ERIC Number: EJ1254739
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2538-1032
EISSN: N/A
"No, I'm Not the Secretary": Using Participatory Methods to Explore Women Engineering Students Experiences on Co-Op
Arthur, Brittany; Guy, Batsheva
International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, v21 n3 p211-222 2020
Studies exploring engineering students' experiences with cooperative education (co-op) typically utilize traditional quantitative and qualitative methods to focus on overall outcomes as opposed to individual voices. As a result of this, women's experiences in a co-op environment are rarely captured. Historically, women are underrepresented in engineering undergraduate programs, and this can lead to feelings of isolation and low self-efficacy, which, in turn, can lead to attrition. Participatory action research (PAR) not only highlights marginalized voices, but also empowers participants. The current study implements group-level assessment (GLA), a large-group PAR method, to study the co-op experiences of women in engineering at a large US research institution. During the GLA, participants developed an action plan to improve co-op experiences for women in order to improve retention and help future women succeed.
Descriptors: Females, Undergraduate Students, Engineering Education, Student Experience, Cooperative Education, Disproportionate Representation, Participatory Research, Action Research, Gender Issues, Student Development, Work Environment
New Zealand Association for Cooperative Education. University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand. Tel: +64-7-838-4892; e-mail: editor@ijwil.org; Web site: https://www.ijwil.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A