Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Win , N., K anjc Ho a , A., C aps, S., Kö esi, K., A ejee,
Y., Gue ne, G., Josa, I., & Dep ez, H. (2025). Unde s anding A ac i eness o
Enginee ing: In luencing Fac o s and Po en ial Impac s (Wo k in P og ess). In
Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual
Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e,
Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631573.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
UNDERSTANDING ATTRACTIVENESS OF ENGINEERING:
INFLUENCING FACTORS AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS (WORK IN
PROGRESS)
Na alie Win a, Anja K anjc Ho a b, So ie C apsc,d, Kla a Kö esie, Youn A ejee ,
Gillian Gue neg, I ene Josah, Hanne Dep ezd,i,
1
a Cen e o Enginee ing Educa ion, Uni e si y College London
b EPFL
c Facul y o Enginee ing Technology, KU Leu en
d Leu en Enginee ing and Science Educa ion Cen e , LESEC
e Human and Social Sciences Depa men , ENSTA B e agne
Uni e si y o Wa wick
g Leuphana Uni e si y
h The Ba le School o Sus ainable Cons uc ion, Uni e si y College London
i Facul y o Enginee ing Science, KU Leu en
Con e ence Key A eas: The a ac i eness o enginee ing; Dialogue be ween
enginee ing and socie y - e ec s on educa ion.
Keywo ds: a ac i eness, s udy/ca ee choice heo ies, key concep s
ABSTRACT
Issues associa ed wi h he sho age o enginee s con inue o pe sis and ha e led o
a p oli e a ion o wo k ocused on unde s anding he ac o s in ol ed in s uden s’
decisions o pu sue enginee ing s udies and ca ee s. Such wo k highligh s he ange
o in e ela ed ac o s and ac o s which in o m s udy and ca ee choice, as well as
he di e si y in e minology employed in published wo k. P og ess in he a ea elies
upon sha ed unde s anding o a ac i eness, and he concep s in ol ed.
Acco dingly, his wo k in p og ess ocuses on iden i ying and syn hesising exis ing
e ms and concep s used in ela ion o s udy and ca ee choice mo e widely, wi h he
aim o enhancing mu ual unde s anding o a ac i eness and allowing iden i ica ion
o esea ch gaps. In so doing, we desc ibe se e al exis ing s udy and ca ee choice
heo ies o p o ide a holis ic unde s anding o he ac o s in ol ed in s udy and
ca ee choice by si ua ing hem wi hin he con ex o enginee ing. We hen discuss
he ex en o which academic ins i u ions and indus y may in luence each ac o . We
conclude by p esen ing a p oposed me hodology o he emainde o he p ojec , o
discussion and eedback om he wide communi y.
1
Co esponding Au ho
H. Dep ez
Hanne.dep ez@kuleu en.be
1 INTRODUCTION
The signi ican labou sho ages wi hin enginee ing con inue o be highligh ed by
policymake s (e.g., Eu opean Commission, 2023), wi h sho alls being a ibu ed, in
pa , o he lack o in e es young adolescen s show in enginee ing s udies. Such
ends a e pa icula ly wo ying gi en he numbe o socie al challenges o which he
enginee ing p o ession need con ibu e, and ha e led o a p oli e a ion o wo k ocused
on unde s anding he ac o s in ol ed in s uden s’ decisions o pu sue an enginee ing
ca ee (e.g., C uz & Kellam, 2018; Dias, 2011; Godwin e al., 2016; Main e al., 2021;
Ma uso ich e al., 2010).
To his end, in 2010, SEFI es ablished a Special In e es G oup (SIG) ocused on
enhancing he a ac i eness o enginee ing educa ion, wi h ‘A ac i eness o
Enginee ing’ being one o he hema ic s ands a i s Annual Con e ence.
