Integrated inclusion: developing best practice for engineering education and the profession

Project Member(s): Cheng, E., Daniel, S., Zucker, I., Machet, T., Bhatia, T., Boye, T.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australasian Association for Engineering Education
Australasian Association for Engineering Education

Start year: 2022

Summary: As identified in the ACED Engineering Futures 2035 Scoping Study, to tackle the biggest challenges the engineering profession of the future needs to reflect the diverse make up of Australian society. One cause for the lack of diversity that under-represented groups do not feel a sense of inclusion or belonging in their studies and profession. Current inclusion initiatives in engineering university education tend to focus on attraction of a target minority and have largely had limited success. Classroom inclusion initiatives, disconnected from the course content, are often perceived as simplistic or tokenistic, placing the burden on the minority to modify their behaviour. This research project will develop education best practice where the successful participation and inclusion of marginalised and disadvantaged students is integrated into the course itself, comparable to how teamwork is often integrated in engineering courses. Validation will occur in a 3,000-student cohort across three universities. Dissemination will target engineering educators of first year courses where belonging is critical.

Publications:

Boye, T 2024, 'The risk of ‘designing out’ diverse learners in the age of GenAI', UTS LX.Lab.

Brown, N, Cheng, E & Whelan, K 1970, 'Developing intersectional inclusion capability in engineering students', 9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES 2021) and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (REES AAEE 2021), 9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium & 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference, Research in Enineering Education Network (REEN), p. 1126.
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Lindeck, J, Daniel, S, Whelan, K, Rhodes-Dicker, L, Machet, T, Cheng, E, Brown, N, Boye, T & Bhatia, T 1970, 'Adopting an integrated inclusion practice: Preliminaryfindings and reflections', AAEE 2022 Online Proceedngs, Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, AAEE, Paramatta, NSW, pp. 1-9.

Machet, T, Boye, T, Lindeck, J, Daniel, S, Brown, N, Rhodes-Dicker, L, Bhatia, T, Cheng, E & Whelan, K 1970, 'Inclusive teaching practices: a comparative case study of integrated inclusion in different contexts', 2022 IEEE IFEES World Engineering Education Forum - Global Engineering Deans Council (WEEF-GEDC), 2022 IEEE IFEES World Engineering Education Forum - Global Engineering Deans Council (WEEF-GEDC), IEEE, Cape Town, South Africa.
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FOR Codes: Engineering education, Equity and Access to Education, Education and Training Theory and Methodology

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.