WHO ARE WE & WHAT DO WE DO

Engineering Education research focuses on gaining an understanding on how to increase the number of engineers that pass out from the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the Department of Mechanical Engineering within a designated time frame.

A group of staff within the Department who hold Engineering Education as their research focus, now participate in a number of projects aimed at improving the educational offering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering as a whole. This includes research into teaching and learning practice, tutoring and mentoring systems, curriculum design and the social structure of higher education in the South African context. This work is undertaken in collaboration with other Departments in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, the Centre for Research in Engineering Education and the Centre for Higher Education Development . Ultimately, the intention is to improve the graduation rate of high-quality engineers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town.

CURRENT RESEARCH FOCUS

  • Understanding keys to technological literacy in adolescents
  • Developing an inventory of technological literacy
  • Determining career aspirations among students of different population groups
  • Sociological characterisation of foundation programs within higher education
  • Research into why students leave university in good academic standing (non-completion of engineering degree studies )
  • Studying the progression of engineering students through departmental programmes
  • Podcasting in engineering education

KEY RESEARCH COLLABORATORS

  • Centre for Higher Education Development – University of Cape Town
  • Centre for Research in Engineering Education – University of Cape Town

SPONSORS

  • Foundation Program in Engineering 2009 (Dept of National Education SA Government)
  • Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (University of Cape Town)

SPECIALISED INTERESTS

  • Critical sociological analyses of engineering foundation programs in South African higher education
  • Phenomenography as a way to research the understanding by students of technical concepts