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

tested. A keydistinguishing feature of expectancy of success is that relates to beliefs about a future potentialoutcome. It is this future component that theoretically distinguishes expectancies of successfrom self-concept of ability which is perception of current competence. Expectancies of successare also theoretically distinguished from self-efficacy, an individual’s beliefs about his or herability to perform a task at a designated capability level 10. However, researchers have argued Page 14.348.3these three constructs are difficult to differentiate empirically 11-14 and are often operationalizedin such a way as to be equivalent. 12, 15

Conference Session

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

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristian Trampus, University of Texas, Tyler; Fredericka Brown, University of Texas, Tyler; Michael Odell, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

programs overtime.Among the numerous studies on women and minority students and why they fail to achievedegrees in STEM fields, the focus is on the students’ characteristics, but less attention is focusedon institutional characteristics and peer perceptions. When young women entering technicalcareers were asked what social factors concerned them about the climate of STEM fields, theresponses indicated the traditionally high indicators of “discrimination,” “prejudice/hostility,”and “lack of acceptance.”3Another limiting factor for women and minority students to achieving degrees in STEM fields istheir individual perception of their ability to succeed in a given situation, known as self efficacy,influences their thoughts, feelings, motivation, and

Conference Session

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

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

students’ perceptions of ways of thinking in engineering student and practice. 36th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference. Oct. 28-31, San Diego, CA. S2G, 1-6.11. Besterfield-Sacre, M., M. Moreno, L.J. Shuman, C.J. Atman. 1999. Comparing Entering Freshman Engineers: Institutional Differences in Student Attitudes. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education Conference, South Carolina. Session 1430.12. Fuertes, J.N, M.L. Miville, J.J. Mohr, W.E. Sedlacek, D. Gretchen. 2000. Factor structure and short form of the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale. Measurement & Evaluation in Counseling and Development. 33(3), 157-170.13. Miville, M.L., P. Holloway, C. Gelso, R. Pannu, W. Liu, P. Touradji

Conference Session

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

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carmen Villa, Texas A&M University; Carolyn Clark, Texas A&M University; Jennifer Sandlin, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

, studies in college student retention, which address students who remain at the sameinstitution where they start until they complete a program,4 have found retention is influenced by Page 14.919.2individual and institutional factors such as student background; ethnicity; high school grades andSAT scores; socioeconomic status; participation in social activities; faculty; size of theinstitution; and attachment to the institution.11,12,13 For instance, Bean’s13 study defines self-efficacy as students’ beliefs in their abilities to survive and adapt to the academic environment.He states that students who believe they can achieve their goals increase

Conference Session

Issues of Persistence in Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Ohland, Purdue University; Michelle Camacho, University of San Diego; Richard Layton, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Russell Long, Purdue University; Susan Lord, University of San Diego; Mara Wasburn, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

the female populations tend to have lower eight-semester persistence rates forthe same six-year graduation rate. Men, conversely, will derive self-efficacy from a diverse set ofachievements, including simply passing their classes. Attributing failures to the professor, badluck, or other sources bolsters the self-efficacy of men at times beyond reasonable limits,resulting in their languishing in degree programs and, at times, exhausting their options. We willcontinue our work to test this hypothesis by examining the populations with high eight-semesterpersistence rates but low six-year graduation rates to determine if they do indeed have feweroptions available to them when they leave engineering as measured by their academic standing attheir

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rachelle Reisberg, Northeastern University; Amanda Funai, University of Michigan; Bala Maheswaran, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

can implement similar support programs andlearn from our work. Materials, including the physics and chemistry help sheets, will beincluded in the appendix.BackgroundWomen continue to be underrepresented in engineering, earning only 19.3% of bachelor’sdegrees in engineering1 and holding only 11% of engineering positions.2 Despite being asacademically prepared and academically successful as men, they can lag behind men byexhibiting lower levels of academic satisfaction and lack of self-esteem.3 Traditionalassumptions about career options have been reinforced in society and have projected stereotypesthat discourage talented women from continuing in engineering. This is evidenced by researchthat has found a dramatic drop in women’s self-efficacy