Do Gender Differences in Perceived Prototypical Computer Scientists and Engineers Contribute to Gender Gaps in Computer Science and Engineering?

Women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering (CS&E). We examined whether women might view the intellectual characteristics of prototypical individuals in CS&E in more stereotype-consistent ways than men might and, consequently, show less interest in CS&E. We asked 269 U.S. college students (187, 69.5% women) to describe the prototypical computer scientist (Study 1) or engineer (Study 2) through open-ended descriptions as well as through a set of trait ratings. Participants also rated themselves on the same set of traits and rated their similarity to the prototype. Finally, participants in both studies were asked to describe their likelihood of pursuing future college courses and careers in computer science (Study 1) or engineering (Study 2). Across both studies, we found that women offered more stereotype-consistent ratings than did men of the intellectual characteristics of prototypes in CS (Study 1) and engineering (Study 2). Women also perceived themselves as less similar to the prototype than men did. Further, the observed gender differences in prototype perceptions mediated the tendency for women to report lower interest in CS&E fields relative to men. Our work highlights the importance of prototype perceptions for understanding the gender gap in CS&E and suggests avenues for interventions that may increase women’s representation in these vital fields

Examining the Relationship Among Perceived Academic Climate, Belongingness, and Engineering Identity

An attempt to cultivate an inclusive learning environment in engineering is trending as a response to women\u27s underrepresentation and a lower retention rate than men undergraduates. This study was situated in such an undergraduate engineering program where interventions were embedded in the course curriculum focusing on cultivating an inclusive engineering identity. Following a sociocultural perspective, the present study aimed to examine the relation of engineering identity with perceived academic climate, sense of belonging, and gender among two engineering cohorts (before covid and during covid context). A total of 482 first-year engineering undergraduates\u27 survey responses were analyzed in this study using a moderated mediation model. The findings of this empirical study revealed that the sense of belonging mediated the effect of perceived diversity promotion of academic climate on engineering identity. These relationships were not found to be varied between males and females, nor before and during COVID 19 pandemic. This study shed light on the social, cognitive, and affective factors that impact engineering identity in an inclusive curriculum and informed future design of interventions

Engineering Students’ Perceptions of Belongingness in Civil Engineering

Prior research shows that engineering students with low feelings of belongingness tend to switch to non-technical majors. With the understanding that aspects of student motivation, identity, and personality, as well as their academic performance, affect their sense of community in engineering, this study seeks to assess these student attributes over time. The context for this study is a single civil engineering program that is undergoing both curricular and cultural changes as part of an NSF-funded project. The data and findings presented here are part of a larger study of how student attitudes and beliefs change during their experiences in a curriculum that is different from the status quo. The focus of this paper is on students’ sense of belonging within their courses, major and university, and how those perceptions differ based on student demographics and year in the program. Data collected for this study include responses to a survey designed to assess the current civil engineering students’ motivation, attitudes and beliefs about their courses, department, and university. The survey, which was adapted from a prior NSF-funded project, included eight constructs: sense of community, time-oriented motivation, goal orientation, career outcome expectations, grit, identity, agency beliefs and Big 5 personality traits. Subscales for students’ sense of community (which is the focus of this paper) were sense of community within their current engineering course, their engineering major and university. Undergraduates were invited to complete the survey during lab courses in which they were enrolled during the Fall and Spring semesters. Of the total number of students in the program, 92.2% completed the survey (86% White and 80% male, which is representative of enrollment in the department). Quantitative data analyses included descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (ANOVA) to compare the factor means by gender and race and by year in the program. Interviews were conducted with a subset of the survey participants (n=9) from a range of classes and demographics during the last two weeks of each semester. The interview questions pertaining to students’ perceptions of belongingness are included in this paper, although other questions explored students’ beliefs about identity and their perceptions of their future in engineering. Interviews were analyzed using open coding, with codes organized into categories and themes. Quantitative results showed that mean scores for all three belongingness sub-constructs increase as students’ time in the program increases, with the exception of juniors having the highest score for sense of belonging at the university level. The largest increases in sense of belonging at the course, major and institution levels were between sophomore and junior year. Some factors of belongingness were significantly lower for non-majority student groups. Qualitative analyses revealed that students’ perceptions of belongingness were affected by positive learning experiences, connecting with civil engineers in different contexts, making personal connections and having a sense of solidarity with others in the program. Perceptions of not belonging were affected by students selecting this major to fulfill others’ expectations, not meeting instructors’ expectations, and a lack of role models for females

