflection responses were analyzed for themes. Following these themes, Patricia Hill Collins’ Domains of Power were used to provide an analysis and connection between the themes and domains of power. We look to understand what kinds of power comes to mind for students within engineering. Our findings show that students are keenly aware of the power faculty have, perceived intelligence is power in group projects, belonging helps with feelings of empowerment, and that having conversations about power helps students in seeing social interactions as power dynamics. We hope the findings will encourage the engineering education community to explore their understanding of power, personally and within their communities. Additionally, this research highlights the benefits of using Kathryn Pauly Morgan’s Identity Wheel to help individuals articulate their experiences with power and the Domains of Power to help the community understand how power functions in their particular context.