Brinkman2015
| Brinkman2015 | |
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| BibType | PHDTHESIS |
| Key | Brinkman2015 |
| Author(s) | Brianna L. Dorie Brinkman |
| Title | Conversation Analysis of Engineering Parents' Occupational Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs |
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| Tag(s) | EMCA, Education, Engineers, Reading, Parent-child interactions, Professional competence, Professions |
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| Year | 2015 |
| Language | English |
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| URL | Link |
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| School | Purdue University |
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Abstract
Broadening participation from a diverse set of individuals is one of the central tenets of engineering education research. Interest in a potential occupation is influenced by knowledge and familiarity as a child reaches adolescence. However, studies have shown that most children have limited information regarding engineers, and this lack of knowledge can often persist into adulthood. Parents are the predominant source of occupational information for young children, and researchers hypothesize that parents socialize their children to be predisposed to their own occupation through informal interactions such as conversations. This is highly evident in the phenomena of occupational inheritance that is prevalent within engineering families.
This exploratory qualitative study investigated the strategies in which engineering parents engage when reading a story about engineering to their young children. Twenty-four parents that self-identified as engineers (through a degree conferred or a job association or other) video-recorded themselves in their own home, reading a provided storybook to their children aged 3 to 5 years. Conversation analysis was used to identify the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that were shared during the interaction. It was found that engineering parents provide both general and specific knowledge about engineering that is informed by their own background. However, while engineering parents display positive attitudes regarding engineering, they may not correct inconsistencies that the child may have. The findings from this study will be used to develop materials to inform parents and educators of how to engage in conversations about engineering with young children.
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