Working class engineers

How can engineering education be a path to recruiting a more socially diverse student population? Building on data from surveys of bachelor engineering students at a Norwegian technical university over 3 years, this study examines their motivations for studying engineering, separated by parent's educational background to see if we can discern differences in the motivation for engineering students with parents without higher education, that can point to ways of recruiting a more socially diverse student population. The data suggests that references to previous vocational education and/or work in industry are highly overrepresented in working-class students. This suggests that the (not so straightforward) path from vocational education to higher education is particularly important for this student group. Updated with minor typographical corrections: June 30, 2025.