P og ess in his a ea elies upon sha ed unde s anding o a ac i eness, some hing
which is complica ed by he numbe o in luencing ac o s and ac o s in ol ed. A an
indi idual le el, s uden s a e impac ed by in insic psychological and beha iou al
mo i a ion (A man e al., 2010; Sheppa d e al., 2010), pe sonal alues, goals and
needs (Ma uso ich e al., 2010), in e es and a ainmen in he subjec ma e (Pain e
e al., 2017), sel -e icacy belie s (Jones e al, 2010), as well as ex insic and inancial
mo i a ions (A man e al., 2010; Sheppa d e al., 2010). Choice is also in o med by
expe iences and hose wi hin s uden s’ li es. Fo example, Sch ey-Niemenmaa &
Jones (2011; 2015) highligh he ole o quali y STEM educa ion, eache s’
unde s anding o enginee ing, he p esence o ole models, and he pe cep ion o
enginee ing wi hin socie y, wi h Pain e e al. (2017) desc ibing he ole o amily and
p io expe ience wi h enginee ing ac i i ies, o example h ough in e en ions and
ou each (e.g., Gumaelius & Kolmos, 2016).
O he wo k has highligh ed he ole o educa ion sys ems (Win e al., 2024) in
de e mining he a ailable pa hways o s udying enginee ing, as well as he appeal o
uni e si y p og ammes (C onhjo e al., 2022). Mo e widely, decisions o s udy
enginee ing can be shaped mo e gene ally by a ailabili y o deg ee p og ammes
locally, inancial conside a ions, and ins i u ional ac o s such as epu a ion ( on
S einaecke & Se ôdio, 2024; Gille e al. 2021; Se ôdio e al., 2021; Widipu e a e al.,
2017).
The a ac i eness o enginee ing hus appea s o be in luenced by a di e se ange o
in e ela ed ac o s whose signi icance a ies, o example wi h age and geog aphical
con ex . Howe e , s udies in he a ea o a ac i eness end o ocus on he ole o a
limi ed subse o in luences, making i di icul o ob ain a holis ic unde s anding o he
si ua ion a a sys ems le el.
As a gued by Ashwin (2009), no one heo y can cap u e all aspec s o highe
educa ion, and enginee ing educa ion esea ch ypically makes use o mul iple
heo ies om a a ie y o disciplines, esul ing in challenges associa ed wi h
di e ences in disciplina y pa adigms and e minology. Lönng en e al. (2023) label he
esul an lack o concep ual cla i y as p oblema ic and highligh he need o
concep ualisa ions o be explici , hus allowing eade s o in e p e and judge esul s
and o ans e be ween con ex s.
In keeping wi h a need o concep ual cla i y and o ind unde lying easons o he low
a ac i eness o enginee ing s udies, his wo k in p og ess con ibu es o a wide s udy
ocused on he ollowing objec i es:
- iden i ying and syn hesising exis ing concep s and heo ies used in ela ion o
s udy and ca ee choice, and which can be applied o he a ac i eness o
enginee ing,
- de eloping a amewo k which consolida es exis ing concep s, and which
includes ac o s and ac o s in luencing s udy and ca ee choices a di e en
ages,
- assessing he need o adap he amewo k o use speci ically wi hin he
con ex o enginee ing.
In his ini ial pape we ocus on he i s objec i e by in oducing a ange o s udy and
ca ee choice heo ies in Sec ion 2 wi h he aim o colla ing he key concep s in ol ed
in Sec ion 3. We hen p esen he p oposed me hodology o he emainde o he
p ojec in Sec ion 4, o discussion and eedback om he wide communi y. The alue
o his wo k lies in he concep ualisa ion o a amewo k enhancing mu ual
unde s anding o a ac i eness a sys ems le el and allowing iden i ica ion o esea ch
gaps o he SEFI and ex ended enginee ing educa ion communi y. The amewo k
will lay g ound o he A ac i eness SIG o de ine ocus poin s leading o conc e e
ac ions ha will help o inc ease he a ac i eness o enginee ing.
