Lee, E. (2019, June), Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions  Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32249

\bibitem{asee_peer_32249}
  Lee, E. (2019, June), \emph{Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions}
  Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida.
  10.18260/1-2--32249

Eunsil Lee.  "Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions".  2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2019.  https://peer.asee.org/32249 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_32249}
  Eunsil Lee.
  "Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions".
  \emph{2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2019.
  https://peer.asee.org/32249 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_32249
author = "Eunsil Lee"
title = "Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions"
booktitle = "2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition "
year = "2019"
month = "June"
address = "Tampa, Florida"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/32249}
number = {10.18260/1-2--32249}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -    A defining feature of many U.S. doctoral engineering programs is their large proportion of international students. According to Weidman’s graduate socialization model, this diversity in nationality (and associated languages, cultures, etc.) can make interactions between students of different nations (including domestic students) more challenging, which potentially has negative impact on their sense of belonging. Supporting these claims are recent findings showing: 1) engineering doctoral students reported a relatively lower sense of belonging within their academic department compared to students in other disciplines, and 2) differences in sense of belonging were reported between domestic and international students.    

   Sense of belonging is a key indicator of a student’s academic integration and persistence intentions. The concept of belonging is still evolving and there has been a recent call for viewing it as a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon impacted by extra-institutional factors, such as socio-cultural facets of individual students. An emphasis has been made to take account of disciplinary specific characteristics, such as interpersonal interactions with faculty/peers that contribute to departmental culture. Most current research on sense of belonging in engineering education focuses on undergraduate students and rarely considers nationality despite an increased call to better understand international graduate student sense of belonging. 

   This poster presents my in progress dissertation study that looks to explore and advance understanding around international doctoral students’ sense of belonging. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to re-think the theoretical concept of ‘sense of belonging’ in the context of engineering doctoral education. The constructs and predictors (e.g., qualities of interpersonal interactions with faculty/peers) of student sense of belonging and influence of sense of belonging on student intention to remain in the US after graduation will be investigated. A multi-phase sequential mixed methods research will be conducted to attain the overarching goal: 

   1)	Study 1: Understand the constructs of sense of belonging and positively perceived peer/faculty interpersonal interactions among international engineering doctoral students. A qualitative interview approach using the Critical Incident Technique will be used for data collection. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. 
   2)	Study 2: Develop an instrument using the emergent constructs from Study 1 to measure engineering doctoral students’ sense of belonging and perceived quality of interactions with faculty/peers. The survey will be deployed to engineering doctoral students. Responses will be analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to examine validity evidence. 
   3)	Study 3: Use structural equation modeling to explore the correlations between constructs and compare the different correlation patterns among the participants from different groups (e.g., domestic vs. international students). Findings from the first study will be integrated.

   The outcomes of the three phases will contribute to building the foundational knowledge and providing the big picture on the states of students’ sense of belonging in engineering doctoral education. This research is urgently needed in engineering education to facilitate an inclusive culture.
AU  - Eunsil Lee
CY  - Tampa, Florida
DA  - 2019/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 138: Rethinking Engineering Doctoral Students’ Sense of Belonging: In Consideration of Nationality, Diversity, and Interpersonal Interactions
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/32249
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--32249
ER  -