Conference Session

Attitudes, Self-Confidence, and Self-Efficacy of Women Engineering Students

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Holly Matusovich, Virginia Tech; Ruth Streveler, Purdue University; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Barbara Olds, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

context. This study is part of a larger body of work, the AcademicPathways Study (APS), conducted by the NSF-funded Center for Advancement of EngineeringEducation (CAEE).Introduction Which students persist in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields?Looking for ways to increase persistence rates, we frequently research the characteristics thatdifferentiate persisters and non-persisters. However, the choice to persist may not be as binaryas these two terms would imply. The research reported here begins to unravel the complexitiesof persistence by looking at the choice to be an engineer as a process extending over time andinvolving continually motivated decisions. By taking the perspective of students who persist inearning

Conference Session

Issues of Persistence in Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peggy Meszaros, Virginia Tech; Catherine Amelink, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

in which the majority of undergraduates received SME education. Initially335 students were interviewed by phone; interviews were recorded, transcribed, andcoded. A second round of interviewing with an additional 125 students on six extracampuses led to a total of 460 students in the study. Findings from this comprehensivestudy revealed students who had switched out of SME majors and those who chose toremain were more similar than different in abilities, motivations, and study-relatedbehaviors. Those students retained had developed coping strategies and had experiencedfaculty intervention at critical decision points in their academic or personal life. Theissues and concerns of students who left SME and those who stayed were the same acrossall

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jessica Rohlfing, Arizona State University; Erin Kube, Arizona State University; Brandon Yabko, Arizona State University; Erika Murguia, Arizona State University; Jennifer Bekki, Arizona State University Polytechnic; Bianca Bernstein, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

think harder and more imaginatively; satisfying advisors were also describedas attentive, willing to listen, and enthusiastic about their student’s work. Additionally, studentswere satisfied with advisors who gave them freedom and independence to explore research ideas,but also provided feedback and direction when needed.However, in reality, it can be quite difficult to find an advisor who possesses all of thesecharacteristics in addition to sharing research interests with the student. As a result, studentsmay need to seek alternate sources of support. One such resource is a mentor. According to theHow to Get the Mentoring that You Want Guide from the University of Michigan, a mentor is afaculty member with career experience who shares his/her

Conference Session

Panel: Effecting Change in Higher Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Priscilla Nelson, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Theresa Hunt, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Cherrice Traver, Union College; Pamela Eibeck, Texas Tech; Zulma Toro-Ramos, Wichita State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Mary Roth, Lafayette College; delcie durham, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

. Page 14.1377.138 National Research Council (2006). To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in US Science andEngineering, National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11624 ≠ Women leave academe for positions in other sectors at a higher rate than men – why? Based on statistics provided by a number of institutions, women leave academe at twice the frequency as their male counterparts. There is a need to determine why that is, as motivation and other critical factors are often lost in statistics. A holistic examination of mentoring throughout the career, including mentoring training and the involvement of graduate students in mentoring practices may help deter