| Abstrakt: |
Student perceptions of the nature of the work that engineers do can influence their decisions to pursue engineering as well as what discipline within engineering they choose. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with three first-year mechanical engineering students to explore their perspectives about the engineering practices (e.g., problem-solving, teamwork, being creative) they identified as motivating their interest in the field of mechanical engineering. The findings revealed that the students felt motivated to pursue mechanical engineering to engage in practices including building tangible artifacts, design work, impacting society, fundamental technical knowledge, creativity, real-life application, problem-solving, and teamwork. The findings demonstrate diverse practices that drew different students to pursue engineering as a major and a career. This work can contribute to our understanding of how engineering courses can recognize and provide development opportunities for a wide variety of engineering practices, ultimately supporting students in achieving their goals as engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
