A Liberatory Co-Curricular Program for Engineering Students: Investigating Impacts and Limitations Through Alumni Perspectives

Bailey Bond-Trittipo; Stephen Secules; Jocelyn Garcia; Maria Oralia Tinoco Alegre; Malak Elaouinate; Andrew Green; Andres TREMANTE

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Breaking barriers, building futures: Narratives of equity and inclusion in STEM education
Tagged Divisions: Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46450

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Paper Authors

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Bailey Bond-Trittipo Florida International University

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Bailey Bond-Trittipo is an engineering and computing education Ph.D. candidate within the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED) at Florida International University. Her research interests center on employing critical theoretical frameworks and qualitative methodologies to study liberatory pedagogies in engineering education and undergraduate engineering students' participation in activism.

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Stephen Secules Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-2306

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Stephen is an Assistant Professor Engineering and Computing Education at Florida International University. He has a prior academic and professional background in engineering, having worked professionally as an acoustical engineer. He has taught a number of courses on design, sociotechnical contexts, education, and learning. He conducts research on equity and culture in engineering education and supports undergraduate and graduate student researchers through the Equity Research Group.

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Malak Elaouinate is a Florida International University student studying electrical engineering. Her research aims to investigate the many experiences of LGBTQ+ students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in order to inform changes within CEC that contribute to students of marginalized identities feeling welcome, comfortable, and accurately represented.

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Andrew Green Florida International University

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Andrew Green serves as the associate director of academic services for the Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing. In this capacity, he supports the center in all aspects of the college’s K-12 programs, pre-college STEM activities, and the student success initiatives. Andrew comes to the center after previously working with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the dean’s office as program director for strategic initiatives. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from FIU and he’s currently enrolled in the higher education doctoral degree program.

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Andres TREMANTE

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Abstract

Purpose: Identifying the inequities underrepresented groups face in undergraduate engineering education and addressing these inequities is commonly in the hands of faculty and staff rather than the students who experience them firsthand. Seeking to shift away from this dynamic and empower students to name and challenge the oppression they face, we launched the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Ambassador Program at a large Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Southeastern United States. JEDI is a co-curricular program that employs undergraduate engineering students to engage in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion projects with the guidance of a graduate student or university support staff mentor. In this paper, we investigate the impact and limitations of this attempt at liberatory pedagogy through analyzing exit interviews with the alumni from the first two years of the program.

Framework: This study is informed by liberative pedagogy, which facilitates critical consciousness and supports students in bringing their whole selves to a learning space to expand their critical capacities. One of the primary goals in creating JEDI was to provide engineering students space to realize and name the oppression they face and support them in designing their own projects that seek to challenge oppression. This paper investigates our attempt at operationalizing liberatory pedagogy through JEDI.

Methods: The first author conducted 80–150-minute semi-structured interviews with program alumni. The interview protocol was informed by constructs from liberative pedagogy, focusing on participants' experiences in the program. The first author utilized thematic coding to identify salient themes across the interviews.

Results: The analysis of the interview data revealed several successes and shortcomings related to operationalizing liberative pedagogy. One theme related to the successes was that participants expressed that JEDI offered a safe, welcoming environment in which they could embrace their marginalized identities and freely express their ideas. This finding, along with other themes that will be discussed in the paper, speak to the positive impact of the program. However, one theme related to shortcomings was that participants spoke extensively about the positive impact JEDI had on them as individuals, but they did not express that they saw their projects as having a significant external impact. We see this as a limitation regarding the program engaging the students in liberatory praxis within their local communities.

Significance: Findings from this study provide insight into the impact liberative pedagogy has on engineering students and the challenges of operationalizing liberative pedagogy in a formal university context. These results could aid the engineering education community as we continue to search for ways to support and empower students.

Citation
Format

Bond-Trittipo, B., & Secules, S., & Garcia, J., & Tinoco Alegre, M. O., & Elaouinate, M., & Green, A., & TREMANTE, A. (2024, June), A Liberatory Co-Curricular Program for Engineering Students: Investigating Impacts and Limitations Through Alumni Perspectives Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46450

TY - CPAPER
AB - Purpose: Identifying the inequities underrepresented groups face in undergraduate engineering education and addressing these inequities is commonly in the hands of faculty and staff rather than the students who experience them firsthand. Seeking to shift away from this dynamic and empower students to name and challenge the oppression they face, we launched the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Ambassador Program at a large Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Southeastern United States. JEDI is a co-curricular program that employs undergraduate engineering students to engage in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion projects with the guidance of a graduate student or university support staff mentor. In this paper, we investigate the impact and limitations of this attempt at liberatory pedagogy through analyzing exit interviews with the alumni from the first two years of the program.

Framework: This study is informed by liberative pedagogy, which facilitates critical consciousness and supports students in bringing their whole selves to a learning space to expand their critical capacities. One of the primary goals in creating JEDI was to provide engineering students space to realize and name the oppression they face and support them in designing their own projects that seek to challenge oppression. This paper investigates our attempt at operationalizing liberatory pedagogy through JEDI.

Methods: The first author conducted 80–150-minute semi-structured interviews with program alumni. The interview protocol was informed by constructs from liberative pedagogy, focusing on participants&#39; experiences in the program. The first author utilized thematic coding to identify salient themes across the interviews.

Results: The analysis of the interview data revealed several successes and shortcomings related to operationalizing liberative pedagogy. One theme related to the successes was that participants expressed that JEDI offered a safe, welcoming environment in which they could embrace their marginalized identities and freely express their ideas. This finding, along with other themes that will be discussed in the paper, speak to the positive impact of the program. However, one theme related to shortcomings was that participants spoke extensively about the positive impact JEDI had on them as individuals, but they did not express that they saw their projects as having a significant external impact. We see this as a limitation regarding the program engaging the students in liberatory praxis within their local communities.

Significance: Findings from this study provide insight into the impact liberative pedagogy has on engineering students and the challenges of operationalizing liberative pedagogy in a formal university context. These results could aid the engineering education community as we continue to search for ways to support and empower students.
AU - Bailey Bond-Trittipo
AU - Stephen Secules
AU - Jocelyn Garcia
AU - Maria Oralia Tinoco Alegre
AU - Malak Elaouinate
AU - Andrew Green
AU - Andres TREMANTE
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A Liberatory Co-Curricular Program for Engineering Students: Investigating Impacts and Limitations Through Alumni Perspectives
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46450
ER -