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Abstract Engineering design entails making value‐laden judgments against ill‐defined, ambiguous, and/or competing sociotechnical criteria. In this article, we argue that such conditions make engineering designers particularly susceptible to the potentially deleterious effects of mis/disinformation in the processes and practices of engineering design, their engagement with people and communities, and in the production and evaluations of the artifacts they produce. We begin by critiquing dominant approaches to engineering design education, specifically, engineering education's social‐technical dualism and the ubiquitous ideology of depoliticization, which has exacerbated the effects of mis/disinformation in engineering design. We follow by outlining a framework for developing students' capacity for mitigating its effects in the specific context of engineering design thinking and making value‐laden engineering judgments and decision‐making. We envision three areas of opportunity for engineering design education to teach students strategies for navigating these challenges when engaging with (a) the processes and practices of engineering, which reflect the unique types of information students engage with across the design process, (b) people and their communities, including the strategic and careful performance of activities for gathering information, while mitigating the harms to misinformation and disinformation and maximizing the benefits of community involvement, and (c) the social and technical criteria of engineering design outcomes in the form of artifacts (e.g., products, processes). 

This conceptual paper explores language and cultural resources as forms of multicompetence for engaging in engineering epistemologies (what we know) and practices (what we do). The need for a more diverse pool of engineers to tackle the complex challenges facing society is undeniable, but stereotypes about the discipline can create alienation among many students and undermine efforts to build a more inclusive profession. Drawing on scholarship from engineering education, science education, and learning sciences, this paper argues that the resources of Multicompetent Learners (ML), who have acquired valuable experiences and knowledge through social interaction within their communities, are valuable for engineering learning environments. By leveraging the language and cultural resources that students bring with them, engineering education can better prepare learners to develop solutions and knowledge that serve a diverse population. This work underscores the critical role of language and cultural resources in helping students be heard, seen, and understood in engineering and illustrate how these resources can help bridge the gap between students' lives and engineering. The paper further explores the multidimensional nature of language and cultural resources and how students draw on different sets of talk depending on the context, whether near or distal from the activity at hand. It contends that without a deeper understanding of the role of non-dominant ways of speaking in the act of becoming and belonging, efforts to diversify engineering will remain elusive. Ultimately, this paper summarizes these ideas through a conceptual model for engineering learning environments that value and leverage the resources that students bring from their communities. By creating more equitable and socially just solutions, engineering education can better serve the needs of diverse populations and ensure that the profession is truly reflective of the communities it serves.