Evolution of Engineering Education Research as a Field of Inquiry in the UK

Abstract

We report on a preliminary investigation to determine the current state of Engineering Education Research (EER) within the UK, as well as its likely growth trajectory. The investigation involved the analysis and categorisation of articles published in the period 2000 -2017 by UK authors in the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE), the International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE) and the European Journal of Engineering Education (EJEE). A similar analysis was also carried out on EER- focussed PhD theses published in the UK in the same period. Our study establishes that the level of engagement in EER in the UK is still relatively low, as evidenced by the small number of published articles. In addition, our study also finds that EER publications from the UK are predominantly single-authored, or from single institutions. This suggests low levels of internal and external collaboration amongst EER researchers in the UK.