Abstract
<strong>Background:</strong> Dominant discourse regarding gender in engineering and engineering education relies on simplistic notions of gender as a rigid binary, which obscures the existence of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people and the gender dynamics they experience. <strong>Purpose:</strong> This paper seeks to address the limits of the dominant gender discourse and research paradigm and propose new paths forward. This article calls researchers to intentionally transform their approach and framing of gender to create gender equity for all. <strong>Scope:</strong> An examination of existing literature in engineering education is put against prevailing theories of gender and human difference from across academia. The overwhelming majority of literature in the field exists within a reductive gender binary. TGNC students and professionals are largely invisible in engineering education research and theory and this exclusion causes harm to individuals as well as our community as a whole. Such exclusion is not limited to engineering contexts but is found to be a central component of systemic TGNC marginalization in higher education and in the United States. <strong>Discussion:</strong> We call for a substantive disciplinary shift towards studying the deep complexity of gender informed by, and accountable to, literature on gender theory, queer studies, and feminist research methodology. We propose interventions for engineering education researchers categorized into three levels: 1) Micro—to recognize gender diversity in engineering education; 2) Meso—to describe and analyze the experiences of TGNC students in research; and 3) Macro—to transform our discipline’s conceptualization and theoretical framing of gender.
Highlights
BackgroundDominant discourse regarding gender in engineering and engineering education relies on simplistic notions of gender as a rigid binary, which obscures the existence of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people and the gender dynamics they experience
In September 2017, Scout Schultz—a 21-year-old, White, nonbinary, bisexual campus activist and computer engineering student—was shot and killed by a Georgia Tech police officer
Meso-level interventions We argue that the primary way engineering education researchers can change the flow of information around gender is to consider the ways the TGNC engineering community is treated as a source, audience, and collaborator in research
Summary
Our purpose here is to highlight and build upon some of this exemplary work, while illuminating trends that motivate our call for a radical shift in the current research paradigm used to explore gender in engineering
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have