"Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary School Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering Self-Belief assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal

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Paper ID #37043
"Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary
School Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering
Self-Belief assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal
Noah Bezanson
I am an undergraduate student at Purdue University, studying Multidisciplinary Engineering with a concentration in
Humanitarian Engineering.
Nafissa Aïda Maïga
Dhinesh Balaji Radhakrishnan (Mr)
Dhinesh Radhakrishnan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University.
Jennifer Deboer (Assistant Professor of Engineering Education)
Dr. Jennifer DeBoer is currently Associate Professor of Engineering Education and Mechanical Engineering (courtesy) at
Purdue University. Dr. DeBoer conducts education research and supports diverse students around the world as they are
empowered to access, develop, and meaningfully apply engineering skills in their own communities. She has won
multiple awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Education Research Association, the Spencer
Foundation, and the US Department of State. During her first year as assistant professor, she received the NSF’s
prestigious Early CAREER Award, and in 2017, she received the American Society for Engineering Education Mara
Wasburn Women in Engineering Early Engineering Educator Award.
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2022
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"Engineer's name is Diana": Contextualizing Secondary School
Girls' Engineering Education through Engineering Self-Belief
assessments in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal
Abstract
In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss our approach to contextualizing engineering learning
in a cross-national girls' education program. In the program, the girl learners are equal
stakeholders in the design of their learning model and in implementation of the engineering
design process. Our learning ecosystem is designed using an asset-based mindset; this focuses on
the strengths of the learners and allows for sustainable partnerships. Thus, it is necessary for
international actors to understand what learners know and how they think prior to launching a
collaborative education program. To achieve this, we designed and implemented a Recognition
of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment for girl learners in rural Zimbabwe and Senegal.
Our assessment recognizes students' prior knowledge relevant to the engineering curriculum and
explores their self-beliefs. The assessment is used to better understand and challenge
assumptions around the context, the language, and how students engage with technical projects
in each setting. In many sub-Saharan countries, girls are not encouraged to pursue technical
education. This negatively impacts their engineering beliefs, including motivation, self-efficacy,
and self-concepts. In this research, we develop, contextualize, and validate an assessment tool to
evaluate the engineering self-beliefs of girls before launching an engineering learning program.
The assessment uses a combination of Draw an Engineer Test (DAET), and questions on STEM
knowledge, design process, and teamwork. The assessments were first developed for
Zimbabwean context, and then contextualized for Senegalese context, given the unique
experiences of learners in each setting.
In this paper, we first discuss the contextualization process for the assessments, and their
implementation. We then present the findings from the analysis of the assessments. Finally, we
discuss that prior knowledge recognition assessments are critical components of rigorous
curriculum contextualization, especially when the program aims at building a multinational,
reciprocal partnership.
Introduction
Education for women and girls remains unequal in many parts of the world, especially in
recently decolonized countries such as Senegal and Zimbabwe. In 2009, researcher Arusha
Cooray showed the strong correlation between colonialism and the low adult literacy rates some

