Mechatronics Engineering in a Face-to-Face Learning Displacement Environment: Its Students' Self-concepts and Challenges

It's critical to comprehend how students see themselves as engineers and the obstacles they face in finishing their degree. The goal of this research is to look at engineering students' self-perceptions and obstacles in a face-to-face learning setting. The University of Technology Bahrain's College of Engineering's Mechatronics department is where the study was carried out. The 374 participants-who hadfinished two or more engineering courses-were divided into two groups: those who spent a year in a face-to-face learning setting and those who did not. The end of SY2020-2021 and SY2021-2022 marked the collection of data for the 1st and 2nd groups, respectively. Focus groups were used to collect qualitative data, while Google forms were used to collect all quantitative data. The face-to-face learning displacement environment, which 185 engineering students from SY2021-2022 experienced for two years (M=3.4, SD=0.09), was found to significantly improve the engineering self-concept with a p-value less than 0.00001 when compared to the 189 engineering students who experienced it for one year (M=2.93, SD=0.09). According to qualitative research, students who have successfully completed two years of in-person instruction under the guidance ofprofessors have a more positive perception of their own abilities, competencies, and skills when it comes to handling engineering issues. Conversely, the students struggle with laboratory activities since they haven't had enough hands-on experience. It is suggested to use a face-to-face learning displacement setting for teaching engineering courses.