Emotional Intelligence and Undergraduate Engineering Students

Stance-taking in academic writing plays a crucial role in enabling tertiary academic writers to express their positions about their topics and other voices. Based on a corpus linguistic analysis of academic reports by civil and environmental engineering (CEE) undergraduate students and student papers in the Michigan Corpus of Upper-Level Student Papers (MICUSP), this article investigates the use of stance markers in the genres of persuasive and argumentative writing as well as analytical explanatory writing. This study compares the stance markers used by L2 engineering students (Hong Kong University) and native engineering students (U.S. University) to investigate the genre-specific lexical stance patterns used by academic writers. This study found that stance within the CEE reports and MICUSP was expressed through approximative hedges and boosters, code glosses, and adversative and contrast connections, pointing to a specific developmental trajectory as academic writers. Non-native engineering students were found to use a significantly smaller number of approximative, self-mention, and evidential verb hedges. In addition, they tend to use a more significant number of modal hedges compared to native English speakers. The CEE students’ reports also tended to be characterized by the underuse of boosters, contrastive connectors, emphasis, and counter-expectancy markers. However, the study found no significant difference in the use of exemplification markers between the CEE and MICUSP. The findings of this study support the construction of the academic stance as a process of delimiting one’s perspective. This is achieved by deploying selected stance features to account for other scholarly perspectives.

The Science and Engineering Project Center at Seattle University, in partnership with sponsoring businesses and government agencies in the Puget Sound region, provides all undergraduate engineering students with experience working on real-world design problems. During their senior year, students work in teams on projects proposed by the sponsors, developing skills in project planning and management, team building, and technical applications. The Real-Time Environmental Monitoring Project conducted by electrical and environmental engineering students for the US Public Health Service demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach to assessment of environmental quality and associated human health problems. It also serves as a model for academic institutions in building a long-range cooperative relationship with a government agency or corporation for undergraduate education. This paper describes the technical aspects of the project as well as the steps taken to form a successful partnership between academic institutions and industry or government agencies in developing interdisciplinary design experiences for undergraduate engineering and science students.

Critical thinking is considered a necessary learning outcome for all college students and essential for academic and career success. There are many challenges to developing a comprehensive approach to teaching and assessing critical thinking skills. Although the literature has many examples of the incorporation of critical thinking and assessment into courses, longitudinal studies following engineering students through their undergraduate career are lacking. This study assessed the impact of using the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework to enhance undergraduate students’ critical thinking skills with the hypothesis: There will be a significant increase in undergraduate students’ critical thinking abilities from the freshman to the senior year with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments. The research question was, “How do the critical thinking skills of undergraduate engineering students change as they progress through the engineering program with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments?” The study was a descriptive, longitudinal study of three engineering student cohorts as they progressed through the four year undergraduate program. The study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. There was a statistically significant increase in critical thinking scores over the four years for each of the three cohorts. Integrating and evaluating critical thinking assignments into engineering curricula is possible, but a major challenge to critical thinking assessment using a holistic rubric is training engineering faculty in their use. The results are encouraging, and participating faculty agree; but sustaining these efforts to imbed critical thinking assignments throughout the engineering college curriculum will require effort and administrative support.

Sixty Rowan University undergraduate engineering students completed a screening for serum cholesterol and blood pressure and a written survey of their health habits, depression and stress levels. These data were compared to a similar study conducted at Rowan University of 226 undergraduate students from all majors. Engineering students demonstrated slightly higher risk levels in cholesterol and lower levels in blood pressure, compared to the general student population. Among the engineering students, thirty six percent had elevated cholesterol levels (above 200 mg/dL) and 16 percent had elevated systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure levels (above 140/90). Incidence of Type A personality traits (a measure of stress) was found in 21 percent of the population. Women reported having more stress than did men. Students majoring in electrical and computer engineering reported having the highest stress levels when compared to other engineering majors. A regression analysis identified depression, cigarette smoking, diet, stress, Type A personality and a heredity of high blood pressure as the best predictors of high serum cholesterol among subjects. Engineering educators are encouraged to address these prevalent and potentially performance‐impairing health risks among their students.