countries face [1]. Unfortunately, over a decade after Dr. Cooray’s publication, these uneven
education trends remain consistent in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. In Senegal and
Zimbabwe, only 50% and 51% of women are enrolled in secondary school respectively [2].
These low enrollment numbers are even more concerning when considering that in 2020, the
World Bank estimated that girls under the age of 15 represented almost 42% of the Sub-Saharan
African female population [3]. This difference is even more staggering while looking at STEM
education in rural areas. For example, in Senegal, like in many parts of the world, biased social
beliefs argue that mathematical sciences and physics are a mark of excellence, which are not
made for girls [4]. Girls with lower grades in their scientific classes will often be forced to switch
from their original STEM choice to literary fields because it is considered more fitting to women
[5]. Considering that the global market is becoming increasingly more STEM oriented all over
the world, encouraging more Sub-Saharan girls to pursue STEM education could dramatically
increase these regions’ future skilled workforces, while creating a more virtuous education cycle
[6]. Engineering education can offer concrete sustainable solutions to students and teachers in
these regions. In Rwanda for example, engineering education has proven to improve industry
workforce skills as well as local infrastructure development issues [7]. Senegal and Zimbabwe
are both countries that could benefit from sustainable local infrastructures and encouraging girls
to pursue engineering education could be a way to achieve such goals. However, increasing the
motivation for rural girls to pursue STEM education is challenging especially in contexts where
negative gender stereotypes are so prominent.
Addressing this critical need for relevant engineering learning for historically marginalized
communities, over the past six years we have designed and developed a Localized Engineering
in Displacement (LED) model. Originally evolved from implementation in different
displacement contexts across Kenya and Jordan, the model integrates four components: (i) a
localized engineering curriculum that centers students identifying and solving community
challenges that is implemented using an Active, Blended, Collaborative, and Democratic
(ABCD) pedagogical approach; (ii) supportive learning technology for both deployment of
curricular content and for hands-on learning of STEM concepts; (iii) sustainable teacher
development program using a Community of Practice model to empower local teachers for
implementation; and (iv) rigorous, scientific research to investigate and consistently improve
ways of implementation.
In order to make the LED model relevant for learners in each context, in 2019 we developed an
assessment to recognize learners' prior knowledge (RPK) such as engineering self-beliefs,
teamwork, science and math fundamentals, and engineering design. By measuring rural
secondary girls’ engineering self-beliefs, we hypothesize we can support the development of the
girls’ self-confidence in engineering and create a curriculum adequate to fit their needs [8]. The
assessment was deployed in both rural Zimbabwe and Senegal for the first time. In total,142 and
117 girls, in Senegal and Zimbabwe, respectively, took the RPK we developed. In this work in

progress paper, we present the results from the “engineering beliefs” section of the instrument.
The research questions (RQ) we answer in this paper are:
• What are the engineering self-beliefs of high school girl learners in rural Zimbabwe and
Senegal?
• How does the engineering self-beliefs compare between girl learners in the two countries?
Background
It is important to note briefly the historical contexts of Senegal and Zimbabwe, because the
colonial influences continue to model and inform both these countries’ education systems. We
recognize that there are various other factors such as socio-economic status, political lineage, and
cultural practices influencing the education systems of these regions; however in this paper, we
focus on the colonial frameworks to unpack specific strands of engineering self-beliefs.
Senegal obtained its independence from France in 1958; however, the government maintained
close ties with France until today. In fact, 2 years prior to the independence, Senegal had voted to
remain in the “Communauté f rançaise” (French community) under the French government’s
authority [9]. Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first Senegalese president who ruled for 20 years,
maintained the ideology that French culture and literature represented prestige, even claiming
that “French is the language of the gods” [9]. The state of the education system in Senegal has
been highly influenced by French colonial institutions. During colonization, the French
government only permitted the wealthy Senegalese elite to have access to formal French
education. The long-term imperialistic goal of this exclusive endeavor was to have the
Senegalese upper-class “embrace French language, religion and culture as their own” [10].
Regarding Engineering Education, this exclusive mentality is even more obvious. In France,
engineers are usually associated with the elite and more “white collar” environments; in fact
most government officials often graduate from the highly selective and prestigious “grandes
écoles scientifiques” with engineering degrees [11]. Historically, men have always dominated
the engineering and overall STEM education access in France [12]. Unsurprisingly, similar
trends are found in Senegal where in 2017 only 5.1% women are studying STEM [13].
Although the European colonial powers in Africa all exploited the resources and labor of the
countries they colonized, not all colonial administrations had the same mission. The British
wanted to “maximize colonial productivity” and allowed for considerably more girls to enroll in
schools, like in Ghana for example [10]. In the 1930s, the rate of girls attending school in Ghana
was seven times greater than in Senegal, which could explain why Ghanaian women were more
politically active than Senegalese ones during the 1950s anti-colonial movements [10]. During
the colonization, the majority of Black Zimbabweans were allowed to receive restricted
vocational training or limited religious education only [14]. Zimbabwe only obtained its
independence from Great Britain in 1980, at the time, the costs for higher education were so high
in the country that Black Zimbabweans remained in low economic and fragile societal positions

