IS PEDAGOGICAL FOCUS ENOUGH TO RETAIN STUDENT INTEREST IN ENGINEERING?

In line with the new policy introduced in 2005, Victoria University (VU) decided to implement new pedagogical directions. The two engineering schools, as a consequence, introduced Problem-Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy in their undergraduate engineering programs. It was hoped that this action would inspire more and better qualified students, of both genders, to consider engineering courses at VU. This was followed by an extensive publicity in secondary schools and vocational colleges. Despite some small increase in attracting greater number of students to engineering, VU engineering still remained as the least attractive destination for students considering engineering as their course of study. The proportion of girls who chose VU engineering remained low. Seven years of surveys showed an increasing awareness of PBL at VU amongst final year secondary students. It also showed that being aware of PBL would more likely attract students to VU engineering than act as a disincentive. A large proportion of students however would have preferred more traditional instructive teaching in augmenting PBL subjects. The relative high proportion of students indicating their desire to transfer to another university showed that PBL had little effect on possible attrition rates suggesting that other strategies need to be adopted.