Framing agency predicts design self‐efficacy and engineering identity, contributing to persistence intentions in and beyond the engineering degree

In Memoriam: Dr. Clive L. Dym (1942–2016)

This completed research paper will describe the relationship between first-year engineering students' intentions to persist and their engineering "readiness" to embark on their educational endeavors within their engineering program upon constructing their identity as an engineer. Typically, first-year students are eligible to take engineering coursework immediately once they have already taken the prerequisite courses. However, some students may not have taken the prerequisite courses, which could disqualify them from immediately taking their engineering coursework. At the university where the data were collected, students are admitted to engineering in a general track with or without having the prerequisite courses (e.g., being calculus ready). However, those who do not have the prerequisite courses must complete them before enrolling in engineering classes. Extensive research has been conducted on what factors influence the persistence of undergraduate students in navigating and integrating into STEM and STEM-associated career paths. Engineering majors in particular have a very high dropout rate—on average, over half of the engineering students drop out before graduating. However, the complex stratification of factors that influence a student's ability to compete in the engineering field makes this phenomenon particularly difficult to understand. This can hinder the STEM professional field from achieving the diversity in perspectives, mindsets, and skills necessary to recognize and solve society's problems in the 21st century. To foster positive career expectations and one's identity as an engineer, address inherent gender inequalities, and combat the high attrition rates in engineering, the STEM community has advocated for the promotion of equity, an inclusive environment, as well as diversity in engineering education. Thus, in this study, we examine the influence of measures of students' self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and biological sex on their persistence within engineering courses, and upon the construction of their engineering identity. We use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994) framework and Identity Development (Atadero et al., 2018) framework to investigate whether these relationships differ between (a) students who entered as first-year students with the prerequisites to immediately begin taking engineering course work (on-track students) or (b) students who were delayed in beginning their engineering coursework (off-track students). Specifically, we examine the persistent intentions and engineering identity development for the two groups of students. To address our research questions, we employ Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) in which the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) are estimated prior to analysis, utilizing the null model to describe the variability between engineering classes in students' intentions to persist and their engineering identity. Model construction occurs through an identical model selection approach for each research question. All models are estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method, with an independent framework in which variances and covariances are uniquely estimated. Model fit is examined utilizing model performance indices (i.e., Akaike Information Criteria and Bayes Information Criteria) and final models are selected according to the lowest reported values. The statistical significance of fixed effects is examined using t-tests with the Satterthwaite approximation utilized for the computation of degrees of freedom. In our final HLM analysis, 280 engineering students (n =152 on-track, n= 128 off-track) are clustered within 25 engineering classes (n=12 on-track, n=13 off-track). The results indicate that: (RQ1) student biological sex (n female = 72) and outcome expectations are statistically significant predictors of persistence intentions amongst engineering undergraduates—specifically, students who identify as male have higher intentions to persist than those who identify as female, and (RQ2) these effects do not differ between on-track or off-track students. Additionally, (RQ3) the moderation effect of biological sex on self-efficacy is not statistically significant when predicting student engineering identity—indicating that neither male nor female students perceive the relationship between engineering identity and self-efficacy differently. Finally, (RQ4) the effect of self-efficacy on engineering identity formation does not differ between on-track and off-track students. That said, these results may provide support for admitting students into engineering tracks without the necessary prerequisite courses because once the prerequisite courses were in place, students' engineering identity and intentions to persist were indistinguishable from their on-track peers. Of note, students who identify as male continue to indicate higher intentions to persist than those who identify as female, which may indicate extensive work still needs to be done to foster positive environments where female students can see themselves staying and flourishing in the engineering field. Other implications and future research directions will be discussed.

Contribution: This paper explores the factors contributing to the development of engineering identity in Latinx students at two institutions. A better understanding of these factors will support the development of more inclusive engineering education environments and experiences. Background: Persistence of Latinx engineering students is of particular interest due to their underrepresentation in the field. Identity is a lens for understanding student persistence, but Latinx students are underrepresented in prior engineering identity studies. This paper seeks to identify the unique factors, academic and professional, that contribute to engineering identity development, and potential means for supporting the persistence of Latinx engineers. Research Questions: 1) What academic and professional affect factors predict engineering identity development of Latinx students? and 2) What role does the institution play in Latinx students' engineering identity development? Methodology: A mixed-methods approach was used to measure engineering identity based on a framework incorporating both academic and professional affect elements. Regression analyses were conducted on 892 responses to an online survey from Latinx engineering students, with additional insight from interviews with ten Latinx engineering students. Findings: Six of the nine factors analyzed (performance/competence, interest, recognition, analysis, framing and solving problems, and tinkering) were significant predictors of Latinx students' engineering identity, as were institution, gender, and having a parent with an engineering degree. Engineering identity was higher for Latinx students at the Hispanic Serving Institution, but none of the interaction terms were significant, so the relationship between these factors and engineering identity is similar at each institution.