[14]. Interestingly, engineering in the British education system emphasizes more on the
vocational and practical skills compared to the French system [15]. Engineering is seen as a more
“lower-status position” and less prestigious than it would be in France for example [16].
Unfortunately, many Zimbabwean engineers migrate to South Africa due to the economic crisis
ravaging the country, leaving Zimbabwe in dire need of engineers [17]. Just like in Senegal, the
number of women pursuing engineering education in Zimbabwe is extremely low, only about
11% of undergraduates in 2015 [18].
It is challenging to address the issues surrounding girl education in certain contexts, especially
when the cultural differences of the stakeholders are not handled properly. Our partners at Plan
International initiated an endeavor that focuses on educating girls around the globe. Their
framework places the students as equal stakeholders in their programs, this allows the girls to
build their confidence and become “central drivers of change” [19]. This socioecological
framework is meant to support the girls in impacting their communities and eventually the
societies they live in. Our engineering design curriculum is one of the many way’s girls in rural
Sub-Saharan African can become dynamic members of their communities. Increasing the
participation of girls in STEM in Senegal or Zimbabwe requires an important understanding of
the communities, and the local context. One of the ways to learn about the girls and their current
assets and potential is through the use of contextualized prior knowledge assessments.
Literature Review
Education around the world has noted the importance of making learning relevant for the
learners [20]. There are various concepts and strategies that have been undertaken by researchers
and practitioners to ensure relevancy, such as student-centered learning [21], culturally relevant
pedagogy [22], and localization [23]. Curricular contextualization serves as the terminology that
ties together these strategies and efforts of making learning relevant. Curricular contextualization
is defined as a generative process for constructing meaning, firstly, from knowing the students;
secondly, from knowing the community; and finally, from knowing the culture [24]. The
importance of contextualizing any curriculum to the environment in which it will be
implemented has long been acknowledged in academia.
There are a wide variety of factors to consider when contextualizing curricula. A most
commonly considered factor is the physical resources that the setting where learning happens
does or does not have, such as internet access and learning supplies. It is clear why this is
important to consider, and even the most rudimentary contextualization efforts take this factor
into account. However, there are a range of more subtle factors that must be accounted for. For
example, cultural backgrounds affect students in a variety of ways [25]. Students may have
commitments outside of the classroom that always take precedence over learning. This could
result in students having no time to do homework outside of the classroom, or even needing to
miss days (or weeks) of classroom instruction. However, identifying cultural backgrounds should
not solely limit contextualization efforts. Contextualizing a curriculum to local beliefs and

practices can interest students and motivate them to succeed. If a lesson contains examples that
students can relate to their own lives, they will be much more engaged [26]. This also extends to
any lab experiments or practicals that a curriculum contains. As already discussed, schools have
varying levels of resource constraints. Working within those constraints should not be viewed as
a drawback. Instead, using locally available materials should always be considered a positive, as
it shows students that what they are learning is relevant to their daily experiences [27]. Showing
students that what they are learning can apply to their own lives is extremely important. To do
this, educators need to first understand the lives of their students.
There are multiple instruments and co-generative strategies that are used to obtain data to
systematically contextualize curricula [28]. These include school self-evaluations, lesson study,
and other strategies [29][30]. A Recognition of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment is one
strategy that we have adopted. RPK is a customized assessment from the well-established
concept of Recognizing Prior Learning (RPL) that is increasingly implemented in many Low-
and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) [31]. RPL is policy and “educational response to the
need to widen participation in education and training for economic advancement and social
inclusion” [32]. RPL is used to recognize and certify the skills of individuals that have years of
experience performing a specific vocation while not going through traditional education
pathways. RPK as a strategy for curriculum contextualization was adapted from the purpose RPL
was serving. RPK attempts to recognize students' beliefs and knowledge they have gained over
years of engagement in their own communities and broader society to specific concepts of
engineering. Students, especially in developing countries, often learn information and skills in
places other than a formal classroom. They could be learning in any number of situations, from
relatives at home to formal or informal apprenticeship programs [33]. This knowledge is as
legitimate as knowledge gained through the classroom. However, it is more difficult to keep
track of or prove. This is why recognition of prior knowledge is important. It makes sure that
teachers are able to meet students where they are and teach them at a level that is appropriate. It
is also possible that the situation described above is flipped. For example, some universities in
the US and the UK now place less emphasis on the fundamentals of certain industrial fields,
instead focusing on cutting-edge technologies, assuming that students will learn the
fundamentals of their field once they enter the workforce [34]. While this may be a safe
assumption in the US or the UK, it is not always true in developing countries. Therefore, it is
essential to consider simultaneously the knowledge students have, and the knowledge they may
lack. Recognitions of prior learning are becoming increasingly common and influential,
especially in developing countries [35].
Research Design
The Recognition of Prior Knowledge (RPK) assessment was designed first for the Zimbabwean
context and later customized for the Senegalese context, due to the nature of funding
opportunities. The RPK assessment was first developed through discussions between the

