Work in Progress - The Worldview of Engineering Students

Worldview is defined as the conceptions, explicit and implicit, of an individual on the limits and workings of his or her world. Research in science education has shown that students´ worldviews can affect their ability to learn science. We extend this research to engineering education. In addition to this, we hope to determine if there is a disconnect between the worldview of the established engineering education community and the students entering the community that hinders the ability to recruit and retain students in an era of declining enrollments. To address these questions, we first review existing worldview theories to find components that appear to be relevant to the study of engineering. Secondly, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we explore the relevant worldview components of four cohorts of students at a medium-sized Midwestern public university: first-year declared engineering students, first-year non-engineering students, senior engineering students, and senior non-engineering students. Results from both these activities were be presented