Contribution: This paper found that design experiences can foster engineering identity and belongingness for early career electrical and computer engineering students. Students had different interpretations of what it meant to be an engineer (identity) and their belongingness in engineering. This paper provides novel insights into how students may be developing identities and belongingness in engineering, both critical for student retention and success. Background: Design experiences are crucial for engineering students, both for developing academic competencies and allowing students to see how they can become engineers. Existing literature has mixed results with respect to the influence of team-based design experiences on engineering identity and belongingness. Research Questions: 1) How do design experiences influence early career electrical and computer engineering students’ identification and belongingness in engineering? and 2) How do these students describe what it means to identify as an engineer and belong in engineering? Methodology: The beliefs of electrical and computer engineering students were examined using mixed methods to understand the intersection of design experiences, engineering identity, and belongingness. Findings: Students interpreted their engineering identity and belongingness differently, particularly, with respect to how design experiences can shape these attitudes. Whereas students interpreted engineering identity through their performance and interest in authentic engineering tasks, they interpreted belongingness as a means of comparing themselves to their peers. The findings have implications for engineering education researchers, and design instructors, to foster ways of being and belonging in engineering.

More women than men in the US graduate college, but women constitute only 16% of the engineering workforce [1].Women frequently attribute their lack of persistence in engineering to a chilly academic climate [2].Researchers have suggested that developing a robust engineering identity could moderate a climate effect and support improved retention and graduation of female engineers [2].However, there is little empirical data on interrelationships among gender, perceived academic climate in engineering programs, engineering identity, and belonging to an engineering community.We drew on social identity theory and extant literature to develop four research questions: 1) Are there any differences between men and women regarding perceived academic climate, sense of belonging, and engineering identity?2) Does academic climate predict engineering identity in the same way for women and men? 3)Does sense of belonging mediate the relationship between perceived academic climate and engineering identity?4) Do engineering students who are women demonstrate different relationships among perceived climate, engineering identity, and belongingness from men?We used survey data from a multi-year NSF-funded project (Award # 1726268, #1726088, and #1725880/2033129) that incorporated experimental course-based interventions to build an inclusive curriculum.Surveys were administered at the beginning and end of the semester.We found that at the end of the semester women engineering undergraduates reported lower engineering identity though the initial engineering identity, perceived academic climate, and sense of belonging were the same for both men and women engineering undergraduates.Multiple regression analyses with 601 first-year engineer majors (21% female) indicated perceived climate and gender accounted for 48% of engineering identity variability.The interaction between perceived climate and gender on engineering identity was not statistically significant.Mediation analysis revealed that sense of belonging (b=0.42,95% CI [0.30, 0.53]) mediated the relationship between perceived climate and engineering identity for both males and females.Sense of belonging was critical in engineering identity.Moderated mediation analysis indicated gender did not moderate the indirect effect of perceived climate on engineering identity through a sense of belonging.

National reports have indicated colleges and universities need to increase the number of students graduating with engineering degrees to meet anticipated job openings in the near-term future. Fields like engineering are critical to the nation’s economic strength and competitiveness globally, and engineering expertise is needed to solve society’s most pressing problems. Yet only about 40% of students who aspire to an engineering degree follow the path to complete one, and an even smaller percentage of those students continue into an engineering career. Underlying students’ motivation to transform their engineering interest into an engineering career is the psychological construct of engineering identity. Engineering identity reflects the extent to which a person identifies with being an engineer. Previous research has focused on experiences or interventions that promote engineering identity, and some qualitative work has suggested students who are retained in engineering experience differences in engineering identity, but little research has tested the relationship between retention and engineering identity, especially modeling change in engineering identity over four years of college. The data for this study were taken from the 2013 College Senior Survey (CSS), administered to students at the end of their fourth year of college by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. Students’ responses to CSS items were then matched to their responses to the Freshman Survey (TFS), also administered by CIRP, at the very beginning of their first year of college. For this study, all students who indicated their intended major as engineering at the start of college constituted the sample, which included 1205 students at 72 universities. The dependent variable is a dichotomous variable indicating if students marked engineering as their major at the end of the fourth year of college. The main independent variable of interest in this study is engineering identity. Engineering identity was computed using exploratory factor analysis with three items from the CSS indicating the importance to students of becoming an authority in their chosen field, being recognized for contributions to their field, and making theoretical contributions to science. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling with robust standard errors was used to model engineering retention as the dependent variable was dichotomous in nature and the data were “nested” in structure (students nested within universities). Control variables include a pretest of engineering identity from the TFS, college experiences known to predict retention and other outcomes in engineering, demographic variables, precollege academic preparation, choice of engineering major, academic and social self-concept at college entry, and institutional characteristics. In the final model, engineering identity was a significant predictor of engineering retention, controlling for all other factors including the engineering identity pretest.