2 STUDY AND CAREER CHOICE THEORIES
A ac i eness o enginee ing is a complex concep ha can only be desc ibed using
ex ensi e mul idisciplina y app oach. Howe e , e iewing all sys ema ically li e a u e
ela ed o a ac i eness o enginee ing is beyond he scope o his wo k. Ins ead, we
begin by conside ing se e al exis ing s udy and ca ee choice heo ies ha co e a
ange o disciplina y pe spec i es o a holis ic unde s anding o he ways in which
s udy and ca ee choices a e concep ualised. The heo ies included in his pape build
upon hose p e iously used in a ac i eness in e en ions as iden i ied in an ongoing
li e a u e e iew s udy o 41 a icles, in which he social and socio-cul u al heo ies
desc ibed in Sec ions 2.1 and 2.2 a e mos o en men ioned ( ou imes each). These
we e supplemen ed wi h he heo ies p esen ed in Sec ions 2.3 and 2.4 . The heo y
p esen ed in Sec ion 2.3 adds a de elopmen al pe spec i e, while he heo y o
Sec ion 2.4 is o en used in exis ing s udy o ien a ion ins umen s.
The ollowing subsec ions include sho summa ies o he selec ed heo ies wi h a
ocus on p esen ing he cen al concep s. We hen desc ibe ou e o s in syn hesising
hese e ms as well as iden i ying po en ial impac s s akeholde s, such as indus y and
academia can exe o e each ac o .
2.1 Social Cogni i e Theo y (SCT) and Social Cogni i e Ca ee Theo y (SCCT)
Social Cogni i e Theo y (SCT) (Bandu a, 1986) is a psychological lea ning heo y
p e iously employed o in es iga e enginee ing s udy choice (e.g., Fle che e al.,
2024; Ka z e al., 2024; Kim e al., 2025), wi h Gonche e al. (2023) highligh ing i s
p e alence wi hin enginee ing educa ion esea ch. I in ol es a ipa i e sys em o
in e ac ing pe sonal/cogni i e ac o s (e.g., a i udes, alues), beha iou al ac o s
(e.g., skills, p ac ice, ac ions), and en i onmen al ac o s (e.g., social no ms, access
o esou ces). I posi s ha indi iduals lea n om obse a ion, paying a en ion o
beha iou and i s consequences, being mo e likely o imi a e beha iou s o which hey
expec o be ewa ded based on ica ious ein o cemen s. I hus emphasises he ole
o sel -e icacy and agency in deciding whe he o ep oduce modelled beha iou , and
he physical and beha iou al abili y o do so. The cen al concep o SCT is ecip ocal
de e minism and hus, pe sonal ac o s enable indi iduals o ini ia e and sus ain
beha iou s ha ansla e o e ec s on he en i onmen /ac ions. Equally, e lec ion on
ac ions and hei impac eeds back o he pe son and can, in u n, in luence hei
sense o sel -e icacy. Wi h espec o enginee ing a ac i eness, his heo y poin s
owa ds he bene i o sui able and di e se ole models, as well as he p esence o a
pe cei ed ewa d associa ed wi h s udying enginee ing. The e is also a need o os e
a suppo i e en i onmen in which enginee ing wo k is pe cei ed o be alued and
which expose s uden s o knowledge, skills and esou ces which suppo he
de elopmen o cogni i e and beha iou ac o s associa ed wi h enginee ing.
Social Cogni i e Ca ee Theo y (SCCT) (Len e al., 1994) is an ex ension o
Bandu a’s SCT, and an a emp o uni y and explain cen al p ocesses and
mechanisms o (a) de elopmen o ca ee and academic in e es , (b) ca ee - ele an
choices, and (c) achie emen o pe o mance ou comes, wi h a ocus on la e
adolescence and ea ly adul hood. The heo y highligh s he di ec and indi ec
in luence o sel -e icacy belie s, ou come expec a ions, pe sonal goals and
pe o mance a ainmen o each o hese h ee p ocesses. Ca ee - ela ed in e es s
a e hen o med h ough sel -efficacy and ou come expec a ions and in luence bo h
educa ional and occupa ional choice goals. The model ecognises ha he in e es s
a e mo e likely o influence s udy and ca ee choice in he p esence o a suppo i e
en i onmen , and ha ba ie s (e.g., finances, ca ing esponsibili ies) may esul in a
need o comp omise in e es s. Len and colleagues (2002) see an impo an ole o
educa ional ins i u ions o suppo s uden s in engaging in ca ee explo a ion. Ac i i ies
like job shadowing o in e nships bu also ex acu icula ac i i ies enable s uden s o
cla i y hei in e es s, alues and compe encies in ela ion o enginee ing. A key ea u e
o he SCCT model is he inclusion o ‘pe son inpu ’ (including e hnici y, gende e c)
and con ex ual ac o s. Gende can hus be unde s ood as a ‘pe son inpu ’ which
mode a es he ole o backg ound con ex ual influences, socialisa ion p ocesses, and
lea ning expe iences, which in u n con ibu e o sel -e icacy and ou come
expec ancies. SCCT has been used o in es iga e enginee ing s udy choice (Len e
al., 2008, Liu e al., 2014, Win , 2022) and ca ee e en ion (Mozahem e al., 2019,
Singh e al., 2013).
