Spatial skills among minority and international engineering students

Abstract

Well-developed spatial skills have been shown to be important to success in engineering graphics courses. Unfortunately, numerous studies have shown significant gender differences in spatial skills. Research conducted at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) among engineering technology students showed that their spatial skills lag significantly behind those of engineering students at predominantly white institutions. However, these differences could be due to differences in backgrounds and abilities between engineering and engineering technology students, and not due primarily to racial differences. As we strive to diversify engineering education, it will be important to understand how differences in spatial skills could contribute to underrepresentation in engineering. In this paper, we will use data gathered over a sixteen-year period at a predominantly white institution among first-year engineering students to examine differences in spatial skills among majority, minority, and international students. Data will be disaggregated by gender where feasible. We will also examine data from a background questionnaire to determine if there are racial or cultural differences in participation in those activities thought to develop 3-D spatial skills, including playing 3-D computer games, participation in pre-college drafting or shop courses, or play with construction toys as a child. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.