Black and Brown men continue to be underrepresented in engineering. One explanation for the dearth of Black and Latino men in engineering is that engineering (and STEM) identity often is not inclusive of People of Color. As a result, Black and Brown boys may be less likely to become interested in STEM subjects. The purpose of this study, then, was to investigate how the components of one afterschool engineering program tap into engineering identity formation among fourth- and fifth-grade Black and Brown boys. Leveraging research on the STEM and engineering identity, we argue that the program and its key components play both constructive and protective roles. This study comprises a case study of an afterschool engineering program completing its third year of implementation at three elementary schools. Over four semesters, we recruited approximately 60 students from the three schools and 21 mentors to participate in the study. We collected data via one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and observations. We found that engineering design activities are constructive, offering the young Black and Brown boys opportunities to engage with the work of engineers. The mentors played constructive roles by recognizing the students’ engineering work. The mentors also played a protective role, buffering against identity interference and cultivating a sense of belonging. We conclude by discussing how the findings contribute to existing research on engineering identity and making recommendations for practice.

Background In this article, we provide two views on product design engineering education of two design educators from Korea and Australia. We argue that industrial design and engineering design need to be combined in order to support a total design philosophy that aims to improve design education. Therefore, the changing direction of design education for a total design perspective — and Korean and Australian design education — including industry situations are discussed. Product design education in Korea has focused on developing the physical appearance of a product. The concept of engineering design was recently introduced in Korea, and most design schools still belong to art schools. Nowadays, Korean industry is required to develop new businesses in the manufacturing sector, as the industry is facing the situation where ‘fast follower’ strategy does not work for sustained growth and ultimately sustained success. This has grabbed the attention of product design engineers who can develop creative designs and materialize the concepts. In contrast, Australia is facing the end of a mining boom as well as a significant decline in automotive manufacturing. This has forced industry to challenge innovation in manufacturing which has generally been made up of SMEs. As such, the role of product design engineering is emphasized. We conclude that product design engineering education with industrial design and mechanical engineering can be primitive to strengthen the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry in both countries. Methods The views provided in this article were assembled from the existing literature, and based on our current experience of running design engineering convergence education programs in undergraduate and graduate levels. In general, the arguments made in this article are not attracted from theoretical and empirical research. They are rather based on our own perspectives of design engineering education. Thus, the views can be more critically based on holistic analyses of industry situations. Results & Conclusions In this article, we examine that how a strong and well-defined product design engineering program within a university context can add significant value to the industry. Product design engineering is a hybrid program that combines analytical engineering sciences with creative industrial design capabilities. It provides a platform that can reshape product offerings for companies that seek to diversify or expand into new markets. Product design engineering links seamlessly toward current industry needs by producing creative design engineers at the forefront of innovation and new product development.

BackgroundEngineering identity reflects students' acceptance and recognition of engineering, which has a great influence on their willingness to enter and stay in the engineering field. Existing studies have shown that curricular and co-curricular practice-oriented experiences may be helpful for developing students’ engineering identity. However, the actual impact of various practice-oriented learning experiences remained to be further examined. This quantitative study aims to explore the impact of three types of practice-oriented learning experiences (capstone experiences, technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, and engineering-related internships) in the development of engineering talents' engineering identity. A theoretical framework of engineering identity, which consists of three dimensions, that is, Interest, Performance/Competence and Recognition, was adopted to guide the research.ResultsThrough responses from 160 senior engineering students at a leading research intensive Chinese university, the study explored the relationships between engagement in practice-oriented learning experiences and engineering identity. Senior capstone design was found to be associated positively with students' development of engineering identity and recognition by others. Participating in two or more technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions associated positively with students' development of engineering identity, performance/competence and recognition. Meanwhile, internships did not show any statistically significant effect on engineering identity. Moreover, by analyzing the potential mediating effect, we found that recognition played a complete intermediary role between senior capstone design and engineering identity. In addition, recognition and performance/competence mediated the relationship between twice or more technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and engineering identity.ConclusionsThese findings add to our current understanding about the role of different practice-oriented learning activities on students’ development of engineering identity. These findings point to the importance of learning activities, including technological innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and senior capstone design, on the development of engineering identity. Moreover, the results highlighted the important role of students’ engagement in multiple authentic engineering projects throughout the curriculum and their gaining recognitions through these project experiences. Based on these findings, practical suggestions are proposed to help nurture students’ engineering identity. In addition, future qualitative investigations about the underlying mechanisms are recommended to facilitate the understanding of students’ development of engineering identity.

