2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Belonging and Intercultural Competence as Pathways to Sustainability Learning in Engineering Education

Presented at Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Technical Session 8

Engineering education increasingly frames sustainability in terms of competencies such as systems thinking, ethical judgment, and collaboration. While these competencies are widely articulated, less attention has been paid to the relational conditions through which students come to enact them in practice. This paper examines how experiences of belonging and intercultural engagement shape pathways toward sustainability learning in undergraduate engineering education.

Drawing on an interpretivist qualitative analysis of student reflections, survey responses, and project narratives from sustainability-oriented engineering coursework, the study investigates how students make sense of sustainability-oriented work in sociotechnical contexts. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the paper focuses on students’ descriptions of participation, ethical tension, and responsibility rather than on measures of competency attainment.

Findings identify three relational pathways through which sustainability learning was described: belonging as a condition for ethical and collaborative participation, intercultural friction as a catalyst for values-based reasoning, and relational accountability grounding sustainability practice in responsibility to others. Across these themes, sustainability competencies emerged not as discrete skills, but through participation in uncertain, value-laden decision-making shaped by social interaction and accountability.

By positioning belonging and intercultural engagement as pathways rather than outcomes, this study contributes to LEES conversations on sociotechnical integration and sustainability education. The findings highlight how sustainability learning in engineering is mediated through relational conditions that enable participation and sustain meaningful engagement.

Authors

Cherish C. Vance http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8587-7594 The Ohio State University [biography]

Cherish C. Vance (she/her) teaches in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University, where her work centers on engineering for sustainable development, inclusive pedagogy, and the cultivation of sustainability competencies in engineering education. A proud first-generation college graduate, she holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering there. She remains committed to bridging technical rigor with human and environmental well-being—and to doing it with as little unnecessary suffering as possible.
Dr. Kelly Brumbelow P.E. http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-5681-4359 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Kelly Brumbelow is the Associate Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering and Associate Professor in that department and the Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. He has been a faculty member at Texas A&M since 2002.
Tylesha D. Drayton http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1837-445X The Ohio State University [biography]

Tylesha D. Drayton is a Civil and Environmental Engineer (EIT) and STEM experiential education researcher with over a decade of professional experience. She holds graduate degrees in Engineering and Public Policy and Engineering Education, with prior work grounded in sustainability and interdisciplinary problem-solving. Her current work focuses on culture, belonging, and learning in makerspaces and innovation labs. She is a speaker and consultant on STEM pedagogy and informal learning, and is pursuing doctoral studies in Engineering Education.
Dr. Kristi J. Shryock Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Kristi J. Shryock is the Frank and Jean Raymond Foundation Inc. Endowed Associate Professor in Multidisciplinary Engineering and Affiliated Faculty in Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. She also serves as Director of the Craig and Galen Brown Engineering Honors Program. She received her BS, MS, and PhD from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M. Kristi works to improve the undergraduate engineering experience through evaluating preparation in areas, such as mathematics and physics, evaluating engineering identity and its impact on retention, incorporating non-traditional teaching methods into the classroom, and engaging her students with interactive methods.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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