2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Redefining High School Engineering Education: Integrating Environmental Justice for Transformative Learning Experiences

This practice paper supports the notion of a critical need for engineering education to embed social and environmental justice (EJ) issues and concepts into curricula. In doing so, we provide critical skills and empathy development for the future engineering workforce to address real-word challenges with equity and justice. In recent years, there has been considerable improvement in providing students in higher education with professional skills needed to be employable and successful in their respective profession. Such skills include communication, ethics, collaboration, leadership, and global awareness (including the social and environmental impacts of engineering). Yet, much of the engineering education employed in the K-12 setting focuses on the technical outcomes and skills. This study explores the use of an environmental justice-focused curriculum, namely StoryMaps that facilitate a deeper exploration of the complex interconnections of air quality, transportation, and engineering, as a part of a larger Creative Engineering Design course. Specifically, we examine a cohort of students across different school campuses who interacted with StoryMaps that highlight the disparities in air quality and their correlation with transportation systems. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses, we assess changes in students’ understanding of environmental justice concepts and their ability to enact these principles in real-world contexts. Our findings reveal that these EJ-themed StoryMaps not only promote critical thinking and awareness but also empower students to recognize their role in addressing environmental inequities. This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue about innovative teaching strategies in engineering education and underscores the importance of integrating social justice themes into technical curricula.

Authors

Dr. Jennifer Ramos-Chavez University of Texas at El Paso [biography]

Dr. Ramos-Chavez is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Texas at El Paso where she studies the intersection between the environment, energy and education. Specifically, her research focuses on community-based participatory research and community-centered outreach. She is interested in understanding how student perceptions and behaviors are influenced by immersive environmental and engineering education programming.
Jennifer L. Taylor http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-9044-8279 University of Colorado Boulder [biography]

Jennifer Taylor is the Pre-College Engineering Director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program at the University of Colorado Boulder and led the NSF-funded Creative Engineering Design project.
Dr. Ivonne Santiago http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7989-0656 University of Texas at El Paso [biography]

Dr. Ivonne Santiago is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Co-Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE). She is deeply committed to advancing equity, particularly in providing access to safe drinking water and promoting clean transportation solutions as catalysts for social mobility. Through her work, she actively advocates for these causes and engages her students in hands-on learning experiences at local, regional, and international levels.
Dr. Santiago's expertise spans four key areas:
1. Equity and Environmental Impacts of Clean Transportation and Electrified Infrastructure: Dr. Santiago ensures that the voices of community partners are heard and incorporated in decisions regarding the placement of electrified infrastructure. Her work includes modeling greenhouse gas emissions on regional and national scales, supported by funding from NSF through ASPIRE and the Federal Highway Administration through the City of El Paso.
2. Water Treatment, Resource Recovery, and Conservation: She leads pilot-scale projects on water reuse, resource recovery, and brine reduction from desalination, utilizing advanced technologies such as membrane processes and electrodialysis. These efforts are funded by El Paso Water, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the National Alliance for Water Innovation, and NOAA.
3. Engineering Workforce Development: Dr. Santiago champions the success of Hispanic students and Latinas in STEM and academia. She provides opportunities for UTEP students to engage in study-abroad programs in Colombia, Brazil, and Haiti. These initiatives are supported by NSF, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Education.
4. Community Outreach to Underserved and Indigenous Communities: Her outreach efforts focus on providing safe drinking water to communities along the U.S.-Mexico border and in Colombia. These projects are funded by the U.S. Department of State, NIH, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Beyond her academic and research roles, Dr. Santiago has served as Chair of the Public Service Board, overseeing El Paso Water and contributing to the management of critical water resources.
Dr. Santiago’s impactful contributions have earned her numerous prestigious awards, highlighting her dedication to her profession, students, and community. Among her notable accolades are the 2025 Best Practice Award for the World Expo under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” for her collaboration with Colombian partners on the "Uni Masaquerí Alliance: Clean Water Supply for the Future of Communities;" the 2023 El Paso Women of Impact Award, the 2023 McDonald's Hispanos Triunfadores in STEM Award, the 2014 University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the 2018 ASCE Texas Section "Service to the People" Award, and the 2019 Engineer of the Year Award from the Texas Society of Professional Engineers in El Paso. These honors underscore her unwavering commitment to sustainable development, equity, and excellence in engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

For those interested in:

Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology