Exploring Civil Engineering and Construction Management Students' Perceptions of Equity in Developing Infrastructure Resilience
Conference
Rahat, R, ElZomor, M. (2024). Exploring Civil Engineering and Construction Management Students' Perceptions of Equity in Developing Infrastructure Resilience
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Rahat, R, ElZomor, M. (2024). Exploring Civil Engineering and Construction Management Students' Perceptions of Equity in Developing Infrastructure Resilience
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Recent years have seen a substantial shift in the field of civil engineering (CE) and construction management (CM) education and workforce development, with an increased emphasis on sustainability and resilience. Sustainability considers economic, ecological, and social aspects while addressing problems pertaining to human welfare, the environment, and community impact. Resilient infrastructure maintains both structural and functional integrity while supporting interdependent social, transportation, water, and energy systems, even after catastrophic disasters. Although many civil engineering programs address sustainability, resiliency is rarely discussed in these courses. Furthermore, it is critical to look into how CE and CM students comprehend the relationships between social justice and our infrastructure systems, considering the increasing significance of these issues in our society. Comparing the awareness of societal inequalities within resilient infrastructure systems between CE and CM students can help identify potential gaps in knowledge and understanding within these distinct disciplines. Therefore, this study aims to address the following research questions: (1) Which majors/group between CE or CM students, demonstrates a greater awareness of societal inequalities within resilient infrastructure systems? (2) Is there any relation between the understanding and awareness of infrastructure resilience inequality and the students being in various majors (CE and CM)? (3) Which majors/group between CE or CM students are more driven to promote systemic change as future engineering professionals? The study surveyed 51 students who were enrolled in a sustainable approach to construction course in the Fall 2023 semester. The survey gathered data for the study measuring students' awareness of equity in resilient infrastructure systems, their desire to promote systemic change and relevant demographics. The results showed that CE students were more aware of infrastructure disparities as well as they had a higher motivation to work toward systemic change compared to CM students. This study highlights the disparities in awareness of equitable infrastructure resilience between CE and CM students which can motivate the educators to develop targeted strategies and educational modules, ensuring that students in both CE and CM possess the essential knowledge and perspectives to develop equitable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructures. Since this study was limited to one educational institution, the findings might not apply to other settings. Nonetheless, this study offers a model of a methodology that can be implemented at other institutions to discover gaps and disparities amongst student groups and inspire relevant institution-specific approaches to address these gaps and disparities.