researchers at the American institution and the NGOs’ Zimbabwean team associated with this
project. Through a number of virtual meetings, background data on the context and prior data
collection and analysis efforts by the NGO, the engineering assessment was first developed by
the US researchers which was then shared with the NGO team for inputs. The assessment was
finalized to obtain data on four prior knowledge categories. They are: (i) engineering self-beliefs,
(ii) Teamwork, (iii) STEM fundamentals, and (iv) engineering problem-solving. The sections
were created in alignment with the key objectives and curriculum areas of our engineering
curriculum.
The engineering beliefs section contained three questions that asked learners' definition of
engineering, their engineering beliefs using the Draw an Engineer Activity, and their views on
skills and knowledge required for an engineer. In this paper, we investigate the engineering self -
beliefs of our girl learners in each of the two contexts and how they compare with each other.
The remaining sections of the assessment for Senegal are still undergoing analysis and therefore
we do not include them.
The RPK assessment was deployed to the girl learners during the time of lockdown due to
COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. This presented a number of challenges. Coordinating and obtaining
feedback from the teachers on the assessment did not happen due to lack of internet in their
homes. Distribution of the assessment was limited to the girls who lived within the distance of a
day’s travel from the NGO’s office location. The assessment was printed and deployed by staff
members of the NGO. They identified hub locations in different villages where the girls could
gather and undertake the assessments while practicing social distancing. Based on the number of
girls in each village they were organized to undertake the assessment in groups of 3, 4, or 5. The
assessment was administered in two high schools to a total of 25 groups, that included a total of
117 girl learners.
The assessment sheets were then scanned and sent to the US researcher team. The third author
performed a preliminary analysis for one high school data and developed a report summary that
was discussed with the rest of the team in the U.S. and Zimbabwe. For the first category item in
the assessment (i.e., engineering self-beliefs), the analysis was modeled using the DAET
research study in the U.S. by Knight and Cunningham [36]. For each of the three specific
questions, content analysis was used whereby keywords were identified under each question and
the frequency of reference of each keyword was counted. The preliminary analysis was then
reviewed by the team and using the feedback the third author performed final analysis and
crafting of a research report. Using the similar structure, the first author performed the analysis
for the second-high school data and crafted the research report. Both reports were then merged
and shared with the entire team for review and comments.
For Senegal, the second author, fluent in French, translated the assessment and made changes for
the context. One of the initial changes was made in section 3 to include questions on energy due

to the problem focus area in Senegal, which was Water in Zimbabwe. Before deploying the
assessments in Senegal, the second author conducted cognitive interviews via Zoom with a
sample of three secondary school aged girls from a French speaking West African country. The
three participants also had a similar education level as the girls in the program. The goal of the
cognitive interview was to ensure that our assessment was appropriate for the Senegalese context
and the translation did not alter the meaning. After the cognitive interviews, changes were made
to the instruments to improve the clarity of the questions. For example, the question about energy
types in the STEM knowledge section of the RPK was then adjusted accordingly to the
participants’ feedback (see Figure 1). Respondents suggested keeping the vocabulary in the
questions the same but making a clearer link between both questions. In French, a female
engineer is written as “une ingénieure,” while a male engineer is written as “un ingénieur”. We
made sure to include this gender specification on the RPK especially since one participant
explained that to her “un ingénieur” (masculin) in French is vague and not as precise as “une
ingénieure” (feminin).
Figure 1. Pre- and post-cognitive interview question refinement of the RPK.
The assessments were deployed by the NGO team staff in Senegal to 142 girl learners who were
recruited to be part of the NGO’s larger development program. Unlike Zimbabwe where the girls
worked in teams, in Senegal the girls took the assessment individually. The assessments were
then scanned and sent back to the U.S. team for analysis. Second author translated the
assessment from French to English and memo-ed throughout the translation to keep note of
critical observations in the data. First, Second, and Third authors collaborated in performing the
content analysis for the engineering self-beliefs. Similar analysis procedure from Zimbabwe was
implemented. First, we obtained the keywords, and counted for frequency of reference
throughout the data for each question. Frequency was counted only per respondent, e.g., if a