The Ca ee Sel -Managemen (CSM) model (Len & B own, 2013), a mo e ecen
heo y in he s eam o ca ee de elopmen lea ning app oaches, builds on SCCT by
inco po a ing conscious sel -di ec edness o sel -managemen . The la e is equi ed
so ha s uden s can use hei knowledge, expe ience, and emo ions in choosing a
ca ee in a con ex o unce ain y and change, helping hem o de elop clea ambi ions
o conc e e ou come expec a ions. In he con ex o enginee ing educa ion, his is only
possible when s uden s can iden i y wi h enginee ing and en ision hemsel es as
u u e enginee s.
2.2 Expec ancy-Value Theo y (EVT) and Si ua ed Expec ancy-Value Theo y
(SEVT)
Expec ancy-Value Theo y (EVT) is based on esea ch by Tolman (1932), Lewin (1951)
and A kinson (1957) and add esses he psychological and social/cul u al de e minan s
ha in luence people's mo i a ion and a ec he way hey make hei pe o mance-
ela ed decisions (Lin e al. 2016). The heo y s a es ha a pe son's mo i a ion o
unde ake a ask is de e mined by wo main componen s: expec ancy belie s (i.e.,
con idence in one’s abili y o be success ul in he ask) and he subjec i e alue hey
place on he ask (i.e., he pe cei ed impo ance, use ulness, o enjoymen o he ask)
(Eccles & Wig ield, 2020). Acco ding o his model, he alue o a ask is di ided in o
ou componen s: pe o mance alue, in insic alue, u ili y alue and cos (c . Flake e
al., 2015). The expec ancy- alue model s a es ha he expec a ions o success and
he alue o he ask a e de e mined by a combina ion o ac o s. These include
pe sonal cha ac e is ics and en i onmen al in luences (U hahne & Wijnia, 2023). Fo
example, wi hin enginee ing, belie s a ound alue may depend on he image and
s a us o enginee ing wi hin socie y, in o ma ion ega ding enume a ion.
Si ua ed Expec ancy Value Theo y (SEVT) (Eccles & Wig ield, 2020) ex ends EVT by
inco po a ing a si ua ed pe spec i e and ecognising ha mo i a ion is no always
s a ic bu ins ead de elops in a dynamic way h ough immedia e social, cul u al and
con ex ual in luences (U hahne & Wijnia 2023). SEVT is mo e adequa e han EVT in
cu en imes whe eby indi iduals a e in luenced on a daily basis h ough social media.
I conside s how expec ancy belie s and subjec i e alues a e shaped by conc e e
expe iences, speci ic lea ning en i onmen s and socie al expec a ions. This i s in wi h
he widening pa icipa ion he o ic ha enginee ing educa o s a e ying o p omo e o
es ablish a mo e di e se wo k o ce.
2.3 Go edson’s Theo y o Ci cumsc ip ion and Comp omise (GTCC)
The heo y o Go edson (1981) p oposes a amewo k o he de elopmen o
young people's s udy and ca ee choice, ocusing on he e olu ion o hei pe cep ion
o a ailable occupa ions. Wi hin his, ci cumsc ip ion in ol es elimina ing ca ee
op ions which appea o be incompa ible wi h an indi idual’s sel -concep and
in ol es se e al s ages: o ien a ion o size and powe (age 3-5), whe e child en
admi e au ho i y igu es; o ien a ion o sex oles (age 6-8), associa ing occupa ions
wi h gende s e eo ypes; o ien a ion o social alues (age 9-13), unde s anding social
s a us and p es ige; and o ien a ion o in e nal, unique sel (age 14+), whe e
adolescen s de ine hei desi ed place in socie y based on hei alues, in e es s, and
a ibu es.
