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Abstract
Motivation is frequently studied in the context of engineering education. However, the use of the term motivation can be inconsistent, both in how clearly it is defined and in how it is implemented in research designs and practice. This systematic literature review investigates the use of motivation across recent engineering education publications. Results show that the majority of engineering education publications referencing motivation as a concept do not provide a clear definition for the term, nor do they draw upon the existing body of literature surrounding motivation. Within the publications that do draw upon motivation literature, we found that a small number of frameworks were most prominent. We believe that both of these factors potentially inhibit the understanding of motivation in engineering education. Therefore, we provide a number of suggestions for how researchers and practitioners can work to rectify these trends.
About the authors
Philip R. Brown is a PhD candidate in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. He holds a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Union College and Duke University, respectively. Mr Brown's research interests include the role of long-term goals in motivation and behaviours and the role of epistemological development in introductory programming courses. His recent work has been in the development of survey instruments for motivation research.
Rachel E. McCord is a graduate student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She holds a BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Tennessee. Rachel's research focuses on how students use metacognition while studying in study groups.
Holly M. Matusovich is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Materials Science from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Dr Matusovich has nearly 12 years of experience in engineering practice including work as an engineering consultant and later in a variety of roles in a manufacturing environment. Dr Matusovich's research focuses on motivation and identity development in the context of engineering classrooms and careers.
Rachel L. Kajfez is an assistant professor of practice in the Engineering Education Innovation Center and the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at the Ohio State University. She holds a BS and an MS in Civil Engineering from Ohio State and a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. Dr Kajfez's research interests include motivation and identity development in engineering from freshman to graduate students and mixed methods research as a developing form of inquiry. Her recent work explored the motivation and identity development of graduate teaching assistants in first-year engineering programmes.