Simulation Based Printing Engineering Education for Women in Engineering Students in South Korea

Abstract

To increase the retention rate of women engineering students as human resources of the field of Graphic Arts and Printing (GAP) industries in South Korea, we introduced the simulation based engineering education method and developed the screen printing simulator for same purpose. Before setting up this education method, factor analysis for female engineering students at P University, which is a model university in South Korea, was conducted. The analytical results showed that social and cultural effects are more significant ones than social effect alone, and the effects of gender discrimination in industrial fields. Also results showed responses that the physical differences between man and women students, such as the ability to drive printing machines or to handle tools, their parents’ financial support for experiments, and the gender cognitive engineering education. In this research, we developed the measurement tool to measure women students’ competencies in GAP industries and contributed to make the women in engineering education according to the results of factor analysis. These researches have been progressed since 2006 annually, and we had proposed to programs for the gender cognitive engineering education and the special programs for women engineering students. The retention rate of female engineering students was increased from 30% at 2006 to over 50% in 2016. And the rate of women students who change their major from 5% to decreased 1 %. According to the lecture evaluation, 98% of women students were very satisfied the simulated education method. So we found that the factor analysis and the simulated engineering education system for GAP women students have progressed successfully.