Excellence in Engineering Education: Views of Undergraduate Engineering Students

The purpose of this study was to understand the views and perceptions of engineering undergraduate students on engineering education. The method of content analysis was used to analyze the language used by engineering undergraduate students, and to extract the underlying common factors or perceived characteristics of “Excellence in Engineering Education.” These common factors were then used to identify and compare the similarities and differences in views between engineering students and perspectives from three types of stakeholders in the field. Forty‐seven undergraduate engineering students (17 females and 30 males) participated voluntarily in this study to answer four individual questions and ten group questions. The results showed that students strongly emphasized the importance of their own roles in the educational system and the value of instructional technology and real work examples in enhancing the quality of engineering education. The implications of the research results on excellence in engineering education are discussed.     

Cross-cultural counseling process research: A rejoinder.

Replies to the criticism of J. E. Helms (1986) of the present authors' (1986) study of the effects of Black students' racial identity on perceptions of White counselors. Helms's comments on the way racial identity is conceptualized, operationalized, and measured using a racial identity attitude scale are answered, and their implications for continued cross-cultural counseling process research are explored. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Black students' racial identity on perceptions of White counselors varying in cultural sensitivity.

Hypothesized that Black students' racial identity would affect their perceptions of White counselors' interview behaviors. Pretesting on a developmental racial identity instrument developed by T. A. Parham and J. E. Helms (see record 1981-21936-001) placed 54 Black undergraduates at either the encounter stage, characterized by a strong concern with Black identity, or the internalization stage, characterized by a variety of concerns, not exclusively Black. Ss then viewed videotapes of 1 of 2 White female counselors who used either culture-sensitive or culture-blind behaviors in working with a Black male client. Culture-sensitive behaviors acknowledged and showed interest in the role of culture or race in the client's problem. Culture-blind behaviors minimized the importance of culture or race and shifted the focus to other factors. Results indicate that Ss rated culture-sensitive counselors as more culturally competent than culture-blind counselors. In addition, cultural sensitivity interacted with racial identity, with Ss at the encounter stage rating culture-sensitive counselors the most expert and the most culturally competent. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of level of acculturation and counseling style on Hispanic students' perceptions of counselor.

It was hypothesized that level of acculturation and counseling style would affect Hispanic students' perceptions of certain counselor attributes and willingness to see a counselor. Pretesting on an acculturation scale placed 94 Hispanic undergraduate college students in one of three types, Hispanic acculturated, bicultural, or Anglo acculturated. The participants viewed a counseling videotape of one of two White female counselors portraying either a directive or a nondirective counseling style and rated her on two scales. Results indicated that acculturation had a significant effect on ratings of trustworthiness and counselor understanding. Counseling style had a significant effect on the students' perception of counselor knowledge of psychology, counselor willingness to help, and on their own willingness to see a counselor. Sex of the participants had a significant effect on perceptions of counselor attractiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)