Research design and preliminary findings from the EUniWell MASOEE project on teaching skills to disadvantaged cohorts

Abstract

The ERASMUS+ European University of Wellbeing alliance (EUniWell) has seed-funded the project “Maximising Academic and Social Outcomes in Engineering Education” (MASOEE).  This initiative explores how to better teach non-technical skills with the aim of ensuring the success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their professional lives, making a significant contribution to societal wellbeing. It can be argued that because engineering jobs are relatively well-paid, engineering education might be considered a force for social mobility if universities reduce attainment gaps between marginalised and mainstream cohorts.  To this end, we are sharing best practice for professional, business and sustainability skill teaching between the engineering faculties at the Universities of Florence (Italy), Birmingham (UK), and Linnaeus (Sweden), whilst appreciably contrasting how their disadvantaged cohorts are profiled and supported. In this paper we provide an overview of the project and present some preliminary results comparing students self-rated skills levels and engineering identity against an objective measure of disadvantage – the number of parents who attended university. We discuss our research method with emphases on methodological and contextual reflexivity. This enables us to select our procedures and acknowledge the study setting, and to offer readers insights to help them assess its transferability.