keyword was exemplified in multiple ways in a single response, this was counted as a frequency
of 1.
Data and Results
In this section, we present the results from our content analysis of both Zimbabwe and Senegal
RPK assessments of engineering self-beliefs. We present the results for each of the three sub-
questions under the engineering self-beliefs section and then interpret them by associating with
existing literature and theories in the discussion section.
1. Definition of Engineering
In this first sub-question, students were asked to write their definition of engineering. We
compiled a list of keywords used to define engineering by reading through each response. For
example, if one response mentioned that engineering is making a machine and another response
said engineering is solving problems for the society, the keywords “making” and “solving
problems” were identified and then counted for their occurrence in all other responses. This
process was continued until saturation was reached after analysis of all of the responses. The
keywords were identified and later grouped into themes exclusively for each context. Some of
the themes overlapped between the two contexts and some did not. Table 1 presents the
percentage of keyword references made in the responses in both Zimbabwe and Senegal.
Activity
Percent Referenced
in Zimbabwe (n=25)
Percent Referenced
in Senegal
(n=142)
Making
40%
9%
Solving problems
16%
40%
Building
24%
3%
Application of Science, Math,
and Technology
-
19%
Design
-
18%
Make work easier
12%
-
Professionals
-
9%
Table 1: What activities define engineering?
Making, solving problems, and building were the common activities referenced in both the
contexts. In Zimbabwe, the most common way engineering was defined was through “making”.

In the responses, there were variations in how “making” happened. Some responses referred to
making things with their hands, while others specified that machines were used to make things.
A few said engineers build machines, while most focused on other finished products such as
solar lights, tailoring, and wooden products. Specific to the context of Zimbabwe, students
defined engineering as a task through which work is made easier and primarily associated it with
vocational skills such as carpentry, plumbing, and tailoring.
Comparatively, in Senegal, engineering was def ined as “solving problems” the most number of
times in their definitions. In particular, 32% of the responses specified solving problems for the
society or one’s own community. In addition to problem-solving, the students distinguished and
discussed activities such as application of STEM knowledge in the field and design. Students
associated design mainly with the field of construction like designing buildings and industrial
units. Specific to the context of Senegal, the student responses associated engineering with
engineers who are professionals with education from a university, those who can work in offices
with leadership and other professional competencies, and those who solve problems in the
community. One of the student responses is shown here as a sample: “ Someone that does
everything in their power to support, help and solve other people's problems or the
community's.” Students in Zimbabwe viewed the hands-on and vocational aspects of
engineering, often mentioning a finished product. Students in Senegal were more focused on the
theoretical side of engineering and often focused on the process of engineering.
2. Draw an Engineer
The student responses to drawing an engineer varied widely in terms of gender representations,
artifacts included, and the outlook of an engineer across the two contexts. Additionally, in
Senegal, only 44 girls actually drew in response to the question that asked them to draw. Fifty -
eight learners did not draw anything, and some of them responded with words saying, “I am not
good at drawing”. Forty students instead described in words what they thought engineers looked
like. For the purpose of comparison and image analysis, we only include the responses that
contained a drawing (n=44). In Zimbabwe, all 25 teams responded with a drawing.
Each drawing was analyzed for the images and artifacts contained in the pictures along with
whether and how they represented a specific gender in their drawing. For example, if a drawing
contained the image of a hammer, hard hat, and the individual wearing a skirt and having long
hair, they were coded for tools, protective gear, and female respectively. However, if one image
consisted of a hammer and a wrench, they were coded only once for tools. The most common
images and artifacts are listed in terms of the percentage of times referenced in the drawings in
Table 2.

