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Research points to family talk and interactions involving STEM concepts as one of the most influential informal learning experiences that shape an individual's STEM identity development and encourage their pursuit of a STEM career. However, a recent literature review uncovers limited research regarding the development of engineering identity in young children.

The purpose of this study was to add to this scant literature by exploring how children position themselves as engineers and how children are positioned as engineers through interactions with parents and other adults within a program focused on family engagement within an engineering design process.

This study includes two parent–child dyads. We collected and analyzed approximately 19.5 h of video data of the two child–parent dyads interacting with one another throughout an engineering design process as part of an out‐of‐school program.

Results highlight three ways in which the two children enacted various engineering identities through their positioning, negotiation, and acceptance and/or rejection of positionalities as they engaged in an engineering design process with a parent. These identity enactments included (a) possessing knowledge and authority to make decisions regarding the development of their self‐identified engineering problem and prototype; (b) questioning and challenging adult ideas, solutions, and construction of prototypes; and (c) documenting and communicating their thinking regarding the engineering design through sketches and notes.

The significance of this study lies in its potential to change the landscape of those who pursue an engineering career and to contribute to the limited research and ongoing conversations about how to foster environments that support families in creative and collaborative learning specific to the engineering discipline.

 

We began this project with three goals: (1) engage families in engineering activities, (2) increase the awareness of kids and caregivers as to what engineering is, and (3) increase children’ interest in engineering. We focused on caregivers and home environments because of the important role that at-home experiences with STEM play in triggering interest for many individuals who enter STEM professions. We created and distributed four different kits to families interested in engaging in STEM activities at home. Each kit included a challenge around engineering-related content (e.g., circuits, construction) and contained activity instructions (child) and a facilitation guide (caregivers). However, few instructions were given to caregivers about the expectations of their role while engaging with their children. This paper reports on the findings from family engagement in the Watercolor Bot kit. We sought to explore the roles enacted and behaviors utilized by caregivers as they supported their children during the activity. Our findings add to the conversation about how to define and conceptualize caregiver roles and how the home context/setting influences the types of supports caregivers provide. In contrast to emerging work on caregiver support, we argue that it may be more fruitful to think about the types of support (physical, verbal, content, and managerial) offered rather than defining specific roles (e.g., collaborator, project manager, etc.). We provide implications for designing kits and activities to include specific support for caregivers beyond simply providing project-specific instructions that address caregivers’ needs. 

Research on social, emotional, and academic development of children often notes the critical role of parents. Yet, how parents perceive and engage with children’s reactions to difficulty and perceived failure, to then shape their perspective and engagement with learning remains under investigated. The current study explored children and parents’ perceptions of and reactions to frustration and failure within an out-of-school, home-based engineering program. Specifically, we asked 1) How was failure perceived by participating families? and 2) What was the subsequent action/reaction to that failure? Data were derived from post-program interviews with children and parents who participated in a home-based, elementary engineering program involving take-home kits and self-identified engineering projects. Findings derived from descriptive qualitative methods and thematic analysis illustrated development of parent thinking around failure and frustration, both within themselves and their reactions to seeing such emotions in their children. Analysis further revealed how such emotions emerge within their children and impact their experiences. These findings shed light on ways child-parent engagement and the tactics employed by parents may influence a child’s perseverance and willingness to work through difficulty. This research represents an entry point for investigating how parents perceive and react to failures and challenges, and how these reactions shape their communication around failure with their children. Such parental reactions and communication may shape children’s mindset development, perspectives, and engagement. Implications for family engagement and influence on children’s learning through academic emotions in STEM and engineering are discussed. 

The purpose of this study was to examine identity formation in young learners through engineering education. This was sought by means of understanding children’s perception of their identity as an engineer after engaging in engineering design processes and practices in their home environments. The methodology for data collection was through post-program participation interviews with children. The interviews were conducted with thirteen children between the ages of five and ten, who completed at least four researcher-developed engineering tasks in their home environments with a member of their family, typically a caregiver. The time engaged in each kit ranged from approximately 30 minutes to 3 hours. The interview questions revolved around how these children viewed engineers, and engineering, as well as how they viewed themselves and how the program changed their views and interests. The results suggest that participation in an engineering program in home environments has changed these children’s sense of identity in a variety of ways; how they viewed their ability to carry out engineering activities, their potential career trajectories, how they viewed engineering as a field, and how the program affected their interactions with their family. The significance of this study points to the benefits of introducing engineering tasks with children at a young age. 

Engineering in early education provides the foundation for the future of innovation. Reinforcing learning and engineering habits of mind (HoM) at an early age is crucial for expanding students’ higher order thinking, potential for lifelong learning, and sense of agency in their learning experiences. HoM is defined as a set of learned or internalized dispositions that inform an individual's behaviors when confronted with challenges. This study addressed two research questions: (1) Which HoM were articulated by children as they reflected upon their participation in a home-based engineering program? (2) What patterns of the children’s vocabulary align with the HoM framework? Observational methods were used to examine young children’s reflections upon the process of completing low-stakes engineering projects in their home. The participants were 23 children ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. After they engaged in the ill-structured engineering tasks with family members at home, children joined an online show-and-tell meeting to show their prototype to others while answering various questions about their processes, frustrations, and successes. Findings revealed “Resourcefulness,” “Adapting/Improving,” and “Systems Thinking” as the most common HoM expressed by children through the show-and-tell meetings. Additional analysis also highlighted how children's articulation of learning and engineering habits of mind were logical (i.e., analytical), confident (i.e., clout), and impersonal. Moreover, children’s words were product oriented, predominantly focusing on the materials and tools utilized to create their prototype. The significance of this study highlights how engaging in hands-on engineering projects in the home has the potential to develop children’s dispositions and ways of thinking common to engineers.