This article describes the development of a course on Applied Instrumentation for Civil Engineering students at the American University of Beirut. It is an elective course for civil and environmental engineering students and for electrical and computer engineering students. Discussions with faculty members in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department motivated the course and it was possible in part by support from the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society’s (IMS) Faculty Course Development Award.

Undergraduate students in engineering face many important decisions in the final 2 years of their degree program. These decisions can have an impact on long-term career choices, such as specialization area, career role of interest, and whether to apply to graduate school. Unfortunately, uninformed decisions can lead to missed opportunities, as well as the student potentially leaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education due to choosing a specialization that is not well aligned with their interests. This survey-based study assists students by analyzing the personality types, demographics, and career paths of 567 alumni that have earned an undergraduate degree in civil and environmental engineering (CEE) and are no longer enrolled in a university. Study findings include the fact that certain demographics, personality types, and job preferences are significant predictors of the final outcome of an alumni’s career when choosing between the different technical areas within CEE and professional roles. Family history of having an engineer in the immediate family did not prove to be a significant factor in these decisions. In addition, little significance was found between the data captured in the survey of whether or not someone would go on to earn a graduate degree in CEE. Given where significant relationships were found, it is recommended that future studies focus on testing additional personality types (e.g., is enthusiastic) and job traits (e.g., likes a desk job) to provide even greater distinctions between the technical areas and roles.

There are 65 military schools in the United States with many sharing the same goals and objectives, which are to develop and prepare students for leadership roles and for post-secondary academic success. Other than anecdotal claims by their alumni, these schools lack the evidence of how this is achieved. This study aims at providing such evidence by assessing the effects of a school's military environment on the students' development of emotional intelligence (IE) as measured by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short-Form. EI has been associated with academic success and higher leadership effectiveness. This exploratory analysis finds a positive correlation between leadership education level and students' EI scores (r= .28, <; .05), and a regression analysis (F(1, 51)= 4.20, p< .05) predicts and EI score increase of 17% for each year of exposure to the school's military environment. This study suggests that the school's military environment inherently fosters social emotional learning, which in turn positively influences the development of the students' EI.

Guest Editorial: Situational awareness of integrated energy systems

BackgroundEmotional intelligence (EI), the ability to understand and regulate one’s and other’s emotions, has been linked to academic and clinical performance and stress management, making it an essential skill to develop during medical school. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains about the impact of medical education on EI, its association with sociodemographic factors, and the potential moderating role of gender. Therefore, this study aimed to explore levels of global EI among Swedish medical students based on their completed semesters while analyzing the potential moderator role of gender and identifying potential EI differences associated with age, gender, prior education, work experience, and previous experience working in a leadership position.MethodsThe participants were medical students in semesters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 at a Swedish University. Participants answered the self-report Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - Short Form (TEIQue-SF) and demographic questions. For each participant, the mean global trait EI was calculated (range 1–7), and differences were compared based on semesters and sociodemographic factors. In addition, we investigated the relationship between semester and EI scores with gender as a moderator.ResultsOf the 663 invited medical students, 429 (65%) responded, including 269 women (62.7%), 157 men (36.6%), and 3 identifying as others (0.7%). The participants had a mean global trait EI score of 5.33. Final-year students demonstrated significantly higher global trait EI scores than first-year students, and gender did not have a moderating effect across semesters. Furthermore, students in the age group 25–29 years showed higher EI scores compared to those in the age group 21–24 years, while there were no significant differences in EI scores for older students (≥ 30 years) compared to other age groups. Higher EI scores were also positively associated with previous work-and leadership experiences. Gender and previous education did not significantly impact EI scores.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that higher EI scores are associated with semesters of medical education, age, and previous work and leadership experience. Future longitudinal studies are needed to identify factors that could improve EI among medical students to design curricular activities aimed at supporting the EI of the next generation of physicians.