Prior research has examined the relationships among self-construal, sense of belonging, perceived match, persistence intentions, and demographic factors. However, investigations often overlook the intersecting identities of race, gender, and generation status. Furthermore, little is known about how these demographic factors moderate the relationship between these psychosocial factors and persistence intentions. This study explored self-construal, perceived match, sense of belonging, and persistence intentions at the intersection of race, gender, and generation status. We also examined how these characteristics influence the relationship between these psychosocial factors and persistence intentions. Participants were introductory psychology students ( N = 1,496). Three-way analyses of variance revealed one significant three-way interaction for interdependent self-construal, favoring Hispanic continuing-generation (CG) female students over Hispanic CG males, albeit with a small effect size. Additionally, moderation analysis revealed that independent self-construal more strongly influenced persistence intentions among first-generation students than CG students. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Contribution: This paper shows that identification with engineering for engineering graduate students is positively and significantly predicted by engineering interest, competence, recognition, and interpersonal skills competence. Background: Prior studies of engineering identity on undergraduates identified several factors (e.g., engineering interest and engineering recognition) as positive predictors of identification of engineering. Engineering competence, achieved by participating in design projects, is a crucial part of students’ efforts to become more innovative engineers. Identity theory is used to understand undergraduates’ persistence in engineering, as students with stronger engineering identification are more likely to persist. More work is needed focusing on graduate students. Research Questions: Do engineering identity measurement frameworks studied for undergraduate students also apply to graduate students? Do they correlate with intention to complete the degree? What predicts the engineering identity of engineering master’s and doctoral students? Methodology: Interviews informed development and adaptation of a multi-scale survey instrument. Factor analyses identified four factors that relate to graduate engineering identity: 1) engineering interest; 2) engineering recognition; 3) engineering competence; and 4) interpersonal skills competence. Three sequential multiple linear regression models were used to predict engineering graduate students’ engineering identity. Findings: The final regression model, which includes student characteristics and the four factors resulting from confirmatory factor analysis, predicts 60% of the variance in engineering identity—substantially more than similar undergraduate engineering identity models. All four factors were significant and positive predictors of graduate students’ engineering identity. The engineering recognition factor in particular needed adaptation to emphasize peers and faculty members over family, although family remained important.

The culture of engineering and the culture of formal learning environments often make it difficult for individuals to develop an engineering identity. Conversely, recent research points to the home environment as an alternative setting to support disciplinespecific identity development of children, while less is known regarding the identity development of children as engineers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the development of children’s engineering identity through the co-creation of engineering concepts and engagement with engineering design thinking and processes with family members in home environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted interviews with nine families—nine parents and 13 children in Grades 3–6. Analysis of the interviews highlighted how situational interest, recognition, self-efficacy, and doing engineering shaped and informed children’s developing identity. For example, child participants expressed heightened situational interest in the engineering design process and various genres of engineering, with some self-identifying as a particular type of engineer based on their interests. Some expressed greater interest in utilizing engineering practices and processes in the future, either as a career or as a hobby. As another finding, child participants discursively enacted and behaved as engineers through their experiences with collaboration, failure, and perseverance. Concurrently, parent participants articulated their child(ren)’s developing engineering identity, particularly in how their children conducted new processes and modeled the thinking and perseverance of engineers. Parents also noted the development of an inquisitive mindset regarding materials and objects in their home and community environments. We argue that the significance of this study lies in the potential to develop children’s engineering identity in home environments beyond the pandemic, as well as inform children’s identity trajectory as engineers as they continue to accumulate traces of an engineering identity over time and space.

