Conference Session

Knowing Our Students I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christina Vogt, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

, and Waggoner26 conducted at a well-established Midwesternuniversity, the math test scores of females in both engineering and biological sciences wereexamined. Also, to determine if confidence differed by major, confidence scales wereadministered to the same females entering both programs. In essence, the females majoring inengineering had both higher math entrance scores and stronger measures of self-confidence thantheir female counterparts in biological sciences.However, when comparing women to men, several studies have found that women self-reporttheir academic confidence and engineering self-efficacy as lower than men's.2,4,5,28,29Accordingly, self-efficacy may be enhanced or diminished due to feedback from external factorssuch as society

Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

De'Jeune Antoine, Xavier University of Louisiana; Mica Hutchison, Purdue University; Deborah Follman, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

“moderate,” 61 to 80 to “frequent,” and over 80 to “intense” feelings. Though both self-efficacy and IP account for a great number of studies in education andpsychology, we are unaware of any studies that have looked at both simultaneously.Interestingly, many of the factors measured by Clance’s scale suggest strong ties to self-efficacytheory. Feelings that successes cannot be repeated, for example, may be tied to students’assessments of their mastery experiences when they are forming their efficacy beliefs. Inaddition, students’ comparisons of their capabilities to those of their peers are vicariousexperiences which are also significantly influential on efficacy beliefs. In the case of an IPsufferer, the negative feelings associated with

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan DeWaters, Clarkson University; Susan Powers, Clarkson University; Mary Graham, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

withthe PIE program… [Her] grades improved a lot this marking period and we feel that PIE actuallyhelped her to achieve better grades…”Leadership opportunities, self-esteem, self-efficacy. By its very nature, the PIE program forceseach of the mentors to take on a leadership role. This is particularly valuable for PIE mentorswho had not previously held a leadership position at Clarkson (e.g., 4 in AY02). Mentors haveprovided variable responses regarding the program’s impact on their self-esteem and self-confidence and have generally reported having a high level of self-esteem at the start of theprogram. Self-efficacy, which is a measure of a person’s confidence in her ability to take action,is closely related to self confidence. Mentors have

Conference Session

Climate Issues for Women Students

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Creamer, Virginia Tech; Soyoung Lee, Virginia Tech; Peggy Meszaros

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

. Page 11.632.9Variable 4: Amount of Computer Use The connection between computer use and positive attitudes and interest has been amplysupported by previous research15, 38. While experience with computers games has been shown tobe an important predictor of men’s interest in computer related fields40, this is not the case forour women respondents. Other research has shown, however, that experience with computerprogramming may be an important predictor of self-efficacy and success in a computer field forwomen. Learning a programming language is significantly associated for women with anincreased sense of computer competence28, 42. High school programming experience has alsobeen shown to be a significant predictor of women’s success in