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Providing a Voice: Qualitative Investigation of the Impact of a First‐Year Engineering Experience on Students' Efficacy Beliefs
Author(s) -
HutchisonGreen Mica A.,
Follman Deborah K.,
Bodner George M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.2008.tb00966.x
Subject(s) - thematic analysis , psychology , self efficacy , qualitative research , engineering education , mathematics education , qualitative analysis , medical education , engineering , social psychology , medicine , mechanical engineering , sociology , social science
This qualitative study explored the engineering self‐efficacy beliefs held by students enrolled in their first engineering course at Purdue University. Findings from the thematic analysis of one‐on‐one interviews with 12 students enrolled in the course are presented. Results demonstrate the susceptibility of first‐year engineering students' self‐efficacy beliefs to the influence of performance comparisons based on the speed with which students were able to perform various tasks, the degree of contribution they were able to achieve when working with others, how much material they had mastered, and their grades. Gender differences were also identified in the way in which men and women were influenced by these experiences. Descriptions of how students made performance comparisons, including the logical progression from a specific experience through the modification of confidence in success, are offered.