Designing Engineers Student Survey: Instrument Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data

The College of Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) has historically been the largest producer of African American engineers in the United States. Looking for ways to continue this important educational trend among this under-represented population is important both for reasons of equity and because students from diverse backgrounds bring new perspectives and ideas that may yield engineering solutions to complex global problems [2]. Under investigation with the RED grant at NCAT is whether aligning courses with the innovators’ order through curricular changes that include design education across all four undergraduate years will empower students to become innovators by 2 enhancing their (a) identity as engineers, (b) valuing of engineering as a profession, and (c) feelings of self-efficacy. Argued here is the notion that students who are able identify important needs, and are imbued with the knowledge and design skills to develop a solution to the need, will feel more capable as engineers (self-efficacy), begin to see themselves as engineers (engineering identity), and increasingly value engineering as an important set of skills, body of knowledge, and career choice. This idea is all important in view of other research suggesting that some engineering education venues are advancing an ecology of social detachment, with ever decreasing regard for social concerns [3].