Do They Have the "Knack"? Professional Identity Development of Engineering Students

• In Event: Encouraging Careers in Engineering and Computer Science

Abstract

The purpose of our research was to determine the level of professional identity development of undergraduate engineering majors, the alignment between their stated levels of professional identity and the degree to which they could articulate the norms, behaviors, and activities of professional engineers. In addition, we sought to determine the perspective they used to describe engineering and the work of engineers, and the degree to which they relied on social, individual, and system activities to describe engineering. We found a misalignment between student perceptions of themselves as professionals and their ability to convey the characteristics and work of engineers.

Authors

• Idalis Villanueva, Utah State University

• Louis S. Nadelson, Utah State University