Underrepresented Engineering Students Research Articles

Sub-Saharan women in engineering higher education: A literature-informed research tool

We present a review of higher education and education policy literature to understand better higher education institutions (HEIs) that serve sub-Saharan women in engineering. Our sub-Saharan women in engineering (SSAWE) literature-informed conceptual tool consists of five components to facilitate scholarly discussion about equity in higher education systems and facilitate interregional comparisons. The five components to study the educational experiences of women in engineering in this region include (1) a sociopolitical and historical national context for higher education policy, (2) critical discourse analysis of gender-based affirmative action policies, (3) enrollment and graduation data for female engineering students, (4) a longitudinal assessment of the employability of the engineering major, and (5) a qualitative campus climate survey of each country's flagship university. Our article introduces a conceptual investigation of the social, historical, and employment trends contextualizing engineering higher education in this region of Africa. We draw from existing literature about conceptual models predominantly used in higher education efforts toward undergraduate student success. When describing each SSAWE component, we include empirical and theoretical work that substantiates the need for each component and the benefits of the proposed methodology. More broadly speaking, this paper discusses how research employing the SSAWE framework could benefit key stakeholders who engage in policymaking. We suggest that sub-Saharan African universities should prioritize a regional comparative approach when designing support programs for underrepresented students in engineering. SSAWE will also generate more South–South comparisons that advance culturally situated analyses, contributing to higher education institutions’ advancementand the minoritized populations they serve.

Using STEAM and Bio-Inspired Design to Teach the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Engineers

AbstractThe need for addressing global and societal problems is stronger than ever, as demonstrated by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges. However, engineering undergraduate students rarely get to experience engaging with the associated real-world projects and challenges. This has the potential to result in attenuation from engineering education and career pathways. This study aimed to overcome this issue by reaching the United States’ untapped future engineering workforce via an engineering educator professional development “train-the-trainer” program. This train-the-trainer program guided engineering educators to apply evidence-based pedagogical methods (e.g., backward course design) to couple entrepreneurial mindset (EM) development with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) and bio-inspired design in an effort to improve the retention of underrepresented engineering students via a transdisciplinary, humanistic approach. This study employed a mixed methods approach including retrospective post-then-pre items based on perceived learning gains, rating the overall satisfaction with the program, and open-ended questions to better understand what went well, what did not go so well, and what can be improved. From a practical perspective, this study shows that integrating STEAM (with a specific focus on the arts) into the engineering classroom promotes problem-solving and critical thinking across disciplines. Here, applying STEAM principles encourages diverse perspective taking and making by bridging paradigms and theoretical frameworks across a variety of humanities and technical disciplines. As a result, combining STEAM with bio-inspired design and the EM has the capacity to increase engagement and broaden participation among students traditionally underrepresented in engineering, including females and minoritized populations.

Circle of success—An interpretative phenomenological analysis of how Black engineering students experience success

AbstractBackgroundThough minoritized undergraduate engineering students earn less than 25% of engineering bachelor's degrees, minority‐serving institutions (MSIs) are leading the way in producing a large percentage of those underrepresented engineering bachelor's degree holders. However, much of the published research about the experiences of underrepresented engineering students occurs within the context of predominantly White institutions. Upon deeper inspection into the apparent success of some MSIs, graduation rates of specific minoritized populations (e.g., Black students) remain critically low. This suggests that there is more to be learned about how to better support Black engineering students' success.PurposeWe explored the experiences of Black undergraduate engineering students at a large public doctoral university with very high research activity.Design/MethodWe used interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand the experiences of eight participants.FindingsWe inductively developed two themes to describe how Black engineering students experience success at a Hispanic‐serving institution, which include building success networks and implementing rules of engagement.ConclusionParticipants enacted their cultural capital to construct their circles of success through the intentional engagement of others, resources, and themselves to realize success. This work sheds light on how Black students describe what it means to be successful in their engineering environment.

Engineering Students of Color and Financial Capability: Summary of A Pilot Conference

Financial Capability Conference was hosted for engineering students from various backgrounds and universities. The results show that while not all analyses were significant, patterns were observed and differences among participants on financial capability were noted. The results support previous research on the impact of socialization on financial knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes, particularly for underrepresented engineering students.

Effects of Student Interests on Engagement and Performance in Biomechanics.

There is a need for pedagogical techniques that increase student engagement among underrepresented groups in engineering. Relating engineering content to student interests, particularly through biomechanics applications, shows promise toward engaging a diverse group of students. This study investigates the effects of student interests on engagement and performance in 10th grade students enrolled in a summer program for students underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The authors assessed the effects of interest-tailored lectures on student engagement and performance in a 5-week program with bioengineering workshops, focusing on the delivery of biomechanics content. A total of 31 students received interest-tailored lectures (intervention) and 23 students received only generic lectures (control) in biomechanics. In addition, the authors assessed the effects of teaching method (lecture, classroom activities, and laboratory tours) on student engagement. The authors found interest-tailored lectures to significantly increase student engagement in lecture compared with generic lectures. Students that received interest-tailored lectures had an insignificant, but meaningful 5% increase in student performance. Students rated laboratory tours higher in engagement than other teaching methods. This study provides detailed examples that can directly assist student teaching and outreach in biomechanics. Furthermore, the pedagogical techniques in this study can be used to increase engagement of underrepresented students in engineering.

