ERIC Number: EJ1412708
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2643-9107
EISSN: EISSN-2643-9115
Available Date: N/A
Validating a Critical Consciousness Scale for Civil Engineers
Tonmoy Sarker; Cristina Poleacovschi; Toby N. T. Nelson; Katy Swalwell; Joseph Svec; Mollie H. Appelgate; Christa Jackson; Kristen Cetin
Journal of Civil Engineering Education, v150 n2 2024
Civil engineering students in the United States rarely receive instruction about how their work affects social inequities. Indeed, research reveals that most engineering students lack critical consciousness and fail to recognize and analyze real social inequity challenges as they arise in engineering contexts. As history demonstrates, this can lead to engineering projects that exacerbate inequality, ignore community questions and concerns, or fail to consider the consequences of communities when assessing project success. A key component to addressing these issues includes educators' ability to evaluate the critical consciousness (CC) of civil engineering students using survey approaches. Toward this goal, this research tested a critical consciousness scale for civil engineers (CCSCE). The CCSCE scale summarizes and factorizes 46 items that capture systems of oppression in civil engineering. The instrument included three indicators measuring critical consciousness (i.e., Critical Reflection: Perceived Inequality; Critical Reflection: Egalitarianism; and Critical Action: Sociopolitical Perception). The CCSCE scale was tested with 150 students at two universities in the United States. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a set of 15 items measuring critical reflection and action items. This study supports the development of concise measures of CC for civil engineers that is valid and reliable. The development of a CCSCE scale is vital for civil engineering education as it provides educators with an instrument to assess whether any educational interventions aimed at enhancing CC are indeed efficacious. The instrument can also be used to assess Accreditation Board of Engineering & Technology (ABET) learning Outcomes 2 and 4.
Descriptors: Civil Engineering, Engineering Education, Social Bias, Social Justice, Consciousness Raising, Test Validity, Critical Thinking, Reflection, College Students, Test Reliability
American Society of Civil Engineers. 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-548-2723; e-mail: ascelibrary@ascs.org; Web site: https://ascelibrary.org/journal/jceecd
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1856570
Author Affiliations: N/A