Images and artifacts
Percent Referenced in
Zimbabwe (n=25)
Percent Referenced
in Senegal (n=44)
Work suit/Protective gear (e.g., Hard Hats,
Boots, Gloves, Vests, goggles)
68%
34%
Tools (e.g., shovel, hammer, trowel, wrench,
etc.)
60%
16%
Finished Product (e.g., stove, mortar & pestle)
16%
14%
Equipment (e.g., multimeter, oscilloscope,
tailoring machine, ammeter)
8%
16%
Working desk (table)/Stationery (e.g., pen,
pencil, ruler)
4%
5%
Formal attire (e.g., briefcase, tie, skirt, high
heels, bag)
-
34%
Table 2: Images and artifacts in pictures drawn by students
The images and artifacts represented in the drawings were consistent with the ways they defined
engineering in the first question. In Zimbabwe, engineers were mainly represented wearing
protective suits and gear such as hard hats, boots, gloves and holding tools, such as shovels,
hammers, wrenches, or trowels. A few drawings consisted of finished products alongside such as
cook stoves and solar lights. Working desks and equipment used in making or building activities
were also drawn by a few teams.
The Senegal drawings were well in contrast to Zimbabwe. Engineers were represented wearing
formal attire, wearing a tie (for male representations) and skirt (for female) and carrying a
briefcase. Equal amounts of representation were engineers wearing protective gear such as hard
hats and boots, but a few of the images also included a construction site that showcased the
engineer as a supervisor for a project. These depictions are in-line with the idea of engineering as
a high-status professional activity compared to more hands-on representations seen in
Zimbabwe.

Figure 1: Gender depiction of engineers
In both the Zimbabwean and Senegalese contexts, there were many drawings of engineers of an
indiscernible gender (44% in Zimbabwe, 58% in Senegal). These drawings were referenced as
having “Unknown” gender in our data. However, there is a stark difference between the contexts
when it comes to the drawings that did have a discernible gender. In Senegal, 71% of the
drawings of a discernible gender were of men, while 29% were of women. This is in consistency
with the findings from a study in the U.S. [36]. In Zimbabwe, this finding was almost totally
reversed, 79% of the drawings that had a discernible gender represented women, with only 21%
representing men. Some of the drawings in Zimbabwe with female engineers had written phrases
or descriptions, where the students described and affirmed the engineering activity the woman
was carrying out such as “able to build things”, “making dress”, “fixing electricity”. One of the
student teams went on to provide a personal identity to their engineer and wrote, “Engineer’s
name is Diana.”
3. Skills and Knowledge Required for Engineering
The third question in the assessment asked about the girls' views on skills and knowledge
required for engineering. Similar to the first question of defining engineering, the responses were
coded for keywords that represented knowledge, skills, or attitudes needed for engineering. The
codes were then grouped into categories and then into themes. In Senegal, four students did not
respond to the question, and they were removed from the analysis.

Skill or Knowledge
Percent Referenced in
Zimbabwe (n=25)
Percent Referenced in
Senegal (n=138)
Education / college / university
24%
24%
STEM knowledge
60%
26%
Knowledge of tools
12%
-
Professional competencies
-
13%
Attitudes (Self-confidence,
Pragmatist, Optimist, Determined,
Creative, Responsible)
12%
11%
Problem Solving
-
8%
Ethical
-
7%
Table 3: Skills and knowledge required for engineering
Both Zimbabwe and Senegalese girl learners placed formal education or training from a college
or university as a key trait for engineering. In Senegal the students also described high school
requirements to enter into engineering for higher education. Girls in Zimbabwe referenced
STEM knowledge as a requirement in high percentage (60%) and the specificity of STEM fields
varied between responses such as physics, chemistry, math, construction, and electrical
knowledge. In Senegal, in comparison to Zimbabwe, STEM knowledge was referenced less
(26%) but higher amongst all the traits discussed within the Senegal responses. They associated
STEM knowledge specific to electrical, electronics, math, and solar systems. As an attitudinal
trait, self-confidence was the most commonly mentioned personality trait in Zimbabwe with 12%
references. In Senegal, various attitudinal traits were referenced such as pragmatic, optimistic,
determined, creative, responsible with 11% references. Senegal data showed three other traits
that were exclusive to their context. Professional competencies such as leadership,
communication, and teamwork were explicitly written with 13% references. This is in-line with
how the students perceived engineers and engineering as a formal, and professional activity in
the first two questions. In addition, the Senegalese girls placed importance on being ethical as a
trait for engineering. They discussed ethics as following and meeting regulations, being
responsible for safety regulations, and adhering to the laws established in the system. In
Zimbabwe, knowledge of tools and protective clothing were also mentioned, once again showing
that students envision engineering as hands-on.
Discussion
The results from the RPK showed clear differences in engineering self-beliefs between the girls
in Zimbabwe and Senegal. We provide brief descriptions of how we have interpreted the results

