Value through the voices: Exploring making and its impact on engineering identity formation of underrepresented groups

The institution of engineering has been resistant to change, but the latest developments of university-affiliated makerspaces present an opportunity to innovatively address such change. Makerspace cultures could perpetuate the normative cultures that have persisted in engineering environments. By looking at makerspaces while in their infancy, we can potentially influence the shaping of future makerspace infrastructure and aspects that contribute to the perpetuation of an exclusionary culture. This study aims to uncover whether investments in makerspaces are supporting the development of another institution of privilege, exclusion, and inequity. Specifically, this study seeks to understand how engaging in makerspaces impacts identity formation by exploring the identity construction of engineering students, specifically those from URGs, as they engage in university-affiliated makerspaces.