An argument for incorporating sociological approaches into phenomenological analyses in engineering education research

Abstract

Despite numerous research studies that have examined why women are underrepresented in engineering education programmes, the phenomenon is still not fully understood, and no effective general solutions have been found. In this context, analysing women’s experiences in engineering education can provide insights regarding the evolution of the students’ learning strategies and socialization processes as well as contextual factors that influence their choice to persist in or leave their courses. This paper explores the pertinence of enhancing phenomenological analyses conducted in engineering education research by incorporating sociological perspectives, drawing on sociological studies that explore the relationship between gender, STEM education and persistence in STEM courses. The aim is to contribute to building a conceptual framework that, on the one hand, captures lived experience in engineering education and, on the other hand, analyses the social settings around engineering itself, i.e., the objectively significant circumstances, that condition female students’ attitudes, behaviours, and expectations towards persisting or not in engineering courses. Conclusions suggest the conceptual framework around subjectively meaningful experiences, proposed by Alfred Schutz, who followed the phenomenological school of thought initiated by Edmund Husserl, might be useful in understanding not only (a) the representations of the subjective social world for women in engineering education (that induces feelings of identification, security, symbolic values, and ultimately social actions), but also (b) the intersubjective social system that structures daily life, legitimizes behavioural patterns, assigns roles, and defines group membership along education in engineering. Expanding engineering education researchers’ conceptions of phenomenology, to consider more of the structural issues that influence women’s experiences and choices, can help generate increasingly meaningful research findings.