Sense of Belonging within an Undergraduate First-Year Engineering Program: Comparison Across Different Levels of Math Readiness and URM Status

Hamidreza Taimoory; David Gray; Tameka Sharona Clarke Douglas

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: First-Year Programs Division: Best of FPD
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs Division (FYP)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47961

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Paper Authors

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Hamidreza Taimoory Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-3996-4750

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Hamidreza is a Ph.D. candidate in Engineering Education and has a master's degree in industrial engineering at Virginia Tech (VT). He is currently working at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as a data analyst III. He is a dedicated data scientist with a passion for leveraging data to drive strategic decision-making and solve complex problems. His expertise is in quantitative research and data science. His primary research interests are transfer students, motivation, co-curricular activities, student support perceptions, and professional development in engineering education.

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David Gray Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0003-0159-9150

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Dr. Gray receieved his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2000. He then earned a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2002 and 2010, respectively. Much of his graduate education focus

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Tameka Sharona Clarke Douglas Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Tameka Clarke Douglas, is an Assistant Collegiate Professor in The Department of Engineering Education.

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Abstract

Complete Paper: There is an emergent call for engineering higher-education programs to increase the perceived value of an undergraduate education. Many institutions are focusing on methods to increase engineering students' persistence and decrease time to graduation.. Engineering program belonging is developed to measure the extent to which students feel supported, respected, and included by their colleagues, mentors, and faculty in engineering. The sense of belonging is a critical factor that can significantly affect student engagement, satisfaction, and retention in engineering programs. Although providing an academic environment that contributes to student sense of belonging, in general, is important, it is also critical to pay attention to the specific subgroups of students that may require different kinds of institutional attention. Recent trends and institutional data have suggested that the level of math that an engineering student has attained upon entering the program is a significant predictor for persistence and time to matriculation. Math readiness is a critical component of success for undergraduate students, particularly those entering fields that require a strong mathematical foundation, such as engineering, physics, computer science, and economics. Students with different levels of math readiness may feel a different sense of belonging. Therefore, institutes of higher learning need to consider specific areas of focus in curricular development or extra-curricular programming that can contribute to students’ sense of belonging, which will contribute to their success and persistence.

This research aims to explore the differential engineering sense of belonging among undergraduate student groups, including 1- students who want to persist in engineering, leave the engineering program, or leave college, and 2- students with different levels of math readiness. We also explore different levels of math readiness within white and non-white student groups. This research paper uses multiple comparison analyses between undergraduate student groups to uncover differences in reported sense of belonging and to examine if differences in belonging are influences in student matriculation in the second year. This study uses the engineering program belonging instrument that was developed to measure areas where students feel supported and included by their colleagues, mentors, and faculty. This quantitative study analyzes an online administered self-reported survey collected from more than 8,700 undergraduate students within the first several weeks of an introductory General Engineering program from fall 2015 to spring 2020. Results suggest significant differences in most engineering sense of belonging subsets between engineers who persist in engineering compared to students who want to leave engineering or college. Furthermore, results identified significant differences in some of the students’ engineering sense of belonging subsets between students with math readiness in comparison with students with no or high level of math readiness. These findings highlight engineering sense of belonging as a leading indicator of matriculation and reinforce calls to provide supplementation for students in engineering programs who have not completed adequate mathematical instruction prior to entering their first year.

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Format

Taimoory, H., & Gray, D., & Clarke Douglas, T. S. (2024, June), Sense of Belonging within an Undergraduate First-Year Engineering Program: Comparison Across Different Levels of Math Readiness and URM Status Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47961

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Complete Paper: There is an emergent call for engineering higher-education programs to increase the perceived value of an undergraduate education.  Many institutions are focusing on methods to increase engineering students&#39; persistence and decrease time to graduation.. Engineering program belonging is developed to measure the extent to which students feel supported, respected, and included by their colleagues, mentors, and faculty in engineering. The sense of belonging is a critical factor that can significantly affect student engagement, satisfaction, and retention in engineering programs. Although providing an academic environment that contributes to student sense of belonging, in general, is important, it is also critical to pay attention to the specific subgroups of students that may require different kinds of institutional attention.   Recent trends and institutional data have suggested that the level of math that an engineering student has attained upon entering the program is a significant predictor for persistence and time to matriculation.  Math readiness is a critical component of success for undergraduate students, particularly those entering fields that require a strong mathematical foundation, such as engineering, physics, computer science, and economics. Students with different levels of math readiness may feel a different sense of belonging. Therefore, institutes of higher learning need to consider specific areas of focus in curricular development or extra-curricular programming that can contribute to students’ sense of belonging, which will contribute to their success and persistence.

This research aims to explore the differential engineering sense of belonging among undergraduate student groups, including 1- students who want to persist in engineering, leave the engineering program, or leave college, and 2- students with different levels of math readiness. We also explore different levels of math readiness within white and non-white student groups. This research paper uses multiple comparison analyses between undergraduate student groups to uncover differences in reported sense of belonging and to examine if differences in belonging are influences in student matriculation in the second year.  This study uses the engineering program belonging instrument that was developed to measure areas where students feel supported and included by their colleagues, mentors, and faculty. This quantitative study analyzes an online administered self-reported survey collected from more than 8,700 undergraduate students within the first several weeks of an introductory General Engineering program from fall 2015 to spring 2020. Results suggest significant differences in most engineering sense of belonging subsets between engineers who persist in engineering compared to students who want to leave engineering or college. Furthermore, results identified significant differences in some of the students’ engineering sense of belonging subsets between students with math readiness in comparison with students with no or high level of math readiness. These findings highlight engineering sense of belonging as a leading indicator of matriculation and reinforce calls to provide supplementation for students in engineering programs who have not completed adequate mathematical instruction prior to entering their first year. 
AU  - Hamidreza Taimoory
AU  - David Gray
AU  - Tameka Sharona Clarke Douglas
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Sense of Belonging within an Undergraduate First-Year Engineering Program: Comparison Across Different Levels of Math Readiness and URM Status
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47961
ER  -