Documenting engineering identity: Electrical and computer engineering departmental documents and student identity

Abstract

As concerns about the preparation of engineers grow, so has interest in the dimensions of engineering identity. This departmental document analysis deepens understanding of undergraduate electrical, computer, and software engineering identities. The electrical, computer, and software engineering department in question privileges the role of performance/competence in engineering identity at the expense of cultivating recognition or interest in the field. Additionally, these documents show an understanding of engineering identity that does not take social identities, such as race or gender, into account. Taken together, these documents construct the department's image of an 'ideal engineer'.