Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods

Civic-mindedness is a central aim of higher education, but strategies for assessing civic-mindedness in engineering education are limited. Thus, engineering educators must build on strategies employed across higher education while ensuring these strategies are transferable to the engineering context...

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Main Authors: Athena Lin, Justin L Hess
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Michigan Publishing 2022-08-01
Series:Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/mjcsl/article/id/308/
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author Athena Lin
Justin L Hess
author_facet Athena Lin
Justin L Hess
author_sort Athena Lin
collection DOAJ
description Civic-mindedness is a central aim of higher education, but strategies for assessing civic-mindedness in engineering education are limited. Thus, engineering educators must build on strategies employed across higher education while ensuring these strategies are transferable to the engineering context. This study continues ongoing validation work of the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in engineering by using mixed methods to pursue multiple forms of validity evidence. We collected, analyzed, and triangulated findings from first-year engineering students using 419 survey responses and 11 semi-structured interviews. We integrated quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate how the five constructs of the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale represent engineering students’ civic-mindedness and manifest in engineering students’ perceptions of the engineering profession. We align our data with existing engineering education research, particularly in the domains of ethics, humanitarian engineering, and professional skills development. We close with implications for teaching and assessing civic-mindedness within and outside of engineering education.
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spelling doaj-art-7a04577e8add423bb981a33dcffa042c2025-08-20T02:48:39ZengMichigan PublishingMichigan Journal of Community Service Learning1944-02192022-08-0128110.3998/mjcsl.308Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed MethodsAthena Lin0Justin L Hess1Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityCivic-mindedness is a central aim of higher education, but strategies for assessing civic-mindedness in engineering education are limited. Thus, engineering educators must build on strategies employed across higher education while ensuring these strategies are transferable to the engineering context. This study continues ongoing validation work of the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in engineering by using mixed methods to pursue multiple forms of validity evidence. We collected, analyzed, and triangulated findings from first-year engineering students using 419 survey responses and 11 semi-structured interviews. We integrated quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate how the five constructs of the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale represent engineering students’ civic-mindedness and manifest in engineering students’ perceptions of the engineering profession. We align our data with existing engineering education research, particularly in the domains of ethics, humanitarian engineering, and professional skills development. We close with implications for teaching and assessing civic-mindedness within and outside of engineering education.https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/mjcsl/article/id/308/civic-mindednesscivic engagementmixed methods research
spellingShingle Athena Lin
Justin L Hess
Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
civic-mindedness
civic engagement
mixed methods research
title Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
title_full Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
title_fullStr Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
title_full_unstemmed Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
title_short Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in Engineering Education Using Mixed Methods
title_sort validating the civic minded graduate scale in engineering education using mixed methods
topic civic-mindedness
civic engagement
mixed methods research
url https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/mjcsl/article/id/308/
work_keys_str_mv AT athenalin validatingthecivicmindedgraduatescaleinengineeringeducationusingmixedmethods
AT justinlhess validatingthecivicmindedgraduatescaleinengineeringeducationusingmixedmethods