The second phase o he p ocess is comp omise which in ol es he alignmen o
occupa ional aspi a ion o he ex e nal eali y. As pa o his, indi iduals may ejec
oles which mo e s ongly align wi h hei sel -concep , in a ou o hose which
appea o be mo e accessible. A a ie y o ac o s can hen impac accessibili y
including knowledge acquisi ion and a ailabili y o aining, labou ma ke condi ions,
social ne wo ks e c. In ela ion o he a ac i eness o enginee ing, his model
highligh s he ole ha he s a us and image o enginee ing play om an ea ly age,
and e o s should ocus on he use o di e se ole models and o e coming gende
s e eo ypes associa ed wi h he p o ession. I also poin s o a need o make
enginee ing mo e accessible, o example by p o iding di e en de elopmen
oppo uni ies, as well as in o ma ion abou he ou es in o he p o ession.
2.4 Pe son-En i onmen (P-E) Fi Theo y (PEFT) and RIASEC
Wi hin he con ex o s udy and ca ee choice, P-E i heo y (F ench e al., 1982)
p oposes ha cong uence be ween indi iduals and hei occupa ional en i onmen
esul s in posi i e ou comes. The heo y encompasses bo h pe son-job i , and pe son-
o ganisa ion i . Wi hin his, pe son cha ac e is ics may include needs, alues, goals,
abili ies, and pe sonali ies, all o which a e non-s a ic, whe eas en i onmen al ac o s
may include in insic and ex insic ewa ds, demands o a job o ole and
o ganisa ional cul u e. The ocus on he wo king en i onmen means ha applica ion
o he heo y may be mo e sui ed o wo k which conside s e en ion o enginee s wi hin
he wo kplace. Howe e , i does highligh a need o help s uden s u he unde s and
hei needs, alues and abili ies and explo e how hey may align wi h he di e se oles
a ailable wi hin he enginee ing sec o . Holland’s RIASEC model (1997) is a well-
known example o a model based on P-E i heo y. Holland de eloped his heo y on
he idea ha ca ee choice is based on pe sonali y, esul ing in six pe sonali y ypes.
People will sea ch o en i onmen s whe e hey can use hei compe encies and
exp ess hei alues and a i udes. Fo example, an in es iga i e ype who is likely o
be p ecise, analy ical, cu ious, and in ellec ual, will mo e likely be happy o wo k in an
in es iga i e en i onmen ha ma ches hese compe encies. Al hough P-E i heo ies
a e s ill ele an , hese choice heo ies also ha e a na ow ocus on ca ee choice ha
implies a mo e o less s able socie y and hey a he o e look he p ocess o ca ee
decision. To inc ease a ac i eness, i is impo an o p esen he di e si y in
enginee ing oles, equi ed compe encies and alues, so ha di e se pupils/s uden s
may pe cei e a i wi h hei pe sonali y.
3 SYNTHESIS OF MODELS
Se e al ac o s which in luence a ac i eness a e included wi hin he p esen ed s udy
and ca ee choice heo ies, which con e ge in se e al key a eas, as summa ized in
Table 1 oge he wi h whe he academic ins i u ions and indus y may in luence each
ac o . In his sec ion we e iew hese ac o s, while also si ua ing hem wi hin he
con ex o enginee ing and iden i ying possible le e age poin s.
Table 1: O e iew o key concep s om di e en heo ies, wi h explana ion and
malleabili y (M) by indus y and/o academia. Th ee ca ego ies o ac o s we e
included, ollowing SCT heo y: pe sonal (P), En i onmen al (E) and Beha iou al (B).
