Navigating and reconciling identity interference and values conflicts associated with our engineering identities: A conceptual framework

Abstract

Identity research has revealed that the identities that we take on can impact on our motivations and behavior. For example, the extent to which a person identifies themselves as an engineer influences how they fulfill that role. Identity research also points out that people have multiple identities, and our response to a situation is dynamically constructed based on the identities at play. However, the importance a person ascribes to one identity relative to another can potentially create interference between identities, especially since different cultural norms can inform those identities. This is particularly important for students from underrepresented populations in engineering, where the dominant identities are male, white, and heteronormative. Therefore this work-in-progress paper describes a framework for use and validation in future studies exploring our students' identities and how they can be better supported in navigating identity interference resulting from values conflicts.