oa An investigation into specific skills requiring enhancement in Qatari high school students to succeed in an engineering education

Freshmen students at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), take a compulsory course called “Fundamentals of Engineering I”. It mainly focuses on five engineering principles: problem solving, analysis, design, team work and technology. An investigation of how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are being taught in Qatari high schools was conducted to determine the limitations students have in the aforementioned principles. Surveys of students and teachers from eight Qatari high schools were conducted, and the teaching process was observed in the classrooms. It was detected that the most drawbacks in the investigated engineering principles were team work, design and use of technology. The purpose of this paper is to showcase the major results obtained from the surveys and observations. Possible solutions are suggested in order to increase the exposure of the Qatari high school students to the main engineering principles and hence make them better prepared for college engineering courses.