ERIC Number: EJ1485403
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957 7572
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1804
Available Date: 2024-06-07
Examining Engineering Design Students' Perceptions of Agency for Sustainability in a Problem- and Project-Based Learning (PBL) Context--A Q Methodology Study
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, v35 n2 p723-746 2025
This study explores engineering design students' perceptions of their agency for sustainability in a Danish problem- and project-based learning (PBL) context. A conceptual framework is proposed with three dimensions: personal, action, and contextual. Q methodology was adopted to investigate the subjective views of 24 first-year undergraduate students in a Sustainable Design program regarding the most important contributors in their development of agency for sustainability. The Q factor analysis identified three prevailing opinions, which emphasized: 1) The professional role of engineering designers to act for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); 2) The role of the formal curriculum in building the foundations to act for the SDGs; and 3) Collaboration within and beyond the university. These results indicate the complexity of student agency and highlight PBL's effectiveness for supporting students' learning for sustainability across all three dimensions of student agency. The results also suggest that institutions and educators should design more formal and informal sustainability-related activities with clear structures and well-defined regulations and strategies for sustainability.
Descriptors: Engineering Education, Design, Student Attitudes, Sustainability, Problem Solving, Active Learning, Student Projects, Problem Based Learning, Foreign Countries, College Students, Personal Autonomy
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Denmark
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Aalborg University, Department of Sustainability and Planning, Aalborg, Denmark; 2Aalborg University, Institute of Advanced Studies on PBL, Aalborg, Denmark

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