Asee peer logo

Board 236: Children’s Identity Conception in Engineering Activities in the Home Environment

Download Paper |

Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Topic

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42677

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/42677

Download Count

118

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Sawsan Werfelli State University of New York, Binghamton

visit author page

Sawsan Werfelli received her undergraduate degree in English from Tripoli University, Libya and her Master’s degree in Linguistics as a Fulbright scholar from Florida International University. She decided on pursuing her EdD after having worked in the field of education for 8 years. She is interested in social justice issues and inclusivity of education.

visit author page

biography

Amber Simpson State University of New York, Binghamton Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-5467-4885

visit author page

Amber Simpson is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Teaching, Leaming and Educational Leadership Department at Binghamton University. Her research interests include (1) examining individual's identity(ies) in one or more STEM disciplines, (2) understanding the role of making a.11d tinkering in formal and informal learning environments, and (3) investigating family engagement in and interactions around STEM-related activities. Before joining BU, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Indiana University-Bloomington. She earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from Clemson University.

visit author page

biography

Peter N. Knox University of Vermont

visit author page

Dr. Peter Knox is a postdoctoral associate with Project CORE at the University of Vermont. His areas of interest and research include family engagement, social/familial capital, public education/school policy, school-community partnerships, and community-based organization involvement in schools, as well as equity/social justice in education. Originally from Montana, he has a strong interest in and experience working with and in rural, under-resourced communities and with policy implementation and evaluation methods using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods data collection and analysis.

visit author page

biography

Kelli Paul Indiana University, Bloomington Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2322-7542

visit author page

Dr. Kelli Paul is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Center for Research on Learning and Technology at Indiana University where her research focuses on the development of STEM interests, identity, and career aspirations in children and adolescents.

visit author page

biography

Adam Maltese Indiana University, Bloomington Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-8422-9395

visit author page

Professor of Science Education

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Identity is a concept that has been examined and defined in a variety of ways. Bilgrami (2006) made a distinction between a subjective and an objective aspect of identity, where the former is about how you view yourself, while the latter is about how others view you. However, Renninger (2009) linked the two together, where identity refers to a person’s general sense of self with reference to groups (e.g., engineers) or particular content or processes. Having this relationship with a larger group, links identity to interactions, which in turn can result in changes to one’s identity (Gee, 2000). The purpose of this study was to understand children’s perception of their identity as an engineer at the conclusion of an engineering program focused on engaging in engineering design processes and practices in their home environments.          The methodology for data collection was through post-program participation interviews with children. The interviews were conducted with 14 children between the ages of five and ten, who completed at least four researcher-developed engineering tasks. The time engaged in each kit ranged from approximately 30 minutes to 3 hours. The interview questions revolved around how these children viewed engineers, engineering, as well as how they viewed themselves and how the program changed their views and interests. The length of the interviews were about 20 minutes. The preliminary results suggest that participation in an engineering program in home environments has changed these children’s sense of identity in a variety of ways; how they viewed their abilities differently as being able to carry engineering activities, and their potential career trajectories; how they viewed engineering as a field; and how the program affected their interactions with their parents. The significance of this study points to the benefits of introducing engineering tasks with children at a young age.

Werfelli, S., & Simpson, A., & Knox, P. N., & Paul, K., & Maltese, A. (2023, June), Board 236: Children’s Identity Conception in Engineering Activities in the Home Environment Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42677

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015