BackgroundBelonging in their academic discipline affects students' participation and retention in engineering. While prior studies have conceptualized belonging as a predictor of outcomes, this study examines belonging as an outcome that depends on interpersonal and intrapersonal variables.PurposeThis quantitative study tested a conceptual model of academic belonging for undergraduate engineering students that hypothesized how intrapersonal and interpersonal variables predict belonging in engineering. The model proposed that engineering students' satisfaction with and valuing of their academic discipline mediate these predictors' effects on belonging.Design/MethodsThis study sampled undergraduate engineering students (n = 849) across six universities and used structural equation modeling to examine the direct and indirect effects of four exogenous variables (achievement striving, grit, peer interaction, faculty interaction) on one endogenous variable (academic belonging). The model included satisfaction with and valuing of their academic discipline as mediator variables.ResultsThe direct effects of peer interaction, faculty interaction, as well as passion and perseverance (sub‐constructs of grit) on academic belonging were significant. The direct effects of achievement striving on predicting academic belonging were not significant. Satisfaction mediated the effects of the predictors on students' sense of belonging in engineering.ConclusionsPeer interaction was the most robust contributor to belonging, while faculty interaction and the value that students ascribe to their academic discipline predicted their sense of belonging in engineering. This work provides a novel model of belonging in engineering and its interpersonal and intrapersonal antecedents with educational, policy, and research implications to improve engineering students' belonging within their academic discipline.

Background: Emotional intelligence incorporates the important aspects of interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, adaptability, moods and stress management skills, which have a profound effect on the academic performance of students. Methodology: An Analytical Cross-sectional study was carried out with main objective to find out the association between emotional intelligence and academic performance of nursing students from selected nursing colleges. Using non - probability purposive sampling method, PCL Nursing 3rd year students were selected and data was collected using standardized Assessing Emotions Scale to measure Emotional Intelligence and final examination score of the students was considered as academic performance. Collected data was processed and analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: The findings revealed that majority of the nursing students have high emotional intelligence. There is no any statistically significant correlation between emotional intelligence and academic performance of nursing students. Regarding sub dimensions of Emotional Intelligence, there was no any statistically significant correlation between managing other’s emotion, perception of emotion and utilization of emotion with academic performance, except for managing own emotion which has statistically significant correlation with academic performance. Nursing students from different ethnicity, mother and father’s education background do not defer in EI scores except age and type of family. Conclusion: Majority of the nursing students have higher level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is not significantly correlated with academic performance. This paper suggests that emotional intelligence is not guaranteed with the highest academic grades of students and that emotional intelligence components may be incorporated into the curriculum.

BackgroundEmotional intelligence (EI) is a concept describing an individual’s ability to understand, process and act accordingly on others’ and one’s own emotions. It is a desirable quality for people working...

This project explores how engineering students understand diversity and inclusion within their engineering programs, and how these understandings are shaped by aspects of the environment in which they are situated. Our study is a component of a broader research project that is examining the seemingly intractable problems of diversity and inclusion that emerge through the converging threads of formation of professional identity and culture of engineering disciplines. In this study we utilized a qualitative analysis of interview data to explore the undergraduate students’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion within the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Purdue University [1]. Our interview draws upon cultural dimensions of engineering disciplines that encourage student to reflect upon and assess diversity and inclusion efforts within ECE [2]. To interrogate students’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion, we interviewed 13 current or past undergraduate ECE students. With nearly 40 percent of the undergraduate ECE students identifying as international students, such a significant international population poses tremendous learning opportunities as well as challenges related to diversity and inclusion. Thus, formal efforts within ECE have been made to bridge cultural differences, develop intercultural competencies, and promote inclusion of internationally and domestically diverse ECE members. However, these efforts have met with mixed results. Our analysis of the interview data suggests that these efforts often were not aligned with literature about how to successfully bridge culture differences in that they lacked an explicit focus on students’ understandings of diversity and inclusion, nor did they provide opportunities for students to reflect on their personal and educational experiences. In what follows, we first examine the framing of scholarship about diversity and inclusion within engineering and then draw upon literature using Kolb’s experiential learning models to illuminate the transformational nature that reflection plays within establishing ways of viewing complex social problems. With this combination and reimagining of reflection as a pathway to more deeply understanding diversity and inclusion, we describe our research methods, data analysis, and the findings from our qualitative analysis. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the tensions pertaining to difference and sameness that emerged through our analysis. Namely, formal efforts within ECE required both scaffolding and intentionality. Without proper facilitation, the central role that diversity and inclusion plays within professional formation appeared forced, created more cultural isolation, or students ignored these efforts altogether to complete assignments. We conclude by offering both theoretical and pragmatic implications for engineering curriculum.

