Engineering graduates professional formation: the connection between activity types and professional competencies

Lowe, D; Goldfinch, T; Kadi, A; Willey, K; Wilkinson, T

Engineering graduates professional formation: the connection between activity types and professional competencies

Lowe, D Goldfinch, T Kadi, A Willey, K

Wilkinson, T

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Publisher:: Taylor & Francis
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: European Journal of Engineering Education, 2022, 47, (1), pp. 8-29
Issue Date:: 2022-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lowe, D
dc.contributor.author	Goldfinch, T
dc.contributor.author	Kadi, A
dc.contributor.author	Willey, K https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1478-0346
dc.contributor.author	Wilkinson, T
dc.date.accessioned	2023-04-05T03:45:36Z
dc.date.available	2023-04-05T03:45:36Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	European Journal of Engineering Education, 2022, 47, (1), pp. 8-29
dc.identifier.issn	0304-3797
dc.identifier.issn	1469-5898
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/169163
dc.description.abstract	The professional formation of new graduates and their ability to perform well at the start of their career depends on the development of both technical skills and professional competencies. Whilst the latter aspects have become increasingly considered within engineering programs, they are often learnt within an academic context rather than a practice context. This is in contrast with research that argues that professional expertise should be learnt within the context in which it will be applied. This paper reports on an analysis of engineering student reflections on professional engagement activities over the duration of their university study. A text-based thematic analysis examines the link between different types of activities and professional competencies (using Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies), and the level of sophistication in the language using Blooms taxonomy. The thematic analysis provides strong evidence that different activity types result in students being more likely to reflect upon specific competencies. The deeper Bloom analysis showed that generally the activity types that have reflections skewed towards higher Bloom levels are those that involve project activities. We conclude that those activities that require student-driven exploration are the most likely to engage students in thinking about the nature of real-world engineering practice.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Taylor & Francis
dc.relation.ispartof	European Journal of Engineering Education
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/03043797.2021.1901074
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	09 Engineering, 13 Education
dc.title	Engineering graduates professional formation: the connection between activity types and professional competencies
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	47
utslib.for	09 Engineering
utslib.for	13 Education
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CRIN - Realtime Information Networks
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2023-04-05T03:45:35Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	47
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

The professional formation of new graduates and their ability to perform well at the start of their career depends on the development of both technical skills and professional competencies. Whilst the latter aspects have become increasingly considered within engineering programs, they are often learnt within an academic context rather than a practice context. This is in contrast with research that argues that professional expertise should be learnt within the context in which it will be applied. This paper reports on an analysis of engineering student reflections on professional engagement activities over the duration of their university study. A text-based thematic analysis examines the link between different types of activities and professional competencies (using Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies), and the level of sophistication in the language using Blooms taxonomy. The thematic analysis provides strong evidence that different activity types result in students being more likely to reflect upon specific competencies. The deeper Bloom analysis showed that generally the activity types that have reflections skewed towards higher Bloom levels are those that involve project activities. We conclude that those activities that require student-driven exploration are the most likely to engage students in thinking about the nature of real-world engineering practice.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/169163