Understanding Influences on Engineering Students’ Civic Engagement in High School and the First Year of College

Contribution:
This qualitative study explores changes in engineering students’ civic engagement as they transition from high school to college and uses Social Cognitive Theory to understand factors that influence civic engagement.
Background:
Engineering programs aim to graduate civically engaged engineers who serve their communities and advance public welfare. Thus, it is important to understand how engineering programs influence students’ civic engagement.
Research Question:
How and why do engineering students’ civic engagement change when they transition from high school into their first year of college?
Methodology:
Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, this study uses semi-structured interviews and an inductive thematic analysis approach to compare eleven first-year engineering students’ experiences with civic engagement before and during college.
Findings:
Engineering students tended to be less engaged in their communities during their first year of college compared to in high school. This decrease was largely due to having fewer supportive structures and numerous barriers to civic engagement as they acclimated to a new environment. Engineering programs can support and scaffold opportunities for engineering students to become more civically engaged.