Paper: Engineering Students’ Perceptions about Female Professors: Insights from the Arabian Gulf

Safin H. Bayes; Jude Aloudeh; Aymen Elsheikh

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Student Division Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Student
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 8
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35031
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35031
Download Count: 319

Paper Authors

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Safin H. Bayes Texas A&M University at Qatar

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Safin is a rising Senior at Texas A&M University at Qatar, majoring in Electrical Engineering. His interests lie in embedded systems, circuit design, software development, and machine learning. He served as the Vice President/President of IEEE Student Branch at TAMUQ in Fall 2019/Spring 2020. Recently, he got elected to serve as the Vice President of ETA Kappa Nu Honors Society of TAMUQ Chapter for the Academic year 2020-21. He also works as the Faculty Development Assistant at the Center for Teaching and Learning at TAMUQ, where he assists in organizing faculty oriented workshops, investigating effective teaching techniques in STEM, and conducting faculty evaluations.

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Jude Aloudeh Texas A&M University at Qatar

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I am an undergraduate electrical engineer studying electrical engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar. My interest lies in the field of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and different aspects of power and communication. I have completed various research projects that relate to both scientific and social issues. I have received a first-place award from the Weil Cornell Medical Conference regarding the 2030 Qatar Vision, where my group and I tackled the different ideologies that exist against mental illnesses in Qatar and how this stigma is holding us back from advancement. We presented our results in a conference Weil Cornell, Ithaca. We also presented our project, "The shackles of mental illness are holding Qatar back- Qatar 2030 vision" in Qatar, and it was aired on different national channels.

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Aymen Elsheikh Texas A&M University at Qatar

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Aymen Elsheikh is an instructional assistant professor of English at Texas A&M University at Qatar.

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Abstract

According to builtbyme.com, women make about 28% of the total workforce in STEM [1]. In addition, although females make up 20% of the total number of graduating engineers, only 11% of them are practicing engineers in the work field [2]. Little research has investigated the status of females in professional workplaces. In particular, how do engineering students view their female professors? The purpose of this presentation is to report on an ongoing study as part of an undergraduate course on foundations of education in multicultural societies. The study, which will be completed by end of November 2019, examines the perceptions of students, at an engineering American branch campus in the Arabian Gulf region, about their female professors. Using a mixed-method approach, data will be collected through surveys and interviews which will be based on the objective of the study. The survey will be distributed to all the students (N = 600) while the interviews will be conducted with a representative sample. Upon analyzing the data using statistical and qualitative data analysis techniques, we expect to find that when the two genders are being compared, there will be a difference in the student response to female professors in the university. As the view on female professors from one student to the other might differ, we are aiming to analyze their cultural backgrounds to have a better understanding of their mindset.

Through this research, we are hoping to learn more about the effect female professors have on their student body, especially the females. The lack of females in STEM-related jobs is a very critical problem that needs to be addressed. We suspect that female students will be more likely to enjoy having female professors in STEM majors, as these professors can act as role models for young ladies. However, some discrepancies might arise depending on the cultural backgrounds of these students. For example, if they come from a male-dominated background, then they would probably question the ability of female professors to explain the material needed. Also, we believe that students coming from independent or private schools, where there is gender segregation, might have different views of female professors, unlike their colleagues who come from international and community schools.

The results may shed light into the different variables involved in students’ perceptions, such as cultural and previous education backgrounds. Based on this, universities in the region may rethink their faculty model to better cater to the needs of students. The study may also encourage females in the region to pursue a teaching career in STEM to inspire their female successors in this field.

References [1]. Built By Me - STEM Learning Center. (2019). 8 Statistics and Facts about Women in STEM - Built By Me. [online] Available at: https://www.builtbyme.com/statistics-facts-women-in-stem/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019]. [2]. Writers, S. (2019). Women in STEM: Scholarships & Resources for STEM Majors. [online] AffordableCollegesOnline.org. Available at: https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/women-in-stem/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019].

Citation
Format

Bayes, S. H., & Aloudeh, J., & Elsheikh, A. (2020, June), Paper: Engineering Students’ Perceptions about Female Professors: Insights from the Arabian Gulf Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35031

TY - CPAPER
AB - According to builtbyme.com, women make about 28% of the total workforce in STEM [1]. In addition, although females make up 20% of the total number of graduating engineers, only 11% of them are practicing engineers in the work field [2]. Little research has investigated the status of females in professional workplaces. In particular, how do engineering students view their female professors? The purpose of this presentation is to report on an ongoing study as part of an undergraduate course on foundations of education in multicultural societies. The study, which will be completed by end of November 2019, examines the perceptions of students, at an engineering American branch campus in the Arabian Gulf region, about their female professors. Using a mixed-method approach, data will be collected through surveys and interviews which will be based on the objective of the study. The survey will be distributed to all the students (N = 600) while the interviews will be conducted with a representative sample. Upon analyzing the data using statistical and qualitative data analysis techniques, we expect to find that when the two genders are being compared, there will be a difference in the student response to female professors in the university. As the view on female professors from one student to the other might differ, we are aiming to analyze their cultural backgrounds to have a better understanding of their mindset.

Through this research, we are hoping to learn more about the effect female professors have on their student body, especially the females. The lack of females in STEM-related jobs is a very critical problem that needs to be addressed. We suspect that female students will be more likely to enjoy having female professors in STEM majors, as these professors can act as role models for young ladies. However, some discrepancies might arise depending on the cultural backgrounds of these students. For example, if they come from a male-dominated background, then they would probably question the ability of female professors to explain the material needed. Also, we believe that students coming from independent or private schools, where there is gender segregation, might have different views of female professors, unlike their colleagues who come from international and community schools.

The results may shed light into the different variables involved in students’ perceptions, such as cultural and previous education backgrounds. Based on this, universities in the region may rethink their faculty model to better cater to the needs of students. The study may also encourage females in the region to pursue a teaching career in STEM to inspire their female successors in this field.

References
[1]. Built By Me - STEM Learning Center. (2019). 8 Statistics and Facts about Women in STEM - Built By Me. [online] Available at: https://www.builtbyme.com/statistics-facts-women-in-stem/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019].
[2]. Writers, S. (2019). Women in STEM: Scholarships &amp;amp; Resources for STEM Majors. [online] AffordableCollegesOnline.org. Available at: https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/women-in-stem/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019].

AU - Safin H. Bayes
AU - Jude Aloudeh
AU - Aymen Elsheikh
CY - Virtual On line
DA - 2020/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Paper: Engineering Students’ Perceptions about Female Professors: Insights from the Arabian Gulf
UR - https://peer.asee.org/35031
DO - 10.18260/1-2--35031
ER -