ERIC Number: EJ1100118
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-May
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957 7572
EISSN: N/A
What Preconceptions and Attitudes about Engineering Are Prevalent Amongst Upper Secondary School Pupils? An International Study
Koycu, Ümit; de Vries, Marc J.
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, v26 n2 p243-258 May 2016
In the Netherlands, as well as in many other countries, there is an increasing interest in implementing education about engineering as a part of general education at the upper secondary school level. In order to know what pupils at that level think about engineering, a study has been done to investigate their attitude towards and their concept of engineering. This study was done not only in the Netherlands but also in 39 other countries. In the preparation of the study, pupils were asked to draw concept maps of what they thought engineering was about. In the quantitative main part of the study, pupils were asked to respond to 33 Likert-type attitude items and 32 concept-items of the same type. A factor analysis was done in order to reveal the dimensions in the pupils' attitude and concept. In contrast to studies carried out amongst students in lower secondary school levels, a fairly clear concept about engineering was found. The gender differences relating to engineering, found in lower secondary education, were not found in upper secondary education. The prevalent attitude of students towards engineering indicated a fairly positive image of engineering.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Secondary School Students, Student Attitudes, Engineering Education, Concept Mapping, Statistical Analysis, Likert Scales, Attitude Measures, Factor Analysis, Gender Differences, Questionnaires, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A