Physics Identity Promotes Alternative Careers for First-Generation College Students in Engineering

Dina Verdín; Allison Godwin

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 7
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 20
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--28741
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/28741
Download Count: 529

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Dina Verdín Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering) orcid.org/0000-0002-6048-1104

visit author page

Dina Verdín is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education and M.S. student in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering at San José State University. Dina is a 2016 recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). Her research interest focuses on first-generation college students, specifically around changing deficit base paradigms by providing asset base perspectives for understanding this community.

visit author page

biography

Allison Godwin Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering) orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-3356

visit author page

Allison Godwin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her research focuses what factors influence diverse students to choose engineering and stay in engineering through their careers and how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belongingness and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. She is the recipient of a 2014 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Educational Research and Methods Division Apprentice Faculty Grant. She has also been recognized for the synergy of research and teaching as an invited participant of the 2016 National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium and 2016 New Faculty Fellow for the Frontiers in Engineering Education Annual Conference. She also was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow for her work on female empowerment in engineering which won the National Association for Research in Science Teaching 2015 Outstanding Doctoral Research Award.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This research study explored first-generation college students’ in engineering post-graduation career intentions based on responses to a quantitative survey. In this paper, we answer the following research questions: 1) How do first-generation college students’ measures of physics, mathematics, and engineering identity constructs differ compared to non-first-generation college students? and 2) How does a physics identity influence first-generation college student’s choice of an engineering major and career aspirations? The data came from the Intersectionality of Non-normative Identities in the Cultures of Engineering (InIce) survey. InIce was completed by 2,916 first-year engineering college students enrolled in four institutions across the United States—72% non-first-generation college students, 20% first-generation college students, and 8% non-reporting students. The survey measured attitudinal profiles of belongingness in engineering, identity constructs (i.e., engineering, physics, and mathematics), affective measures, and demographic information.

Previous studies quantitatively and qualitatively measured and validated the constructs that make up math identity, physics identity and engineering identity (i.e., interest in the subject, recognition by others, and beliefs about one’s performance/competence) for predicting engineering choice. To answer the first research question, a Welch’s t-test was used to compare the averages of first-generation college students and non-first-generation college students on overall measures of mathematics, physics, and engineering identity as well as the constructs of interest, recognition, and performance/competence in each subject area. This t-test was selected because it corrects unequal variance within the two populations. To answer the second research question, we used multiple linear regression to predict the choices of STEM and non-stem majors using measures of identity, affective factors, and first-generation college student status. Results from the first analysis demonstrate that first-generation college students entered engineering with a high sense of engineering identity, particularly in the performance/competence and interest constructs. Regression results showed that first-generation college students’ physics identity positively predicted choice of a non-STEM career; that is, first-generation college students with high physics identity were more interested in non-STEM careers (e.g., non-profit/non-government organization and medicine/health). This work highlights that first-generation college students may have different career pathway intentions and motivations in studying engineering during college.

Citation
Format

Verdín, D., & Godwin, A. (2017, June), Physics Identity Promotes Alternative Careers for First-Generation College Students in Engineering Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28741

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This research study explored first-generation college students’ in engineering post-graduation career intentions based on responses to a quantitative survey. In this paper, we answer the following research questions: 1) How do first-generation college students’ measures of physics, mathematics, and engineering identity constructs differ compared to non-first-generation college students? and 2) How does a physics identity influence first-generation college student’s choice of an engineering major and career aspirations? The data came from the Intersectionality of Non-normative Identities in the Cultures of Engineering (InIce) survey. InIce was completed by 2,916 first-year engineering college students enrolled in four institutions across the United States—72% non-first-generation college students, 20% first-generation college students, and 8% non-reporting students. The survey measured attitudinal profiles of belongingness in engineering, identity constructs (i.e., engineering, physics, and mathematics), affective measures, and demographic information. 

Previous studies quantitatively and qualitatively measured and validated the constructs that make up math identity, physics identity and engineering identity (i.e., interest in the subject, recognition by others, and beliefs about one’s performance/competence) for predicting engineering choice. To answer the first research question, a Welch’s t-test was used to compare the averages of first-generation college students and non-first-generation college students on overall measures of mathematics, physics, and engineering identity as well as the constructs of interest, recognition, and performance/competence in each subject area. This t-test was selected because it corrects unequal variance within the two populations. To answer the second research question, we used multiple linear regression to predict the choices of STEM and non-stem majors using measures of identity, affective factors, and first-generation college student status. Results from the first analysis demonstrate that first-generation college students entered engineering with a high sense of engineering identity, particularly in the performance/competence and interest constructs. Regression results showed that first-generation college students’ physics identity positively predicted choice of a non-STEM career; that is, first-generation college students with high physics identity were more interested in non-STEM careers (e.g., non-profit/non-government organization and medicine/health). This work highlights that first-generation college students may have different career pathway intentions and motivations in studying engineering during college.


AU  - Dina Verdín
AU  - Allison Godwin
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Physics Identity Promotes Alternative Careers for First-Generation College Students in Engineering 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/28741
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28741
ER  -