for each context first below and then discuss broader connections to theory and relevant research
literature.
In Senegal, most girls’ definitions of engineering were closely linked to problem solving in their
communities. They showed a clear understanding of the connections between engineering and
socio-economic or project management factors. Most girls also understood that an emphasis on
STEM was necessary in engineering. The students showed great awareness of their surroundings
and how to relate them to engineering. It is significant to note that some of the girls emphasized
that engineering required high moral values to best support their community. In the DAET, most
Senegalese girls' discernible drawings presented men as engineers. The artifacts drawn along
with the individuals aligned with the results from the studies in the U.S. like hard hats, hammers,
boots, gloves, protection gear, etc. [36]. However, a significant number of girls drew their
engineers holding briefcases, and most of the women engineers wore high heels; one student
even added a pair of earrings as well. These responses were an interesting insight into what the
girls’ associate engineers with, the drawings showed both blue- and white-collar attributes. Even
when analyzing the required competencies to be an engineer that the girls listed, we can clearly
see that they emphasize having done extensive tertiary education. Although some mention the
importance of training and practical experience, their responses show a stronger consideration of
theoretical knowledge through higher education. The colonial history of Senegal could be a
factor influencing the girls’ perceptions of engineers and engineering. A significant number of
girls mentioned having a “bac+5”, meaning 5 years of higher education after graduating high
school. Unsurprisingly, this terminology is specific to the French higher education system [37].
Their drawings and definitions showed that the students greatly associate engineering with
prestige, just like in France [11]. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the girls’
engineering self-beliefs, we intend on doing member-checking through interviews with some of
the girls to get a better understanding of their responses.
In Zimbabwe, the girls’ definitions of engineering related more to vocational activities like
carpentry, plumbing, construction and making tools/machines. They were also able to show great
understanding of the problem-solving characteristics of those activities. The girls emphasized on
the necessity for machine efficiency to “minimize” work, most likely because they associate
engineering related tasks with intensive physical labor. For example, one student team
responded, “engineering is the process that involves making machines and to make hard work
maybe easier.” In their drawings of engineers, the artifacts were similar to those of Senegal,
however they mostly focused on tools for physical activities. Interestingly, the girls drew
predominantly more women than male engineers compared to Senegal. This is probably due to
the greater number of women researchers in Zimbabwe compared to Senegal, which would mean
more possible role models for the girls. In 2013, Zimbabwe counted about 25,3% of women in
natural science research against 16,7% in Senegal at the time. Their drawings showed that the
girls in Zimbabwe also have a great ability to connect engineering to their surroundings. The
girls in Senegal were able to write more specifically about their surroundings, while the girls in

