Collaborative Research: Preparing engineers to address climate change and its implications on sustainability: modeling impact of college experiences on students

工程师是解决气候变化影响的重要组成部分，他们不仅要意识到这些问题，还要有能力做出改变，减少和改变人类对地球的影响。本研究将调查工科学生在本科课程期间的经历，预测他们对气候变化和赋权的看法，以解决其对职业生涯可持续性的相关影响。本研究首次探讨了大学经历如何影响学生的气候变化信念和兴趣，以解决可持续发展的相关影响。为了加深理解，工程专业大四学生的态度、能力、职业目标和经历将在学生进入劳动力市场之前通过一项全国代表性的调查进行衡量。当与气候变化及其对可持续性的影响相关的主题包含在这些设置中时，期望发现学生采取行动解决问题的意愿有所增加。这种定量方法可以提供概括的趋势，了解大学期间发生了什么，以及它如何影响学生的自我信念和长期目标。研究结果将通过1-2页的研究简报转化为实践，该简报解释了研究对特定学科工程教师的影响。然后，教育工作者可以开发课程，使学生能够改变他们的世界，并可能在设定职业目标时更多地考虑可持续性利益。通过加强对气候变化的认识和行动之间的关系，我们可以增加美国受过教育的工程师的数量，他们准备好应对这些复杂的社会技术挑战。这项研究建立在关键工程代理理论的基础上，在这个理论中，当学生看到有机会改变他们的世界时，他们的学习和兴趣就会增强。关键工程代理包括个人日益增长的职业身份和对他们作为工程师的实践的依恋。指导研究的问题是，工科学生如何在大学里培养关键的工程机构和信念，以应对气候变化及其对职业生涯可持续性的影响？这个问题将使用全国代表性的调查（n=4000）来回答，这些调查将分发给高级设计或顶点课程的学生。这种定量方法将提供关于大学期间有影响的经历的概括趋势。面板数据分析将有助于揭示与先前收集的数据相比，学生可持续性信念的差异。我们还将研究不同学科之间的工程身份差异，并使用MANOVA从他们的大学经历中预测工程代理和职业期望。没有对气候变化的认识，解决这一问题的行动就不太可能发生。长期愿景是，这项研究将成为气候变化及其对可持续性影响相关主题教学的催化剂。教学将支持学生的关键工程代理（例如，在工程环境中的授权和身份）和关于可持续性的信念。学生的能动性和信念会影响他们的职业选择和预期的职业结果。因此，更多的工科学生将从事解决社会挑战的职业，以减轻和应对气候变化及其对可持续性的全球影响。

Engineers are an essential part of solving the effects of climate change and must not only be aware of the issues but empowered to make change to reduce and shift the impact of humans on the planet. This research will investigate engineering students' experiences during undergraduate programs that predict their beliefs about climate change and empowerment to address its related implications for sustainability in their careers. This study is the first of its kind to explore how experiences in college impact students' climate change beliefs and interest to address related implications for sustainability. To advance understanding, undergraduate engineering seniors' attitudes, empowerment, career goals, and experiences will be measured using a nationally representative survey just prior to students entering the workforce. When topics related to climate change and its implications for sustainability are included in these settings, the expectation is to find an increase in student willingness to take action to address the issues. This quantitative approach can provide generalizable trends about what happens during college and how it affects students' self-beliefs and long-term goals. Findings will be translated into practice through 1-2-page research briefs that explain the implications of the research to discipline specific engineering faculty. Educators can then develop curriculum to empower students to make change in their world and will likely to lead to more consideration for sustainability interests when setting career goals. By strengthening the relationship between awareness and action about climate change we can increase the number of U.S. educated engineers ready to address such complex sociotechnical challenges.This research builds on critical engineering agency theory in which students' learning and interest is enhanced when they see an opportunity to make change in their world. Critical engineering agency includes an individual's growing professional identity and attachment to their practice as an engineer. The guiding research question is, how do engineering students develop critical engineering agency and beliefs in college to address climate change and its implications for sustainability in their careers? This question will be answered using a nationally representative survey (n=4000) distributed to students in senior design or capstone courses. This quantitative approach will provide generalizable trends about influential experiences during college. A panel data analysis will help uncover differences among students' sustainability beliefs compared to prior collected data. We will also investigate differences in engineering identities among disciplines and predict both engineering agency and career expectations from their college experiences using MANOVA. Without recognition of climate change, action to address the issue is less likely to occur. The long-term vision is that this research becomes a catalyst for teaching about topics related to climate change and its implications for sustainability. Teaching will support students' critical engineering agency (e.g., empowerment and identity in engineering contexts) and beliefs about sustainability. Students' agency and beliefs may influence their career choice and expected career outcomes. As a result, more engineering students will pursue careers to solve societal challenges that mitigate and prepare for climate change and its global implications for sustainability.