Engineering Education Research in Canada: Out from the Shadow of a Giant

Background: Engineering education research (EER) is relatively new in Canada, and there is a sense it is “lagging behind” EER in the United States (U.S.). This relative newness, coupled with the epistemological and normative differences between its parent disciplines (engineering and education), presents many challenges to developing the EER community, including establishing physical and disciplinary homes, dedicated funding, and identity. These challenges impact how the field matures. Given the different phases of development between the two nations and their geographical and cultural proximity, EER scholars in Canada should be able to learn from the development of EER in the U.S. to address these challenges and advance the field in Canada.

Purpose: This article offers a comparative look at EER in Canada and the U.S., so Canadian scholars and scholars living in areas where EER is emerging can learn from the development of EER in the U.S. and address the challenges in advancing the field in their region.

Scope: We share our understandings of the contextual elements of EER in Canada compared to the U.S. based on the literature and on the scholarship and lived experiences of the authors. We theorize Canada’s challenges in developing the EER field using McAlpine’s (2012) Identity-Trajectory framework.

Discussion/Conclusions: EER in Canada is challenged by a lack of home, funding, and identity. These tensions create a circular logic, preventing the growth of EER as a legitimate field in Canada, and must be addressed. The development of EER in Canada lags, yet follows similar patterns to EER in the U.S. As such, Canada should be able to advance EER in the Canadian context by learning from the national and international infrastructure that the U.S. has helped establish and following pathways that better suit the Canadian context.