by others [10]. Thereverse belongingness is alienation, social isolation, or rejection, leading to depression in thelong term [11]. Among factors that influence the sense of belonging of women to a major areidentity or being valued [12]; stereotype-free educational environment [13]; formal and informalstudent organizations supporting female students [12]; family, faculty and peer support [7]. Onthe other hand, and specific to the construction industry, many prior studies indicate thatpresence of gender stereotyping, low sense of belonging, lack of support system, and lack offemale role models factor to women opting out of construction-related studies and careers [14],[15], [16].Previous research on sense of belonging found that only when an
balancingwork and family [2], [8].To date, little research has examined messages present in outreach and media to understand howorganizations attempt to appeal to young women and encourage them to enter engineering giventhese gendered barriers. This article attempts to redress this omission by analyzing profiles offemale engineers from the website, Engineer Girl [4]. Engineer Girl is designed and maintainedby the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to inspire young women to become engineers.The main research questions I deal with in this paper are: 1. How do female engineers on the website describe challenges they face as engineers to potential newcomers? 2. What types of advice and career guidance do female engineers provide to young women
, and family members may also influence a student’s major selection. Researchers haveidentified factors, such as career prospects, personal interests, parental influence, effects ofclimate and culture, to be important. Although a few models of major choice exist, relativelylittle attention has been given to examining engineering disciplinary choice (e.g. Mechanical,Environmental, Civil, Chemical, or Industrial). Our research aims to fill this gap from a uniqueperspective—since music genre preference can represent diversity in the broad dimension ofexperiences, we explore whether there is an association between music genre preference andengineering discipline choice.Music penetrates all aspects of modern society, including academic settings
, and career traineeship inaerospace-centric fields. The streamlined process of recruitment and project-based learning incollaboration with NASA and other aerospace professionals has shown to be effective in trainingthe first cohort of undergraduate and graduate students during the first year of programimplementation.During the summer of 2022, 6 NASA interns and 6 summer Research Experiences forUndergraduate (REU) students participated in the 10-week summer program with professionaldevelopment (PD) program featuring project management, career planning, RCR training,self-reflection, and technical communication. Because research shows that STEM students citepositive mentoring experiences as the most crucial factor in their retention, we developed
-only 1 4 1 6 (18.2%) 4 Year / PhD 6 5 10 21 (63.6%)Our REU site did not have a focus on upper-division undergraduate students (i.e., juniors,seniors) and invited applications from students in all years of study. The intent was to provideresearch opportunities to students early in their education careers. This approach was successfulwith 54% of participants from lower-divisions (freshman, sophomore) and 46% from upper-divisions (junior, senior). The detailed distribution of participants by year of study across ourprogram’s 3 years are given in Table 3. A challenge of this recruitment strategy was that cohortshad students with a
on enhancing the role of women in the workplace and working on policiestoward the empowerment of women, our exploratory research study examines how attractive theengineering profession is for women in Qatar. The current paper focuses specifically on challengesthat women face during the very first step in their careers—the recruitment and hiring process.The paper employs a multi-method approach, gathering and analyzing data obtained via a surveyand interviews with engineering program alumnae who graduated from 2009 to 2020 in Qatar.When examining the challenges female participants faced during the recruitment and hiringprocess for engineering jobs in Qatar, the findings revealed that many women did not feelparticularly welcomed while trying
: Students’ Goals and JourneysAbstractThis qualitative study explored the journeys of students with environmental goals who startedcollege majoring in engineering, including students’ motivations to enter college majoring inengineering, their transitions through college, and how they viewed environmental issues as partof their future engineering careers and among the social responsibilities of engineers. Twelveengineering students with initially strong environmental interests were interviewed at the end oftheir first year of college; nine were initially majoring in environmental engineering (EnvE), twoin civil engineering, and one in mechanical engineering. These students spanned threeinstitutions and continued to
