New Metaphors for New Understandings: Ontological Questions about Developing Grounded Theories in Engineering Education

Kacey Beddoes; Corey M. Schimpf; Alice L. Pawley

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Critical Thinking, Leadership, and Creativity
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Page Count: 13
Page Numbers: 24.934.1 - 24.934.13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22867
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/22867
Download Count: 748

Paper Authors

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Kacey Beddoes Oregon State University

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Kacey Beddoes is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University. Her current research interests include interdisciplinary engineering education, gender in engineering education research, research methodologies, and peer review. She received her PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Virginia Tech, and serves as Managing Editor of Engineering Studies and Assistant Editor of the Global Engineering Series at Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

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Corey M. Schimpf Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0003-2706-3282

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Alice L. Pawley Purdue University, West Lafayette orcid.org/0000-0001-9117-4855

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Alice L. Pawley is an associate professor in the School of Engineering Education with affiliations with the Women's Studies Program and Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. She has a B.Eng. in chemical engineering (with distinction) from McGill University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering with a Ph.D. minor in women's studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She runs the Feminist Research in Engineering Education (FREE, formerly RIFE) group, whose diverse projects and group members are described at the website http://feministengineering.org/. She can be contacted by email at apawley@purdue.edu.

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Abstract

New Metaphors for New Understandings: Grounded Theories on Gendered Academic CulturesRecent engineering education scholarship has demonstrated an interest in broadening the scopeof the field in multiple ways, including the populations studied, issues addressed, and approachesemployed. Specifically, engineering education researchers have emphasized the need to focus onfaculty and to incorporate new perspectives into the field, particularly by focusing ondepartments and institutions. In line with those objectives and trends, this paper takes a groundedtheory approach focused on metaphors to examine one understudied aspect of faculty diversityand underrepresentation, specifically the climate surrounding tenure and promotion. Given thegrowing interest in research on faculty and institutions and broadening methodological diversity,and given the persistent underrepresentation of female faculty, the aims of this article arethreefold: 1) to identify how female faculty experience the tenure and promotion process, 2) todemonstrate how new metaphors can contribute to grounded theory development to produce newunderstandings of underrepresentation in academia, and 3) to identify challenges of introducinggrounded theories via metaphors in engineering education research.Metaphors structure thought and action in research as well as in everyday life. Of significance tothis analysis, is that metaphors are particularly central to the development and changing oftheories. Metaphors are rich and complex in ways that increase the theoretical significance ofdata. More specifically, in social science research, metaphors can structure research and dataanalysis in several ways. They are pattern-making devices that situate or locate patterns withintheir larger social contexts; they are decentering devices that require moving from an inferentialto an analytical level; and they connect findings to theory. Therefore, the metaphors mobilized inengineering education research warrant attention as they are of significance to the developmentof theory as well as methods. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 femalefaculty members in engineering, technology, and science fields at a large, public researchuniversity, this paper focuses on their experiences with the tenure and promotion process. Thehigh level of ambiguity surrounding tenure and promotion emerged as the leading theme. We usethat finding to demonstrate why new metaphors are needed to better understand the genderedfacets of academic careers through the creation of new (grounded) theories. This paper istherefore both empirical and methodological, contributing equally to knowledge about femaleacademics’ career pathways as well as knowledge about research methodologies in engineeringeducation more broadly. The paper concludes with discussions of gendered implications of theambiguity surrounding tenure and promotion, and current challenges of advancing groundedtheories via metaphors.

Citation
Format

Beddoes, K., & Schimpf, C. M., & Pawley, A. L. (2014, June), New Metaphors for New Understandings: Ontological Questions about Developing Grounded Theories in Engineering Education Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--22867

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                         New Metaphors for New Understandings:                    Grounded Theories on Gendered Academic CulturesRecent engineering education scholarship has demonstrated an interest in broadening the scopeof the field in multiple ways, including the populations studied, issues addressed, and approachesemployed. Specifically, engineering education researchers have emphasized the need to focus onfaculty and to incorporate new perspectives into the field, particularly by focusing ondepartments and institutions. In line with those objectives and trends, this paper takes a groundedtheory approach focused on metaphors to examine one understudied aspect of faculty diversityand underrepresentation, specifically the climate surrounding tenure and promotion. Given thegrowing interest in research on faculty and institutions and broadening methodological diversity,and given the persistent underrepresentation of female faculty, the aims of this article arethreefold: 1) to identify how female faculty experience the tenure and promotion process, 2) todemonstrate how new metaphors can contribute to grounded theory development to produce newunderstandings of underrepresentation in academia, and 3) to identify challenges of introducinggrounded theories via metaphors in engineering education research.Metaphors structure thought and action in research as well as in everyday life. Of significance tothis analysis, is that metaphors are particularly central to the development and changing oftheories. Metaphors are rich and complex in ways that increase the theoretical significance ofdata. More specifically, in social science research, metaphors can structure research and dataanalysis in several ways. They are pattern-making devices that situate or locate patterns withintheir larger social contexts; they are decentering devices that require moving from an inferentialto an analytical level; and they connect findings to theory. Therefore, the metaphors mobilized inengineering education research warrant attention as they are of significance to the developmentof theory as well as methods. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 femalefaculty members in engineering, technology, and science fields at a large, public researchuniversity, this paper focuses on their experiences with the tenure and promotion process. Thehigh level of ambiguity surrounding tenure and promotion emerged as the leading theme. We usethat finding to demonstrate why new metaphors are needed to better understand the genderedfacets of academic careers through the creation of new (grounded) theories. This paper istherefore both empirical and methodological, contributing equally to knowledge about femaleacademics’ career pathways as well as knowledge about research methodologies in engineeringeducation more broadly. The paper concludes with discussions of gendered implications of theambiguity surrounding tenure and promotion, and current challenges of advancing groundedtheories via metaphors.  
AU  - Kacey Beddoes
AU  - Corey M. Schimpf
AU  - Alice L. Pawley
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - New Metaphors for New Understandings: Ontological Questions about Developing Grounded Theories in Engineering Education
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/22867
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--22867
ER  -