The Effect on Images of an Engineering Program Participate toward 'Engineering' and 'Technology' through Semantic Differential Method

This study has a purpose to analyse changes in perception and image about engineering and technology of students who participated in the engineering camp. To achieve this objective, the questions were as follows. 1) What about participants' image difference for engineering before and after participating the engineering camp 2) What about participants' image difference for technology before and after participating the engineering camp. For this study, the program was progressed from Aug in 2017 and the data was collected from 88 students, middle school seniors and high school freshmen. The results of this study were as follows: First, secondary students perceived 'valuable(6.74)', 'meaningful(6.73)', 'rich(6.40)', 'collaborative(6.42)', 'nice(6.22)' as high image rank of the positive response for engineering. On the other hand, 'complex(3.59)', 'labored(3.80)', 'hard(4.66)', 'dangerous(4.48)', 'cold(4.86)' were perceived as low image rank of the negative response for engineering. We can realize that they generally has the image that engineering is valuable, meaningful and nice but also labored, complex and hard. The students who participated in the engineering camp showed the greatest difference in 'complex - simple' and 'dangerous - safe' engineering categories before and after the camp, followed by 'cold - hot', 'labored - easy', and 'hard - soft', respectively. Second, secondary students perceived 'meaningful(6.58)', 'valuable(6.55)', 'wide(6.38)', 'nice(6.37)', 'strong(6.25)' as high image rank of the positive response for technology. On the other hand, 'complex(3.85)', 'labored(3.93)', 'hard(4.62)', 'dangerous(4.72)', 'cold(5.05)' were perceived as low image rank of the negative response for technology. The students who participated in the engineering camp had the big change in 'hard - soft' technology category before and after the camp, followed by 'complex - simple', 'labored - easy', 'theoretical - practical' and 'dangerous - safe', respectively. We can see that the negative images for technology which were complex, labored, dangerous, theoretical was improved with positive image such as simple, easy, safe and practical, after conducting the engineering camp. In conclusion, both image recognitions for engineering and technology have improved after the camp. It means that interesting and entertaining engineering-technology program can boost interests in engineering and technology which felt difficult, so that images about them can be turned out positive. Also, it is possible to reduce avoidance of natural science and engineering subjects, as part of the purpose of training creative talents in science and engineering, so it can be said that the engineering camp is highly meaningful because it can lead students into the field of science and engineering.

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