Perceptions of engineering faculty on educational innovation at hispanic-serving institutions

Abstract

As the educator of nearly one-third of all Latinx engineering graduates in the United States, Hispan-ic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are at the forefront of innovating engineering curriculum for Latinx students. In many cases, the driving force behind these innovations in engineering is the faculty. This study aims to identify the assets and challenges that engineering faculty at HSIs perceive impact their ability to engage in educational innovation and, ultimately, create inclusive and learner-centered educational experiences. Specifically, the thematic analysis of workshop artifacts enabled the researchers to examine the perspectives of 24 engineering educators from two-and four-year colleges across the Southwestern and Southeastern United States who attended one of two National Science Foundation–sponsored workshops. The artifact analysis illustrates how engineering educators at HSIs recognized particular assets to leverage when innovating within their courses and de-partments, both from within and outside of their institutions. At the same time, these educators also acknowledged barriers to innovation from various sources, including personal, interpersonal, and administrative. Recognizing that faculty experiences can vary based on their position’s responsibili-ties, this study also begins to explore the differences in perception of educational innovation across instructional and tenure-line faculty. These differences across faculty types suggest an opportunity to bring different perspectives and skillsets to educational innovation collaborations that include faculty from diverse backgrounds and roles. Overall, this study provides a foundation for future research on factors impacting faculty engagement with inclusive and learner-centered pedagogy at institutions seeking to serve Latinx and other racially and ethnically diverse students.