Work in Progress: Seeking Wa:k Community Perspectives on Engineering

Seeking Wa:k Community Perspectives in Engineering (Work in Progress) Abstract This Research Work in Progress investigates a Native American community’s perspectives regarding community and cultural connections to engineering. Effective problem-solving and diverse solutions are essential to addressi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAssociation for Engineering Education - Engineering Library Division Papers
Main Authors Anderson, Ieshya, Jordan, Shawn S
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Atlanta American Society for Engineering Education-ASEE 15.06.2019
Subjects
Coding
Communities
Community
Constructivism
Culture
Data collection
Engineering
In vivo methods and tests
Native Americans
Native North Americans
Problem solving
Shape recognition
STEM education
Students
Technical education
Workflow
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Summary:Seeking Wa:k Community Perspectives in Engineering (Work in Progress) Abstract This Research Work in Progress investigates a Native American community’s perspectives regarding community and cultural connections to engineering. Effective problem-solving and diverse solutions are essential to addressing issues facing society. To help ensure diversity, solutions need to include Native American perspectives. Native Americans are among the most underrepresented minority (URM) population in STEM fields in the United States, and yet little is known about why so few Native Americans choose to pursue higher education and careers in STEM fields. Recognizing that community and culture help shape students’ academic and personal development, it is important to consider how the students’ community regard, understand, and experience engineering and the role(s) that engineering could play within the community. This study is a work in progress which will seek to answer the research question, how do members of the Wa:k community perceive and understand engineering? In this paper, we will present the framework, methods, procedures, data collection, and preliminary findings. Through the lens of social constructivism, this qualitative study will explore how Wa:k community members regard, understand and experience engineering in the context of their Tohono O’odham culture and community. Data for this research study will be based on the perspectives of Tohono O’odham adults using semi-structured interviews. An iterative process of peer reviews, memoing, and coding will be used for interview transcript analysis. Utilizing In Vivo and Concept mixed methods coding, the data will be analyzed for any emergent themes and/or categories. Results from this research study could be used to inform culturally-relevant engineering engagement strategies to serve Tohono O’odham students and point to directions for further research.