UTC ASSETS: Supporting Underprivileged and Underrepresented Engineering Students

UTC ASSETS: Supporting Underprivileged and Underrepresented Engineering Students

Closing the loop to shift the default: How alternative ways of knowing can inform research and pedagogical practice

Closing the loop to shift the default: How alternative ways of knowing can inform research and pedagogical practice

Learning from Practitioners That Support Underrepresented Students in Engineering

AbstractCreating an inclusive and supportive learning environment is challenging due to the range of issues faced by diverse students. To facilitate efforts to help students, it is important that e...

Conversations about Diversity: Institutional Barriers for Underrepresented Engineering Students

Conversations about Diversity: Institutional Barriers for Underrepresented Engineering Students

The Role of Social Capital in the Experiences of Hispanic Women Engineering Majors

AbstractBackgroundWomen and minorities remain significantly underrepresented in the undergraduate engineering disciplines despite decades‐long recruitment and retention efforts. As United States demographics shift and the nation continues to recognize the value of workplace diversity, engineering education stakeholders continue to seek ways to increase participation of women and minority students.PurposeOur research examines the following question: For Hispanic women whose parents have limited educational attainment, what available sources of potential social capital do they identify, and by what means do they access and activate these resources in their decisions to select and persist in engineering as a college major? We hope to provide insights for United States institutions that serve Hispanic students, as well as those seeking to diversify their student body.Design/methodUtilizing Lin's network theory of social capital as a framework, we employed semi‐structured interviews in a multiple case study research methodology, taking a constructivist epistemological view.ResultsThree major findings are that (1) lack of available family social capital was supplemented mostly by school personnel; (2) delayed recognition or identification of available resources slowed access and activation of resources, leading to difficult university transitions; and (3) if accessed and activated, peer groups and institutional support systems provided sources of social capital.ConclusionsEven single instances or weak ties can be effective in bridging gaps in engineering‐related social capital. Facilitating opportunities for students to develop sustained social capital may have potential to attract and retain underrepresented students in engineering.

Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning (review)

Reviewed by: Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning Amanda Kraus Matthew Kaplan and A. T. Miller (Eds.). Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 111. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 106 pp. Paper: $29.00. ISSN: 0271-0633. In the Scholarship of Multicultural Teaching and Learning, editors Matthew Kaplan and A. T. Miller present a broad range of topics and issues related to multiculturalism in higher education in the specific context of teaching and learning. Comprised of 12 short and accessible chapters, this book discusses how multicultural learning is designed, implemented, and applied effectively across a variety of academic disciplines. They present topics in a logical sequence that enables readers to make connections across chapters. This book provides a framework by which multiculturalism can be infused into curricula. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a strong foundation for topics discussed in subsequent chapters. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive overview of state initiatives that threaten to eliminate affirmative action programs on campus. Its author, Susan W. Kaufmann, discusses the value of diversity on college campuses and the negative implications of various California propositions on diversity at state institutions over the past 10 years, despite many efforts by campuses to combat these effects. Beyond outlining specific propositions, this chapter serves as a warning to other institutions that may fall prey to current multistate initiatives that threaten affirmative action and funding for diversity-related services. Chapter 2 qualitatively explores the experiences of diverse faculty navigating the academy. These faculty members believe that their race, gender, and age negatively affect their relationships with students and colleagues, and their perceived creditability, intelligence, and experience. This chapter underscores the significance of bias, both conscious and unconscious, and also charges faculty and administrators who are members of privileged social groups to be advocates and allies for their diverse counterparts. The varied examples across chapters present a multidimensional conception of learning. Moving beyond a linear approach to learning, the faculty authors of these chapters have developed ways for students to connect with one another in the classroom, connect with their surrounding communities, and connect course content to the world in which they live. These practices help reframe traditional concepts of learning and promote a broader definition of education that is more appropriate for a multicultural context. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss specific classroom experiences that seek to engage diverse students through transformational learning experiences and discursive engagement. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss two experiential learning opportunities as ways to educate about oppression, privilege, power, and social change. The assessment in Chapter 7 was very helpful in demonstrating attitudinal shifts among students and their long-term commitment to social change. In a similar vein, Chapter 3 discusses the use of interactive theater as a technique for training faculty on how to handle difficult, diversity-related situations. Although the audience shifts from students to educators, the experiential methods are in line with the methods previously addressed. Chapters 8, 10, 11, and 12 outline innovative classroom experiences that have increased the participation and success (attendance, grades, self-confidence) of diverse students. These findings are supported by quantitative assessment and data. Faculty in multiple disciplines modified their course content and teaching styles to engage students in a “real world” context. Chapter 8 focuses on initiatives to improve retention for underrepresented students in engineering, one of which was to help students connect engineering principles to real world issues. In Chapter 10, a professor discusses the implications of globalization on instructional technology as a way to prepare students for careers that demand multicultural competency. Chapter 11 discusses an introductory political science course that relies heavily on group work to develop citizenship skills. Chapter 12 reports on the success of asking mathematics students to solve real economic, political, and social problems using formulas they had learned in class. These experiences not only better engaged diverse students but helped students apply academic concepts outside the classroom room. Chapter 9 has implications not only for underrepresented students but also for the way in which faculty build curricula. It questions the omission of African American art songs and spirituals from vocal performance curricula. Because African American music was born out of the slave...