Figu e 1 shows a schema ic o ways in which he a ious concep s included wi hin he
heo ies in e ac , his being summa ised by he poin s below:
• Pe son inpu s (e.g., gende , e hnici y, social class) o cha ac e is ics and
backg ound (e.g., home own, bi hplace) a e conside ed in bo h social cogni i e
and expec ancy- alue heo ies and appea o media e ac o s including lea ning
expe iences. Fo example, i is likely, pa icula ly when conside ing GTCC, ha
Fac o Theo y Explana ion Malleable
Sel -e icacy belie s SCCT
People's judgmen s o hei capabili ies o o ganize and execu e cou ses o ac ion equi ed
o a ain designa ed ypes o pe o mances
x
Expec ancies o success EVT
Indi idual belie s abou he likelihood o pe o ming success ully on a speci ic ask
in luenced by pas expe iences, eedback, and pe cei ed di icul y.
x
Academic sel -concep EVT, GTCC
A lea ne ’s ela i ely s able pe cep ion o hei own academic abili ies ( o med o e ime
h ough expe iences, social compa ison, and eedback)
x
Ou come expec a ions SCCT Pe sonal belie s abou p obable esponse ou comes: social, ma e ial, and sel -e alua i e x
Cos EVT Compe i ion wi h o he goals x
In insic alue EVT, PEFT Pe sonal enjoymen x
A ainmen alue EVT, PEFT Impo ance o doing well x
U ili y alue EVT, PEFT Pe cei ed use ulness o u u e goals x
Voca ional in e es SCCT
Pa e ns o likes, dislikes and indi e ences ega ding ca ee - ele an ac i i ies and
x
Pe son inpu s SCCT, EVT E.g., gende , e hnici y, social class, cul u e, heal h/disabili y s a us
Pe sonali y ai s PEFT RIASEC heo y: Realis ic, In es iga i e, A is ic, Social, En e p ising, Con en ional
Ci cumsc ip ion GTCC
P ocess o elimina ing ca ee op ions which appea o be incompa ible wi h an indi idual’s
sel -concep , in di e en s ages
x
Pe son-en i onmen i PEFT Bo h pe son-job i , and pe son-o ganisa ion i / objec i e and subjec i e x
Comp omise GTCC P ocess o alignmen o occupa ional aspi a ion o he ex e nal eali y x
Social and socie al SCCT
E.g., amily, pee s, men o s, pe sonal ca ee ne wo k con ac s, ole model exposu e,
x
Economic SCCT E.g., inancial s abili y, esou ces x
Ins i u ional SCCT,
PEFT
E.g., access o aining, oppo uni ies, ask exposu e, demands o job ole, o ganisa ional
cul u e (wo kplace)
x
B Pe o mance a ainmen SCCT Le el o accomplishmen and indices o beha io al pe sis ance
P
E
s e eo ypes ega ding who is iewed by socie y as being an enginee , media e
he expe ience o unde ep esen ed s uden s du ing lea ning expe iences.
• Lea ning expe iences a e a ied and include bo h cu icula and non-cu icula
(e.g., hobbies, summe camps, wo k placemen s) ac i i ies which expose
s uden s o enginee ing wo k and asks. The abili y o s uden s o access such
oppo uni ies will depend upon con ex ual and en i onmen al ac o s such as
oppo uni y, suppo i e amily, as well as inance. Whe he such lea ning
expe iences esul in inc ease in sel -e icacy and change o sel -concep , o
inc eased expec a ions o success depend on aspec s such as he quali y o
such expe iences.
• Bo h pe son inpu s (e.g., cul u e) and en i onmen (e.g., amily p essu e, public
pe cep ion o enginee ing) a e likely o impac upon alues. Expec ancy alue
heo ies desc ibe how in insic alue (enjoymen ), a ainmen alue (impo ance
o success) and u ili y alue (use ulness o u u e goals), as well as pe cei ed
cos s (e.g., ime) in luence he desi abili y o a ca ee pa h. The p esence o
in insic alue assumes ha s uden s a e exposed o enginee ing ela ed
lea ning expe iences ha hey ind enjoyable. Meanwhile, he u ili y alue
e lec s ha hey a e in o med abou he pa hways o enginee ing such ha hey
alue he need o s udy enginee ing o alue he enginee ing p o ession as
p o iding wha hey desi e o a job (e.g., pay, secu i y, impac ).