Abstract Past research has identified an explanatory model of how Engineering Self-Efficacy, Values, and Identity combine to drive student engagement in engineering activities such as study groups, internships, design-workshops, and conferences (Walton, Knisley, McCullough, 2019). The model suggests that engineering self-efficacy is the most proximal driver of engagement while engineering identity and values by contrast are more indirect and distal motivators of engagement in engineering activities with their effects on student engagement being mediated by the more proximal influence of engineering self-efficacy. In essence, for students to be motivated to engage in engineering activities they must first feel capable within engineering (self-efficacy). Walton et al., (2019), further argue, given the right educational environment, these relationships constitute a positive feedback loop. Specifically, the more a student feels capable within engineering, the more likely they are to engage with curricular and extracurricular engineering content and activities. This increased engagement increases engineering self-efficacy, and these efficacious experiences, in turn form the building-blocks of engineering identity and promote the internalization of engineering values. This paper reports on an educational intervention that involved curricular changes that incorporate needs finding and engineering design education across all four undergraduate years. It is hypothesized that allowing students to gain practice at identifying important needs and designing solutions will increase their beliefs in their own capability to do engineering (self-efficacy), which will in turn help them see themselves as engineers (identity), and promote their valuation of the knowledge, skills, and utility of the field (values). This study reports on a Pre/Post-Test research design aimed at testing this intervention. Students in six undergraduate engineering courses that were reformulated to provide students with consistent opportunities to engage in needs finding and engineering design activities were administered a pre-test and post-test survey designed to measure their engineering self-efficacy, engineering identity, and engineering values.

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative engineering design on the development of engineering identities in elementary-school students and compared the findings across gender. We focused on three tiers of collaboration embedded into the engineering design process: peer groups, role models, and shared goals. More specifically, the elementary students worked in small teams and partnered with undergraduate engineers to help design and build dancing robots that come together for a coordinated dance performance. We used ethnographic methods, including pre- and post-program student interviews, video-recorded program sessions, and documentation of student work, to investigate elementary students’ engineering identities. Three themes emerged from our analysis. First, working with peers encouraged students who were initially uninterested in engineering, the majority of whom were girls, to join the program and helped them to engage in the activities. Second, partnering with engineer role models contributed to the elementary students’ developing identities as engineers: The girls were most influenced by the personal bonds they formed, while the boys were most influenced by the technical skills they learned. Third, all girls and most boys preferred the idea of working toward a shared goal over competitive projects that, as described by the students, can cause bad feelings and hurt friendships. Our work supports and extends elementary engineering literature by considering the role of multiple tiers of collaboration in identity development in girls and boys. Our results suggest that engineering design programs that foster collaboration can help more students, especially more girls, engage in and identify with engineering, thereby contributing to the narrowing of the gender gap.

The educational disruptions caused by COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 were vast.Schools utilized a variety of instructional methods from paper packets to varying amounts of online synchronous and asynchronous instruction.One Nashville independent elementary school provided lesson plans each day for students to complete, with the assistance of their parents, largely asynchronously.To combat the difficulties encountered by families with two working parents and children frustrated by this type of learning, a zoom-conference based class consisting of three second grade children was created.Each day Monday through Thursday the children were presented a hands-on engineering design challenge that utilized materials found in their homes.The children had not been previously exposed to the engineering design process (EDP).The theoretical framework for this study lies in the areas of engineering identity as well as teamwork and feedback through engineering discourse.The research questions for this study were the following: 1) What are the impacts of teaching the engineering design process online via zoom conference on development of children's ability to use engineering discourse?Are students able to master the steps of the engineering design process?How do students learn to receive and implement feedback from their peers and the teacher over zoom?How is teamwork affected as compared to in-person experiences?2) If any how do children develop their engineering identity through a series of zoom conference-based engineering design challenges?To answer these questions, data were derived from recordings of the online sessions and observations of student behavior and statements, the PowerPoint slides that were used to facilitate the course, photos and videos created by parents of the students' designs, and interviews with the children.Qualitative data analysis followed an inductive approach.The utilization of multiple data sources allowed for a complete picture of what is taking place during the sessions and how it impacted the children's understanding and practice of the engineering design process.The children became very facile with the EDP and its steps.They looked forward to the design challenge each day, often using it as motivation to get through their required schoolwork before starting the challenge.At times they struggled to give and especially to receive feedback from their peers, particularly when it involved criticism.All three children reported believing that they are an engineer, an indicator of a forming engineering identity.By April 23 rd and the Beauty and the Beak challenge, the children have made strides in giving and receiving feedback. SpeakerSpeech Gesture