Determining the cognitive structures of primary school 4th grade female students for the engineering profession

In this study, which aims to determine the interest and attitude levels of primary school 4th grade female students towards the engineering profession and their image characteristics towards engineering, the parallel design converging from the mixed research method designs was used. Scanning design was used in the quantitative stage of the design, and the basic qualitative research design was used in the qualitative stage. The quantitative phase of the research was carried out with 420 female students studying in the 4th grade of primary school. Quantitative data were obtained by using "Primary School Students' Interest and Attitude Scale towards Engineering". Qualitative data were obtained using the "Draw an Engineer Test" and semi-structured interviews based on student drawings. In the qualitative stage, drawings were obtained from 432 female students by using the "draw an engineer doing business" instruction within the scope of the "Draw an Engineer Test" and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 76 students based on the drawings. Quantitative data obtained were analyzed descriptively and independent groups t-test was applied. Content analysis technique was used in the analysis of qualitative data. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the students' interest and attitudes towards engineering are high and that being an engineer in their family does not make a significant difference in their interests and attitudes towards engineering. In addition, it was concluded that the students evaluated the engineering profession with its processes and features. It was determined that the students dealt with the processes of the engineering profession with the integration of engineering stages and STEM disciplines, and the characteristics of the engineering profession with gender, age, emotional state, clothing, professional tools, working environment, working method and engineering disciplines. Keywords: Draw Engineer, Engineer Image, Engineering Education, STEM Education