• Bo h P-E i heo y and, o a lesse ex en , GTCC, conside he cong uence
be ween he indi idual and job oles o o ganisa ions. A key dis inc ion he e is
he di e ence be ween objec i e i and subjec i e i , he o me e e ing o
ac ual/measu able cha ac e is ics o he pe son and he en i onmen and he
la e on pe cep ions o he indi idual and hei i . Subjec i e i is likely o be
in luenced by a a ie y o ac o s including public pe cep ion, amily suppo ,
p esence o ole models. The exis ence o di e ences in objec i e and
subjec i e i has se e al implica ions. Fo example, people may choose no o
pu sue enginee ing because o a pe cei ed lack o cong uence. Bo h GTCC
and SCCT include he need o comp omise in e es and i , o example
because o ba ie s (e.g., finances, ca ing esponsibili ies, lack o
oppo uni ies). This esul s in he indi idual pu suing a ca ee less sui ed o hei
alues, in e es s and a ibu es.
Bo h CSM and SEVT ex end p e-exis ing models (SCCT and EVT espec i ely) o ake
accoun o dynamic adap a ion and de elopmen ac oss an indi idual’s ca ee , by
aking accoun o ac o s such as sel - egula o y beha iou s, he in luence o
expe ience and changing alues and en i onmen s.
4 PROPOSED FUTURE WORK AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In his pape , we explo ed se e al s udy and ca ee choice heo ies o iden i y o e lap
and po en ial di e ences and o iden i y ac o s de e mining a ac i eness o
enginee ing. We es ablished ac o s ha appea ac oss he s udy and ca ee choice
heo ies and analysed hem in he pe spec i e o enginee ing and in iew o which
ac o s can be in luenced by academia and he indus y. As such his was he i s s ep
o es ablishing a amewo k o a ac i eness o enginee ing ha will help guide u u e
e o s in he a ea.
Figu e 1: Schema ic showing aspec s in luencing a ac i eness o enginee ing
de i ed om s udy and ca ee choice heo ies.
4.1 P oposed u u e wo k
The nex phase o ou wo k in p og ess in ol es u he consolida ion o exis ing
heo e ical cons uc s and ex ending hem h ough a scoping li e a u e e iew. The
li e a u e e iew will help es ablish ele an heo y-de i ed ac o s o building a holis ic
amewo k o a ac i eness. Addi ionally, he e iew will allow o iden i ica ion o
esea ch gaps and oppo uni ies o alignmen wi h ongoing o u u e esea ch p ojec s
o he A ac i eness SIG o beyond.
The u u e wo k will also include a s udy whe eby expe s help o iden i y ele an
ac o s, such as educa o s, pee s, amilies, indus y ep esen a i es, academics, and
policy make s. Addi ionally, he expe eedback will in ol e assessing whe he he e
a e ac o s speci ic o enginee ing ha a e no ully ep esen ed/ e lec ed in exis ing
heo ies, and e lec on how o adap and implemen he amewo k o/in he
enginee ing con ex .
4.2 Recommenda ions o indus y and academia o enhance he
a ac i eness o enginee ing
Iden i ica ion o u u e p ac ice and esea ch wo k, and he oles di e en ac o s can
play in his, is an explici pa o he u u e phases. Ne e heless, based on his wo k,
we can p opose se e al ways in which p ac i ione s and esea che s may con ibu e
o wo k in he a ea o a ac i eness o enginee ing:
• Focus on ways in which enginee ing can be in oduced in o he school
cu iculum, hus allowing uni e sal exposu e o lea ning expe iences, apping
in o s uden s’ (changing) in e es s and alues, which may os e sel -e icacy
and an unde s anding o he wo k enginee s do.
• E alua e lea ning expe iences aimed a a ac i eness o enginee ing o ensu e
hey esul in inc eased sel -e icacy and expec a ion o success.
• Wo k o o e come s e eo ypes associa ed wi h enginee ing and imp o e he
image o enginee ing in socie y and pe cei ed i wi h enginee ing.
• De elop men o ing and ole model p og ammes which e lec he di e si y o
enginee s.
• Ensu e he accu acy and di e si y o in o ma ion pe aining o enginee ing oles
and employe s.
• Focus on unde s anding he ba ie s ha s uden s ace in s udying enginee ing
o en e ing he enginee ing p o ession.
