Building and Maintaining an Engineering Identity: How Engineering Students Navigate Community College Stigma Prior to Transfer

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research brief outlines a phenomenological study which sought to understand how community college students made sense of their engineering identity as well as explore how outsider perceptions of community college attendance and transfer influenced their identities. The study used the Community College Stigmatization Model (CCSM) and elements of engineering identity theory to understand student experiences. Students shared how societal stigma and interactions with faculty, staff, and students at the high school and university levels complicated their ability to build strong engineering identities. However, they also described resistance against stigmatization and marginalization as community college engineering students and took actions to enhance their engineering identities. This study highlights the persistent nature of stigma and the need to create better partnerships and support systems as well as foster stigma resistance among community college engineering students.