Discrimination & Identity:  How Engineering Graduate Students Navigate Pathways to Persistence

Elan Hope; Adam Kirn; Matthew Bahnson; Derrick Satterfield; Anitra Alexander; Alexis Briggs; Laila Allam

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42057
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42057
Download Count: 539

Postdoc in Engineering Education at Penn State with Catherine Berdanier.

visit author page

biography

Adam Kirn University of Nevada, Reno

visit author page

TBD

visit author page

biography

Derrick Satterfield University of Nevada, Reno

visit author page

Derrick Satterfield is a doctoral candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on engineering graduate students' experiences and motivation centered on career planning and preparation.

visit author page

author page

Anitra Alexander

author page

Alexis Briggs

author page

Laila Allam North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

The goal of this project is to understand experiences of bias and discrimination in engineering graduate education and their effect on graduate engineering identity and degree persistence. Through a mixed-methods approach, we are investigating the following research questions: How do engineering graduate students conceptualize their own identities and experience bias and discrimination based on those identities? How does existing as a marginalized person in a graduate engineering program and experiencing bias and discrimination affect engineering identity? How does engineering identity mitigate the effects of experiencing discrimination and bias? How can racial, gendered, and other identities support engineering identity development? How can identity be leveraged to support student persistence, performance, and participation in graduate engineering?

We have completed Phase 1, a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with graduate engineering students. Results from this phase have provided some answers to RQs 1 and 2. Graduate engineering students experience discrimination on the basis of race and gender throughout their graduate programs, primarily from peers and faculty. These experiences of discrimination detract from a positive engineering identity, and contribute to mental health concerns. Graduate engineering students who experience discrimination seem to accept that these experiences are part of the graduate education experience and unavoidable.

We have also completed data collection and initial analyses of Phase 2, a nationally representative survey of 913 graduate engineering students from 113 different universities in the United States. From this phase, we developed and validated the Discrimination in Engineering Graduate Education (DEGrE) Scale to identify and measure gender and race/ethnicity-based discrimination experiences specific to engineering graduate education. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we found six types of discrimination specific to engineering graduate education: 1) participation; 2) faculty treatment in classes; 3) faculty treatment in labs; 4) sexism; 5) peer treatment; and 6) racism from advisors.

With the newly developed DeGRE scale, we then investigated the associations between discrimination experiences, engineering identity, and doctoral degree completion intentions among a national sample of doctoral engineering students (RQ3). Using structural equation modeling, we examined whether the associations between discrimination and degree completion intentions are mediated by three components of engineering identity: interest, recognition, and performance/competence. We also examined whether this model varied by gender, and race/ethnicity. Graduate students’ discrimination experiences were negatively associated with graduate engineering identity and degree completion intentions. Further, graduate engineering identity mediated associations between discrimination experiences and degree completion intentions. These pathways varied in strength and direction by both gender and race/ethnicity. Phase 3 of this project is in progress to address RQ4. We are conducting follow up semi-structured interviews with the participants from Phase 1 to understand how their experiences have changed over time, and how their racial and gendered identities have influenced their decisions to persist in their original degree program, change programs, or leave the original program. Preliminary findings from this phase will be discussed in relation to findings from phases 1 and 2.

Graduate engineering students leave doctoral programs without their intended degrees at high rates with students from minoritized groups leaving at higher rates than their peers. Altogether, findings from this project highlight the prevalence of race and gender based discrimination in graduate engineering and the potential of engineering identity as a protective interpersonal factor that can help sustain students through unconscionable and demoralizing experiences. Our findings also suggest that engineering identity is not enough to redress the pervasive impact of discrimination. The culture of engineering graduate education must be restructured to minimize racism and sexism to support and retain the next generation of engineers.

Citation
Format

Hope, E., & Bahnson, M., & Kirn, A., & Satterfield, D., & Alexander, A., & Briggs, A., & Allam, L. (2022, August), Discrimination & Identity: How Engineering Graduate Students Navigate Pathways to Persistence Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--42057

TY - CPAPER
AB - The goal of this project is to understand experiences of bias and discrimination in engineering graduate education and their effect on graduate engineering identity and degree persistence. Through a mixed-methods approach, we are investigating the following research questions:
How do engineering graduate students conceptualize their own identities and experience bias and discrimination based on those identities?
How does existing as a marginalized person in a graduate engineering program and experiencing bias and discrimination affect engineering identity?
How does engineering identity mitigate the effects of experiencing discrimination and bias?
How can racial, gendered, and other identities support engineering identity development? How can identity be leveraged to support student persistence, performance, and participation in graduate engineering?

We have completed Phase 1, a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with graduate engineering students. Results from this phase have provided some answers to RQs 1 and 2. Graduate engineering students experience discrimination on the basis of race and gender throughout their graduate programs, primarily from peers and faculty. These experiences of discrimination detract from a positive engineering identity, and contribute to mental health concerns. Graduate engineering students who experience discrimination seem to accept that these experiences are part of the graduate education experience and unavoidable.

We have also completed data collection and initial analyses of Phase 2, a nationally representative survey of 913 graduate engineering students from 113 different universities in the United States. From this phase, we developed and validated the Discrimination in Engineering Graduate Education (DEGrE) Scale to identify and measure gender and race/ethnicity-based discrimination experiences specific to engineering graduate education. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we found six types of discrimination specific to engineering graduate education: 1) participation; 2) faculty treatment in classes; 3) faculty treatment in labs; 4) sexism; 5) peer treatment; and 6) racism from advisors.

With the newly developed DeGRE scale, we then investigated the associations between discrimination experiences, engineering identity, and doctoral degree completion intentions among a national sample of doctoral engineering students (RQ3). Using structural equation modeling, we examined whether the associations between discrimination and degree completion intentions are mediated by three components of engineering identity: interest, recognition, and performance/competence. We also examined whether this model varied by gender, and race/ethnicity. Graduate students’ discrimination experiences were negatively associated with graduate engineering identity and degree completion intentions. Further, graduate engineering identity mediated associations between discrimination experiences and degree completion intentions. These pathways varied in strength and direction by both gender and race/ethnicity.
Phase 3 of this project is in progress to address RQ4. We are conducting follow up semi-structured interviews with the participants from Phase 1 to understand how their experiences have changed over time, and how their racial and gendered identities have influenced their decisions to persist in their original degree program, change programs, or leave the original program. Preliminary findings from this phase will be discussed in relation to findings from phases 1 and 2.

Graduate engineering students leave doctoral programs without their intended degrees at high rates with students from minoritized groups leaving at higher rates than their peers. Altogether, findings from this project highlight the prevalence of race and gender based discrimination in graduate engineering and the potential of engineering identity as a protective interpersonal factor that can help sustain students through unconscionable and demoralizing experiences. Our findings also suggest that engineering identity is not enough to redress the pervasive impact of discrimination. The culture of engineering graduate education must be restructured to minimize racism and sexism to support and retain the next generation of engineers.

AU - Elan Hope
AU - Matthew Bahnson
AU - Adam Kirn
AU - Derrick Satterfield
AU - Anitra Alexander
AU - Alexis Briggs
AU - Laila Allam
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Discrimination & Identity: How Engineering Graduate Students Navigate Pathways to Persistence
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42057
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42057
ER -