Seeing engineering everywhere culturally relevant engineering activities with rural and appalachian youth

Broadening participation in engineering is an issue of national importance. Particularly in rural areas, otherwise capable students do not have the opportunity to envision themselves pursuing a career in engineering. To begin closing this gap, we present findings from a qualitative research study investigating the perceptions of engineering work held by rural and Appalachian youth. Fifth grade students participated in this research study as part of a university-wide program to broaden participation in higher education. Results indicate that students in this study describe engineering work primarily as involving fixing or inventing. Present in both of the two descriptions was an emphasis on technical artifacts in engineering work. This research contributes to an understanding of possible relevant approaches to engineering interventions with this demographic.