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Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students' Understanding of Power Dynamics

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY) Technical Session 7

Tagged Divisions

Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

21

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43589

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43589

Download Count

76

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Paper Authors

biography

Kenya Z Mejia University of Washington

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Kenya Z. Mejia is a PhD Candidate at the University of Washington in the Human Centered Design and Engineering program. Her work focuses on diversity and inclusion in engineering education focusing on engineering design education.

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Hailee Kenney University of Washington

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Tiffany Dewitt University of Washington

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Jennifer A Turns University of Washington

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Dr. Jennifer Turns is a full professor in the Human Centered Design & Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. Engineering education is her primary area of scholarship, and has been throughout her career. In her work, she currently focuses on the role of reflection in engineering student learning and the relationship of research and practice in engineering education. In recent years, she has been the co-director of the Consortium to Promote Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE, funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust), a member of the governing board for the International Research in Engineering Education Network, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Engineering Education. Dr. Turns has published over 175 journal and conference papers on topics related to engineering education.

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Abstract

When looking at diversity, equity, and inclusion, having conversations about power dynamics is critical to understanding the structural and interpersonal role of power in maintaining or disrupting norms. The research question this paper explores is: How do engineering students understand power dynamics within their engineering education context? This paper reports the findings of interviews and reflection prompts from engineering students, as part of a longer research engagement with this cohort of individuals. For the interviews, researchers used an semi-structured, open-ended interview protocol and audio recorded the responses. The interviews along with the reflection responses were analyzed for themes. Following these themes, Patricia Hill Collins’ Domains of Power were used to provide an analysis and connection between the themes and domains of power. We look to understand what kinds of power comes to mind for students within engineering. Our findings show that students are keenly aware of the power faculty have, perceived intelligence is power in group projects, belonging helps with feelings of empowerment, and that having conversations about power helps students in seeing social interactions as power dynamics. We hope the findings will encourage the engineering education community to explore their understanding of power, personally and within their communities. Additionally, this research highlights the benefits of using Kathryn Pauly Morgan’s Identity Wheel to help individuals articulate their experiences with power and the Domains of Power to help the community understand how power functions in their particular context.

Mejia, K. Z., & Kenney, H., & Dewitt, T., & Turns, J. A. (2023, June), Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students' Understanding of Power Dynamics Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43589

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