{"id":226880,"date":"2025-03-19T07:15:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T11:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=226880"},"modified":"2025-03-20T16:06:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T20:06:58","slug":"nsf-project-evaluates-students-attitudes-toward-human-rights-in-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/03\/nsf-project-evaluates-students-attitudes-toward-human-rights-in-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"NSF Project Evaluates Students\u2019 Attitudes Toward Human Rights in Engineering\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, more than 2 million tourists flock to the Peruvian Andes town of Cusco, to visit remnants of the Inca Empire and its world-famous citadel, Machu Picchu. Rapid urbanization with this tourism boom however, didn\u2019t develop at the same pace as infrastructure and transportation services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, low-income residents who live on the outskirts of the city\u2019s center have less access to employment, medical care, education, and social events because they don\u2019t own a private vehicle or their communities lack public transportation,\u201d explains <\/span>Davis Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado<\/span><\/a>, an assistant professor jointly appointed in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. \u201cThis is a key barrier for many people to access opportunities and services, resulting in <\/span>barriers to participation <\/span>and <\/span>disparities in access<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By using an engineering for human rights<\/a>-based approach, Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado and doctoral student Ashley Ben\u00edtez Ou developed a metric of transport disadvantage and<\/span> equal access <\/span>in Cusco\u2019s outer districts. Their goal is to provide data-driven insights so that rural Cusco residents have equal access to essential services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe as engineers have the potential to either alleviate or intensify societal challenges. Engineering shapes every facet of human life, and with this level of influence comes a profound responsibility.\u201d \u2014 Davis Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Having the ability to see a doctor or travel to the inner city to work is a human right,\u201d Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado says. \u201cWe as engineers have the potential to either alleviate or intensify societal challenges. Engineering shapes every facet of human life, and with this level of influence comes a profound responsibility.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado is Principal Investigator on a recently awarded National Science Foundation grant, \u201c<\/span>Measuring Changes in Attitudes Towards Human Rights in Engineering Students<\/span><\/a>,\u201d that explores ways expand students’ awareness of engineering’s societal impact. He and fellow UConn researchers will use the study\u2019s findings to shape human rights curriculum for engineering students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other members of the research team include <\/span>Arash\u202fEsmaili Zaghi<\/span><\/a>, professor of civil and environmental engineering; <\/span>Shareen Hertel<\/span><\/a>, Wiktor Osiaty\u0144ski Chair of Human Rights and professor of political science; and <\/span>Betsy McCoach<\/span><\/a>, professor of\u202fresearch methods, measurements, and evaluation from the Neag School of Education. Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado and Hertel also co-direct UConn\u2019s <\/span>Engineering for Human Rights Initiative<\/span><\/a>, a collaborative venture between UConn\u2019s College of Engineering and the UConn\u2019s <\/span>Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs students progress through their undergraduate education, their concern for societal well-being tends to diminish,\u201d Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado says. \u201cThe Measuring Changes project proposes that incorporating human rights\u2014particularly principles like indivisibility of rights, accountability, and participation\u2014into the engineering curricula can bridge this gap, fostering a more socially aware generation of engineers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Learning Modules\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado and his team are developing contextualized training modules that will be deployed within current engineering curriculum. The four main modules are aligned with specific learning objectives. They cover foundational concepts of human rights\u202fand related ethical paradigms; historical perspectives and connections between engineering and human rights; human rights-based and ethical approaches to engineering practice; and tools used by engineers to assess the impact of human rights and consideration of human rights impacts. The content is based in part on critical observations gleaned during teaching that Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado carried out jointly with Sandra Sirota, assistant professor in residence in Human Rights and Experiential Global Learning\u2014in particular, from their course on \u201cEngineering for Human Rights\u201d (ENGR\/HRTS 2300). The team has the help of a graduate research assistant, Natalie Goncalves, a Master\u2019s student in Human Rights. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the NSF grant period, the research team will integrate the four modules within a controlled comparative research setting, by applying them selectively to student cohorts across two classes: Transportation Engineering and Planning (CE 2710) and Civil Engineering Projects (CE 4900W). Not every student will receive the extra training modules. As part of this quasi-experimental design structure, one group is considered the \u201ctreatment\u201d and the other the \u201ccontrol\u201d group.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After deploying the modules, the team will survey both groups to measure the effectiveness of the modules by measuring the change in attitudes towards human rights in engineering. They\u2019ll derive psychometric measures from the survey results and use statistical reports to support the quantitative differences.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur hypothesis is\u202fthat tailored engineering modules focused on human rights positively influence the attitudes of engineering students towards human rights and the social impact of engineering in society, when compared to a control group of students who do not receive human rights education using a quasi-experimental design,\u201d Zaghi says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond UConn<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Assistant<\/a>
Assistant Professor Davis Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado, pictured here at an EWB project in Peru, received an NSF grant to study how engineering students perceive human rights in engineering. Findings from this project are relevant to broader human rights education in STEM (contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the study is completed, the outcomes and modules will be available freely to both English and Spanish speakers on the Engineering for Human Rights website.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that these dissemination efforts will reach not only engineering educators but also human rights organizations and community-based groups with experience in engaging communities in New England and abroad,\u201d Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado says. \u201cWe hope this will also facilitate research on the development of practical and cross-culturally appropriate tools for education, training, and mentorship tools from diverse contexts and schools in both the U.S. and Global South.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHuman rights are critical enablers of economic development and shared prosperity, promoting progress within the United States and throughout the world <\/span>\u2013 whether in global regions like Cusco, Peru or rural parts of the US<\/span>,\u201d Chac\u00f3n-Hurtado says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ongoing Efforts in Engineering for Human Rights\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This innovative approach to engineering education is integral to the broader Engineering for Human Rights Initiative at UConn, which applies a human rights framework to diverse engineering challenges\u2014from sanitation to sustainable transportation, and from environmental risk management to economic resilience research. Several students, faculty, and alumni have already completed projects in the discipline:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n