a better fit.33-35 Universities now offer an array of activities, majors, andexperiences that are gender-typed, and therefore the possibility, and perhaps, now theexpectations are greater, that individuals will follow a gender normative path.34 Beliefsystems about gender combined with certain social contexts are important in shaping thepathways individuals take. Indeed, it is surprising to note, in many authoritarian and lesseconomically developed countries, women are actually more likely to enter a math andscience career than in the United States. It seems that the choices young people maketowards careers in the United States are in many ways the result of structural, cultural,and economic forces that celebrate gendered selves and allow
of targetaudience has been shown to be the most benefited by undergraduate research. Specifically, it hasbeen shown that: undergraduate research has an overwhelming positive effect on students,1,2engaging students early in their academic career helps retain students in the STEM field,3,4undergraduate research is linked to heightened graduate school performance,5 and undergraduateresearch is a key factor in improving underrepresented minority persistence in STEM.6,7Once recruited, the goal of the program was to immerse the participants in active researchenvironments overseen by engaged faculty mentors with two students assigned to each mentor.The one-on-one mentorship was a key factor of the program which allowed the faculty andstudents to
in teaching, research and service. She enjoys teaching electrical engineering and power engineering topics to students. In research and graduate studies, she has been very active having graduated 40 MS and 13 PhD students; published 160 papers and 2 book chapters; and brought in over $40 M in external research through individual and collaborative projects including an U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER award. She is an ASEE and an IEEE Fellow. She has been active in the IEEE Power & Energy Society serving on the PES Governing Board for 12 years and President for 2012-2013. Dr. Schulz is a member of Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering c American Society for Engineering Education
constructs related to persistence and demographic items to capture therespondents’ various social identities. We used intersectionality first as a theory to guide theidentification of constructs and creation of items for the constructs and then as a methodologicalapproach to analyze data based on respondents’ multiple demographic identities.Persistence is defined as the personal tendency to endure through hardships to achieve goals orcontinue a course of action [13] [14]. We differentiate persistence as a personal measure orquality and retention as an organizational measure or quality [15]. The PEAS is designed toexplore the personal experiences of faculty as they continue in careers in the academy.Persistence is addressed in the literature with an
Engineering from the University of Vir- ginia and she received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas A&M University, where she concentrated on Industrial Engineering and Management. Her research interests include: Broadening Participation, Faculty and Graduate Student Development, International/Global Education, Teamwork and Team Effectiveness, and Quality Control and Manage- ment. In 2003, she received the CAREER award from the Engineering Education and Centers Division of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Adams is a leader in the advancement and inclusion of all in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. She has worked with numerous of colleges and universities
Engineering, and Construction Management programs. Thecourse is taught every semester to both civil engineering (CE) and construction management(CM) students. The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to the fields of civil,construction and environmental engineering and construction management. Students learn about:the process of being a civil engineer or construction manager; the scope of careers open tograduates; some of the procedures and methods used in engineering design; how to workeffectively on open-ended problems under constraints of time; how to work effectively on smallteams and communicate ideas; and how to develop an understanding of professional and ethicalresponsibility. The previous iterations of the course featured
design process. Ignite’sHealth program is guided by constructivist and resilience theories and seeks to empowersecondary-aged students to grow their skill sets in biomedical engineering and encourage them topursue science-oriented careers in the future. Constructivist theory emphasizes the active role thatstudents play in the learning process by drawing upon their past experiences to generate newknowledge. Resilience theory focuses on facilitating students’ ability to adapt to and navigatesetbacks.Data was collected from surveys and interviews conducted during three middle and three highschool implementations between 2021 and 2024. An analysis of the data revealed that Ignite Healthparticipants experienced increased confidence in their STEM
study [9]found that family plans do not affect female students’ attrition from engineering majors.However, the study reported that the lack of professional role confidence in females reduces thechance of persisting in the engineering major and profession.Despite these challenges, some studies show that appropriate intervention and supportivemeasures can help to improve retention rates of women students. It can be improved byincorporating several social factors such as warmth, flexibility, more feminine nature of theprogram and career opportunities to draw more women to engineering [10]. [11], [12] found thatfostering a sense of belonging and providing support networks such as women in engineeringgroups, peer mentoring, female role models and
