Date of Award
Spring 4-6-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Mark Jimenez, Ed.D.
Second Advisor
John Yoder, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Jennifer Keely, Ed.D.
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to develop insight from the self-perceptions of a small group of female students attending an Oregon high school regarding their self-efficacy in engineering. To answer the guiding research questions, female students were asked to complete a survey to gather data on their described perceptions. Ten randomly selected students also participated in a study interview, and student artifacts were viewed to better understand the student experience with the engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards. Science teachers at the study-site high school were also interviewed to gather data on teacher perceptions of the learning experiences of this student sample. The data revealed that the engineering self-efficacy of the participating students was self-rated at an average to high level. However, the science self-efficacy of these students was self-rated at a high to very high level. The students were engaged in the classroom engineering tasks because they were challenging, hands-on, involved, and required the students to think about their learning. The students expressed that engineering lessons were not taught with sufficient frequency and they did not understand the role of engineers within the workplace. The teachers participating in this study noted that their female students were engaged in the engineering lessons; however, insufficient time was available throughout the school year to present real-world engineering scenarios.