Zimbabwe represented their environment in the drawings. Finally, the competencies the girls
listed focused mostly on vocational knowledge, however most girls mentioned some sort of
specific science and math knowledge as well. The theoretical knowledge is not emphasized as
much as it is with the Senegalese responses, but a few answers included them. Although the
colonial influence may not be as obvious as it can be in some of the responses found in Senegal,
it is undeniable that the British colonial impacts still shape Zimbabwe’s education system. Black
Zimbabweans were only allowed to attend “F2” schools, which were meant to teach “building,
woodwork and technical drawing” [38]. These schools were intended to keep the indigenous
population less educated, however, a significant number of Black Zimbabweans were able to
start successful construction businesses with this education, which is why these institutions were
abolished afterwards. Unfortunately access to higher education for Black Zimbabweans remains
an issue, especially due to the economic crisis the country has been managing for years, and the
high tuition fees [38]. This crisis has especially impacted teachers, who are extremely underpaid
and ridiculed by the general population in the country [38]. The “brain-drain” associated with the
economic crisis has left the country with a shortage of engineers and teachers, reducing the
number of well-trained educators; unfortunately, such teachers are key to initiating and
maintaining children in STEM tracks [38], [39].
Considering the different cultures, perceptions, and history for each context, it is necessary to
contextualize our curriculum accordingly. The girls in both countries are clearly influenced by
Euro-centric definitions and competencies for an engineer. One of the ways to make our
curricula more complete would be to show the girls the many perceptions of engineering
depending on the context. For example, show the girls in Zimbabwe that in Senegal, engineering
is associated with high social status and extensive studies. Additionally, including an indigenous
definition of an engineer into the curriculum could be a way to make the profession even more
relatable to the girls. Adding location-specific African indigenous knowledge into our curriculum
would help our students have a less Euro-centric perception of engineers, and it would also give
their local communities a more important role in our programs. We hope to support growth in the
girls’ abilities to navigate engineering in local and global contexts, especially since it is the 8th
ABET EC-2000 learning outcome [37]. Prior studies of both draw a scientist and draw an
engineer test in the U.S. have reported that both boy and girl students are more likely to draw
men. Knight and Cunningham [36] reported 40% of drawings depicting females as engineers in
their study with K-12 students in the U.S. as unusually high. The authors also interpreted that the
role of female engineers from their institutions played with the learners over time could have
influenced the students' perceptions. In our study, in Zimbabwe, there is no evidence of the girl
learners having engaged with female engineer role models before the time of this assessment.
From the DAET results, we decided that it would be necessary to expose the Senegalese girls to
various African women engineers as a way to build their motivation and self-confidence in
STEM. We also intend to add more entrepreneurship components to the program because the
girls showed great abilities to relate engineering to non-STEM perspectives.

There were a few limitations to this study, the most obvious one being the COVID-19 pandemic.
The researchers of the lab could not be in person to do the prior assessment work with the local
community and had to rely on the partners in place. Deploying the instrument in Senegal was
especially challenging since the 142 girls all took the RPK individually, and the partners were
tasked to scan every page of the surveys for us to analyze the answers. Before getting to the
RPK, there was a flyer which promoted the engineering design program, it can be found in
Appendix A. During the analysis, we noticed that some of the girls were copying what was
written on the flyer leading to the RPK, probably because they thought they had to use it to
answer the questions. One common method to teach French grammar to West-African students
in primary school is to have them re-write and read out loud the instructions, which could
explain why some students copied the flyer [40]. We also noticed that many girls did not do the
DAET because they doubted their drawing abilities. These issues could have probably been
avoided if the researchers had been there to specify the instructions in person. Unfortunately, due
to logistical and communication barriers, it was the first version of the RPK that was distributed
to the students, this version did not have the revised and improved questions developed after the
cognitive interviews. This resulted in a great portion of the girls being confused by the same
question as our participants during the cognitive interview.
Conclusion
There are significant overlaps and stark differences between the engineering self-beliefs of
secondary school girls in Zimbabwe and Senegal. A few notable differences include their gender
depictions of engineers, as well as their definitions of the activities that engineers do. We found
that the girl students in Zimbabwe are more likely to describe engineers as women then as men
compared to Senegal. We also found that the girl students in Zimbabwe were more focused on
the final product that engineering provides, while students in Senegal were more focused on the
process of engineering. Identifying these varying self-beliefs allows us to find relevant content
and contextualize the curriculum to support a holistic engineering education for students in both
these contexts. Though preliminary, it is safe to assert that this study also contributes towards
validating the usefulness of our RPK assessment as an instrument for using self-beliefs to find
nuanced prior knowledge that further supports contextualization. A detailed analysis of the other
components in the RPK assessment in reference to the self-belief’s component will yield
additional evidence necessary for curriculum changes. Using the cognitive interviews before our
implementation in Senegal, also conveys the need to contextualize the RPK itself before using it
in other contexts. In conclusion, our research has shown how our Recognition of Prior
Knowledge assessment can be used to gather data about the engineering self-beliefs of learners
and how the difference in self-beliefs between two contexts provide critical information about
the students, their context, and culture necessary to design sustainable and relevant learning
programs.

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