George Washington University, District of Columbia
April 19, 2024
April 19, 2024
April 20, 2024
19
10.18260/1-2--45715
https://peer.asee.org/45715
103
Joining the Penn State engineering faculty a year ago, my professional interests as an instructor of engineering are developing and refining methods of engineering instruction that will allow students to gain confidence and to increase their own success.
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of early career engineers regarding leadership competency development within the undergraduate engineering curricula. Participants were selected using purposeful, convenience, and snowball sampling. Study participants represented the early career engineering population, those five years or less removed from graduating with their engineering degrees. Perspectives on leadership competency development within the undergraduate engineering curricula were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Study participants (N=20), through their lived experiences, described expectations of leadership competency from their employers and their ability to meet these expectations. Their ability was related to preparedness resulting from their undergraduate engineering programs. Interview transcripts generated thematic analysis utilized in organizing, interpreting, and analyzing information. Findings showed challenges for early career engineers in meeting the expectations of their employers with regard to leadership competency. Engineers related these challenges to a lack of effective leadership competency training encountered within the undergraduate engineering curricula. Early career engineers made recommendations to educators on how to increase the effectiveness of leadership competency development. Future studies include researching the disconnect between the level of competence of engineering graduates and early career engineers related to inaccurate leadership assessment.
Carbonetto, T. (2024, April), EARLY CAREER ENGINEERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION Paper presented at ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Spring Conference, George Washington University, District of Columbia. 10.18260/1-2--45715
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