Draw an Engineer: A Critical Examination of Efforts to Shift How Elementary-Aged Students Perceive Engineers Conference

Lightner, T, Cardella, ME, Huggins, N et al. (2021). Draw an Engineer: A Critical Examination of Efforts to Shift How Elementary-Aged Students Perceive Engineers .

cited authors

  • Lightner, T; Cardella, ME; Huggins, N; Hampton, C; Lee, WC; Knight, DB

abstract

  • Diversifying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is a national imperative. One approach to doing so is expanding opportunities for children from underrepresented groups to connect their interests to STEM topics at a young age. This approach is often achieved through programs such as the Summer Engineering Experiences for Kids (SEEK) program. SEEK is a three-week summer program organized by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to expose children to hands-on, team-based engineering design projects. The purpose of this work-in-progress paper is to discuss the data analysis process used to examine shifts in children's perceptions of engineers as a result of participating in the program. Children's perceptions were captured using prompts asking them to either (1) draw themselves as an engineer or (2) draw an engineer. Each SEEK participant received one of the two prompts. In this paper, we considered the inclusion of Critical Race Theory concepts to extend the qualitative analysis of participants' drawings. While this paper focuses on our efforts to expand our codebook using CRT, the larger project aims to connect research to practice by providing insight on children's perceptions of engineering and the types of engineering messages that might be present in informal programs and school environments. This work also highlights how practitioners might create an inclusive environment for elementary-aged children during this critical time.

publication date

  • January 24, 2021