Recognizing Engineering Students’ Funds of Knowledge: Creating and Validating Survey Measures

This research base paper examines students who are the first in their families to attend college. Our research seeks to understand the role students’ funds of knowledge makes in first-generation college students’ undergraduate experience. Funds of knowledge are the set of formal/informal knowledge and skills that students learn through family, friends, and communities outside of academic institutions. This paper reports funds of knowledge themes relevant to first-generation college students in engineering and the process of gathering validity evidence to support the funds of knowledge themes. Using ethnographic and interview data, six themes emerged: connecting experiences, community networks, tinkering knowledge, perspective taking, reading people, and mediational skills. Pilot data collected at two institutions were used to run exploratory factor analysis to verify the underlying theoretical structures among the themes. Results of the exploratory factor analysis found that almost all items reliably loaded onto their respective constructs. The funds of knowledge identified in this study are not an exhaustive account, nevertheless uncovering these hidden assets can support first-generation college students to see their experiences as equally valuable knowledge in engineering. We are currently in an ongoing process of collecting a second dataset to perform a confirmatory factor analysis, i.e., the next phase of the validation process for survey instrument development. Introduction This research paper takes an asset-based approach towards uncovering the funds of knowledge of students who are the first in their families to attend college. Former efforts to support firstgeneration college students have often taken a deficiency perspective, viewing their backgrounds as things to be overcome or “fixed.” Our research joins efforts to take an asset-based approach that treats first-generation college students’ backgrounds as sources of strength and knowledge. Research from anthropology and education suggests that including students’ background and experiences inside of the classroom can enhance student learning and interest [1]–[3]. First-Generation College Students Students who are the first in their families to attend college have been defined in several ways. For example, studies from Pascarella et al. [4] considered these students as coming from a family were both parents only have a high school education, while Chen [5], Pike and Kuh [6], and Terenzini et al [7] include a measure of low-income in their definition. In a more recent report, by the National Center for Educational Statistics [8], first-generation college students were characterized as students’ whose parents did not have postsecondary educational experience. Another study stated, “first-generation college students include students whose parents may have some college, postsecondary certificate(s), or associate’s degree, but not a bachelor’s degree” and this definition closely aligns with the definition set forth by the Federal TRiO program (i.e., outreach and student service programs created to serve students from disadvantaged backgrounds) [9, p. 8]. There are inconsistencies and numerous ways in defining first-generation college students, so much so that Whitley et al. [10] found at least six different definitions. However, regardless of how firstgeneration college student status is defined, empirical research has found that even after controlling for socioeconomic status, age, sex, race/ethnicity, and institution type, the “firstgeneration status appears to be a disadvantage throughout postsecondary education” when predicting degree attainment [11, p. 26]. In our study, we define first-generation college students as students who are the first in their families to attend college and coming from a household where neither parent has obtained a bachelor’s degree [9], [12], [13]. This includes low-income students and non-low-income students. Conversely, in this study, we define continuing-generation college students as students who come from a household with at least one parent having earned a bachelor’s degree [9], [14]. While literature in higher education has theorized the first-generation college student population as lacking in academic preparation [12], [15], inadequate familial support [16], or troubled by institutional and personal barriers [17], one constant message has been clear: broadly, the educational system perpetuates conditions that do not support first-generation college students. Therefore, rather than perpetuating a deficit narrative of first-generation college students, we report on our ongoing efforts to document their funds of knowledge and investigate potential links between this knowledge and their engineering trajectory. Brief Overview The paper is organized as follows. First, we provide a brief overview of the theoretical framework—funds of knowledge. Our goal was to understand the types of constructs that can be developed, using pre-existing ethnographic and interview data from engineering students, and then validated through quantitative methods. We describe the process of validating the funds of knowledge themes using the systematic steps outlined by Pett, Lackey, and Sullivan [18]. Finally, we conclude by outlining future steps in our research, chiefly, collecting a second dataset to perform a confirmatory factor analysis (the next step in the validation process). Theoretical Framework The themes we developed were heavily informed by our understanding of the theoretical framework of funds of knowledge. Funds of knowledge are the “historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” [19, p. 133]. The funds of knowledge framework provides a counterhegemonic response to pervasive forms of cultural deficit thinking by using an asset-based perspective to recognize knowledge that is often ignored. This approach provides an important intervention into how educators think about marginalized students (i.e., low-income, firstgeneration college students, racial/ethnic minorities, etc.). The funds of knowledge framework rejects the notion that students’ households can be reduced to being economically poor and poor in terms of quality of experiences [19]. Through a funds of knowledge lens, experiences are treated as sources of knowledge and a familyies knowledge, social networks, and resourcefulness is emphasized as assets from which students can learn [20]. The funds of knowledge framework comes from a blend of anthropological and educational perspectives, outlining the broad contours of these traditions provides additional clarity. Educational trends view poor and minoritized students’ culture as the cause of their educational mishap, understanding culture as a “holistic configuration of traits and values that shaped members into viewing the world in a particular way” [20, p. 34], [21]. In contrast, understanding students’ funds of knowledge requires moving away from traditional anthropological notions of culture as “shared norms that shape individuals’ behavior ... [or] ... discovering standardized rules of behavior” to those that take a processual approach that focuses on the everyday lived experiences of students [20, p. 40]. More specifically, a processual approach focuses on the processes of daily activities, experiences of students and their lived practices at home, and interactions with community. “These daily activities are a manifestation of particular historically accumulated ‘funds of knowledge’” [22, p. 237]. We take the funds of knowledge framework, which was originally intended to offer a way for primary and secondary teachers to research their students’ communities in order to recognize culturally relevant pedagogical practices and focus on students seeking post-secondary education. An earlier systematic review of the funds of knowledge literature, synthesizing how the framework was being utilized in the secondary and post-secondary space, found few research studies on students in post-secondary spaces utilizing the framework to connect engineering concepts to their lived experiences [23]. Perhaps the methodological approach of visiting students’ home and/or communities, as was the case for primary and secondary educators, is difficult to attain at the postsecondary level. Therefore, we sought a different approach towards respecting students lived experiences, that is, using their own words as a way to capture their experiences. Research Goals The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to capture aspects of students’ funds of knowledge. Our goal was to understand the types of constructs that can be developed, using engineering students’ ethnographic and interview data, and then undertake a validation process through quantitative methods. Methods Data for this study came from two sources: qualitative and quantitative datasets. To create the themes, we drew from two sets of qualitative data from prior research studies [24], [25]. The first research study collected ethnographic and interview data from students who identified as low-income, first-generation, or both. The research investigated the students’ school and work experiences to identify the funds of knowledge that were the most relevant to their engineering work. More information about the process of collecting this ethnographic data and student demographic information can be found in prior published work [24], [25]. The second interview data was collected from second-semester, first-year engineering students both firstgeneration and continuing-generation college students. More information about the method of data collection and demographic information of these participants can be found in prior published work [26], [27]. Both sets of qualitative data were used to develop six major themes, for which we then created multiple survey questions. The validation process f