fourgenerated themes along with their implications.The findings suggest that further research is warranted on the role of short-cycleprograms within the Portuguese polytechnic sector in providing routes to help youngwomen overcome obstacles and be successful on STEM degree programs.In a broader context, they also suggest that outreach initiatives geared towardsschoolgirls and their families could benefit from emphasizing how STEM degrees canprovide a wide range of career options and are a good alternative for those still unsurewhat future career to pursue.IntroductionWhen the Carnation Revolution in 1974 ended 48 years of dictatorship in Portugal,higher education was the preserve of an urban elite minority and predominantly servedmale students
engineering. During his thirty years plus at Houston Community College, he has formed collaborations across the country that have provided the opportunity for HCC students to participate in innovative research and materials programs. A significant number of these students have completed their undergraduate education, entered and finished their graduate education, and transitioned to careers. Mr. Sheinberg has Bachelor’s Degrees from the University of Texas (Austin) and University of Houston and a Master’s Degree from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Houston). He serves on numerous regional, state and national committees. He is married to Beth Finefield, and they reside in Kingwood, TX.Dr
engagement projects, evaluation tools and tech- nology, and gender issues in STEM education. https://orcid.org/0000- 0002-0383-0179Prof. Marcela Silva, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile Marcela Silva is the Academic Director at the Engineering Faculty of the Andres Bello University in Campus Santiago. She works as a teacher in the Construction Engineering career and supports innovation and entrepreneurship courses. She obtained a BacheloDr. Carolina Alvarado, California State University, Chico Dr. Alvarado is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Science Education at California State University, Chico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics and a doctorate in Physics Education from
influencing their perceptions of engineers and attitudes towardengineering as a career. Subsequent evaluations comparing single-gender vs mixed-genderprograms including male-only programs had mixed results. The current study is a more rigorousexamination of gains in content knowledge and takes a closer look at the issues of self-efficacy,gender equity and qualitative perceptions of engineers using the Middle School Attitudes towardEngineering and Knowledge of Engineering Careers Survey and the Draw an Engineering Testin equivalent post 4th grade female-only, male-only and mixed-gender programs. Previousevaluations included higher-grade programs with some returning students that had alreadyparticipated in other program(s) so they had some prior
in engineering and developing a betterunderstanding of their experiences and motivations as compared to direct-pathway students,those students who begin a PhD shortly after completing their undergraduate degree. This paperfocuses on the findings of this first survey phase, specifically findings related to describingreturners’ past work and education experiences, their processes for deciding to pursue a PhD andselecting an institution, information about their PhD programs, and their plans upon completingthe degree. We aim to use findings from our study to inform efforts to better recruit graduatereturners, support these students throughout their academic careers, and learn more to betterutilize their unique skills and perspectives within both
investigating students’ development of leadership skills and other professional competencies and in students’ involvement in curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Dr. Simmons is a NSF CAREER award recipient for her research entitled, ”Investigating Co-Curricular Participation of Students Underrepresented in Engineering.” Page 26.1450.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015Synthesis of Engineering Undergraduate Students’ Out of Class InvolvementAbstractAs engineering educators prepare more high-quality engineers for the global workforce, moreemphasis has been
students’perception of the relevance of physics and mathematics to their professional career, which is, inthis case, engineering. In this study 232 students taking first and second year physics and mathcourses at a large private university in Chile participated. We used a Likert-scale instrument inwhich students chose from a “Totally agree” to “Totally disagree” scale of statements related torelevance of science and mathematics for future career and study. The results of this studydiscuss four aspects: 1) the students’ perceptions of the relevance of physics and mathematics ofscholar engineering and professional engineering practices, 2) the comparison of students’perceptions of the relevance of physics to that of mathematics, 3) gender differences on
onlyafter applying the material.Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK), a Hispanic Serving Institution, is offeringCASCaded Mentoring And Design Experiences (CASCADE), an NSF Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) to their engineering students. Page 26.331.4The overall goal of CASCADE is to increase the quantity, quality, and diversity of TAMUKstudents who successfully earn an engineering baccalaureate degree. CASCADE engagesengineering students in design exercises and experiences throughout their academicundergraduate careers, and provides student support in an innovative configuration of cascadedpeer