Purpose: Parenting styles greatly influence the development of emotional intelligence and conflict resolution styles among young adults since the very early years of their lives. The understanding how parenting styles and emotional intelligence impact conflict resolution styles of young adults has become progressively urgent. The existing study purposes to inspect the relationship between perceived parenting styles, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution styles among young adults. The practical implication of this research will provide the future generations in better upbringing of their children that possess high levels of emotional intelligence. Methodology: The study was carried out in a single phase. The study was quantitative, and it was conducted to assess the perceived parenting styles by young adults including assessing their emotional intelligence and identifying their conflict resolution style. The sample of the study was 280 (M=140, F=140) recruited from different universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Three scales were used for assessment: The Perceived Parenting Styles Scale (PPSC), The Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) and the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory (CRSI). Findings: The authoritative parenting style positively correlated with emotional intelligence (r = .47, p < .01) and positive problem-solving (r = .17, p < .01), while negatively relating to conflict engagement (r = -.31, p < .01) and self-protection (r = -.26, p < .01). In contrast, authoritarian and permissive styles were negatively related to emotional intelligence (r = -.13 and r = -.19, respectively) and positively associated with conflict engagement. Males scored higher on emotional intelligence (M = 121.96, SD = 13.73) than females (M = 118.35, SD = 15.87), and PhD students exhibited higher conflict resolution scores than Master's and undergraduate students. These findings highlight the impact of parenting styles on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills among young adults. Unique Contributions to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study is guided by The Social Learning Theory by Bandura (1977) sets that young adults copy ways of behaving gained from their childhood, particularly from their parents. Parenting styles perceived during childhood and adolescence could impact how people approach conflicts and social interactions. Another theory which backs this study is Emotional Intelligence theory by Daniel Goleman suggests that individuals consist of a bunch of skills and abilities that would help them in recognizing, understanding and managing their own self emotions as well as emotions of other people. The study recommends that research be conducted in other demographic regions or on a broader level. The study also recommends that other variables such as personality traits and changes over tine should be considered as well for better outcomes.

Background: The term ‘emotional intelligence’ describes the ability ‘to monitor one's own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate between them and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions. The significance of emotional intelligence in the successful practice of medicine has long been recognized. The present study intends to assess the level of emotional intelligence among medical students, in Central Kerala and to determine the factors that influence emotional intelligence of medical students.Methods: A quantitative, cross sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted among 251 medical students belonging to two medical colleges in Central Kerala, India using the Schutte self report emotional intelligence test (SSEIT), which is a standardized semi-structured questionnaire. Data was coded and entered in Microsoft excel worksheet. Descriptive statistics like percentage was used. Inferential statistics were applied as needed using licensed version of SPSS 20, and was expressed statistically significant at p-value less than 0.05.Results: Among the total 251 study participants, mean age of the participants were 21.5± 1.14. Majority were females (67.7%). The mean score of EI among the study participants were 121.43±19.06. Out of the total study participants 63.3% had average EI score. The present study showed a statistically significant association between age category of the study participants and EI scores.Conclusions: The mean EI scores of the study participants were in an agreeable range with 63.3% having average EI scores.