AC 2011-1629: ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVES OF GRADE 7 STUDENTS

Many high school students are unable to consider engineering as an undergraduate program of study because they do not have the prerequisite courses required for university entrance. In order to provide the opportunity for capable students to pursue an engineering degree and subsequently enter the engineering profession, they must understand what engineering is prior to entering high school to enable them to select appropriate courses. The focus of this study is to understand how students in 7th grade perceive the profession of engineering in two regions across Canada. The literature suggests that action is underway in some areas of the United States in order to create awareness and encourage students to pursue an engineering program. These initiatives range from integrating engineering concepts into the K-12 curriculum to providing outreach and design challenge opportunities outside of school. Such initiatives are present in very isolated cases within Canada, however, their reach and impact is limited. In order to better understand the perspective of pre-high school students in Canada, sample groups will be provided with a survey incorporating a variety of questions pertaining to what they understand about engineering as a profession. All questions have been structured as open ended in order to promote individualized answers from the students. Survey questions will be analyzed with NVIVO software to determine if there are common themes in the understanding and perception of engineering from the students' perspective. Observations and emerging trends of this work in progress will be presented in this paper.