theirfamily7 and FGS take fewer risks in college8, are more afraid of failure9, and are more likely tochoose majors with high earning potential8. When examining FGS in the context of engineering,work has shown FGS often choose against majoring in engineering because of not havingengineering prerequisites10. FGS that choose to major in engineering show more career interestthan the CGS11. FGS students in engineering also have statistically different social capitalcharacteristics and accessed resources compared to CGS showing that FGS students aresuccessful, but use different resources to gain entry and persist in engineering12. We seek tocontinue advancement in the understanding of the experiences of FG engineering students,through examination of
engineering. Generally, there are a few common reasons students decide to study engineering. The factors are often related to an interest or proficiency in math and science, an enjoyment of tinkering, or a desire for multiple career options[11]. Women students, specifically, decide to study engineering because of their strong math and science abilities. Either by accident or on purpose, they find that engineering nicely combines their math and science abilities[12]. In light of the disruptionscaused by COVID, an increasing number of students may have unique experiences and needs as they navigate the math pathway leading to engineering. Since a significant factor in pursuing engineering is
Compliance Specialist in Atlanta, GA. Specifically, she worked in public drinking water compliance and regulations, regularly leading audits and inspections. Alisha also previously served as a 6th and 7th grade mathematics teacher. Her current career interests include identi- fying and integrating real-world problems in STEM learning and increasing diversity and representation in the STEM field.Mr. Alain Mota, Southern Methodist University Alain Mota is the STEM Development and Implementation Coordinator at RME and a Program Manager at the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education. In this role, he works across schools supporting the research and implementation goals of several projects at the unit and the institute. As
Bioengineering (1978) from the University of Vermont, and M.S. (1986) and Ph.D. (2002) in Bioengineering from Clemson University.Ms. Randi Sims, Clemson University Randi is a current Ph.D. student in the department of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson Uni- versity. Her research interests center around undergraduate research experiences using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Her career goals are to work as an evaluator or consultant on education- ally based research projects with an emphasis on statistical analyses and big data.Kelsey Watts, Clemson University Kelsey Watts is a recent graduate of Clemson University. She is part of the Engineering Education Re- search Peer Review Training (EER PERT
create impact on female faculty’s identity. Traditionally, women areexpected to undertake a heavy burden of domestic work while playing the primary careprovider for educating and nurturing children in many cultures [5]. Women are much lesslikely aspired than men to develop career in masculine discipline if they anticipate futuredifficulties in pursuing and advancing careers [6]. Based on evidence suggested in theexisting literature, validations on whether women’s lower representation in STEM is causedby their obligations and unavoidable conflicts of undertaking multiple demanding roles andresponsibilities both at work and at home are valuable. More importantly, it is important toknow how female faculty of STEM perceive and negotiate their
change.Teachers play a significant role in helping students develop an awareness of, and interest indifferent career opportunities [1]. They also help shape a students’ self-efficacy and expectationswhich can have a significant impact on the student’s choice of careers [2]. Unfortunately, manyteachers either have little knowledge of the field of engineering or have misconceptions about thefield such as failing to identify engineering as a career that helps humanity [3-4]. EngineeringCommunity Engaged Learning (CEL) is an excellent way to help teachers understand howengineering, as well as other STEM careers, can have a high level of community engagementwhile using creativity to help humanity.For the 2022-2023 Global STEM cohort, RET participants engaged
required course for all engineeringmajors. As such, the faculty leading the program are still learning about the range ofbackgrounds, skills, and attitudes typical of their institution’s first-year students. The activitydescribed here serves two sets of intentions: 1) to collect baseline information for introducing students to engineering and buildingtheir confidence 2) to help instructors learn about their students’ backgrounds and attitudes to tailor thatintroduction from cohort to cohort.Speaking to the first motivation, new engineering students can be unsure about what anengineering career entails and are usually unaware of the breadth of available engineeringopportunities. Additionally, some first-year students have a narrow