Conference Session

Technical Session 4a

Collection

2017 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Ruth E. Davis, Santa Clara University

Tagged Topics

Diversity, Pacific Southwest Section

more likely to blame a lack of hard work or being treated unfairly.On the other hand, men were more likely to attribute success to their abilities, while the womenwere more likely to attribute success to outside help.Consistent with this finding, much of the research suggests that women’s persistence inengineering is tied to their self-efficacy in the field. Self-efficacy “refers to beliefs in one’scapabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce givenattainments.”[5] This includes dimensions of confidence in one’s abilities, commitment to achosen path, and positive feedback with respect to accomplishments. It is based on anindividual’s perception, not always in agreement with an objective assessment, of

Conference Session

Technical Session 1c

Collection

2017 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Alvaro Monge, California State University, Long Beach; Panadda Marayong, California State University, Long Beach; Shadnaz Asgari, California State University, Long Beach; Birgit Penzenstadler; Praveen Shankar, California State University, Long Beach

Tagged Topics

Diversity, Pacific Southwest Section

engineering programs atCSULB and the career possibilities these programs lead to. The workshops included pre and postsurveys to measure the impact of the activities and of student interest in the disciplines. Thesurveys are still being transcribed from their paper form and the team will analyze the results at alater time.IV. RetentionThe retention strategy, designed to help promote self-efficacy and professional development, usesa two-pronged approach: a) creating modules for implementation within several first-yearintroductory courses in engineering and computing that promote a deep understanding of careeroptions and strengthen problem solving abilities, and b) holding a series of faculty and staffdevelopment workshops focused on understanding