The differences in attitudes and achievements in mathematics among socio-economic levels : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

A continual goal of a teacher is to find new ways to reach students so that they become successful in school. I suggest that one factor that has an effect on a student's successes as well as attitudes regarding mathematics, in particular, is their socio-economic status. In order to support my thesis, I have completed several items. First, a school comparison between an affluent school and one from an area with a lower socio-economic area is included. What follows is a literature review of the limited published material that presently exists on the topic, which includes possible causes and solutions. Finally, a survey that could be used as a diagnostic tool to gauge student attitudes is included. If the cause of failure is pinpointed and a cause is then found, teachers are one step closer to attaining their goal of reaching students.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.

Understanding How Engineering Identity and Belongingness Predict Grit for First-Generation College Students

Increasing the participation of underrepresented students, including first-generation college students, in engineering plays a central role in sustaining the U.S. research and innovation capacity. Diversity continues to be recognized as an asset in engineering. However, we also know that the culture of engineering has an implicit assumption about who can be and who is recognized as an engineer. There is also a complex relationship between participation in a community of practice and identity. Diverse students must not only author an identity as an engineer but also must grapple with how that identity, historically constructed as white and masculine, becomes a part of how they see themselves. This research study uses structural equation modeling to examine how first-generation college students’ engineering identity and sense of belongingness in engineering serve as mediators for students’ grit in terms of persistence of effort and consistency of interest. Results reveal that engineering identity has a positive direct effect on students’ sense of belongingness. Both engineering identity and belongingness have a positive direct effect on persistence of effort but were not significant predictors of consistency of interest. Additionally, belongingness is a mediator between engineering identity and persistence of effort. These results begin to uncover how grit is not a stand-alone measure and defies the idea that some students have it while others do not. Persistence of effort is present for first-generation college students when they see themselves as the kinds of people that can do engineering and feel a sense of belongingness within the field. The results of this work highlights ways to support grit development in first-generation college students

The Influence of Connecting Funds of Knowledge to Beliefs about Performance, Classroom Belonging

First-generation college students in engineering accumulate bodies of knowledge through their working-class families. In our ethnographic data of first-generation college students, we identified tinkering knowledge from home and from work, perspective taking, mediational ability, and connecting experiences as knowledge sources brought to engineering. The purpose of this paper was to understand how first-generation college students’ accumulated bodies of knowledge (i.e., funds of knowledge) support their beliefs about performing well in engineering coursework, feeling a sense of belonging in the classroom, and certainty of graduating. Data for this study came from a survey administered in the Fall of 2018 from ten universities across the US. In this study, only the sample of students who indicated their parents had less than a bachelor’s degree (n = 378) were used. A structural equation modeling technique was employed to examine several interconnected research questions pertaining to funds of knowledge, performance/competence beliefs, classroom belongingness, and certainty of graduating with an engineering degree. Our analysis demonstrates that the accumulated bodies of knowledge obtained through tinkering at home, tinkering at work, and the skill of being a mediator served to scaffold concepts that students were currently learning in engineering. There was a negative direct relationship between students’ ability to make connections between their home activities to scaffold what they are currently learning and their certainty of graduating with an engineering degree. However, first-generation college students’ perceptions of performing well in their engineering coursework and their sense of belonging in the classroom positively supported their certainty of graduating thus emphasizing the importance of connecting students’ funds of knowledge to engineering coursework and classroom instruction. Implications for possible approaches towards connecting first-generation college students’ funds of knowledge to engineering coursework and classroom culture are discussed

Sense of Belonging and Racial Diversity at the U.S. Service Academies

On college campuses, access does not equal inclusion as students of color have to navigate through a predominately White space as they struggle to feel like they belong (Jack, 2019). This dissertation focuses on racial experiences and belonging within a total institution (Goffman, 1961): the U.S. service academies, colleges that are part university and part military. Across three separate papers, I explore the institutional factors that impact the disparity between Black and White students’ belonging. In Chapter 1, I apply Allport’s contact theory (1954) alongside the concept of relative deprivation (Stouffer, 1949) to systematically compare the experiences of Black and White college students using meta-analytic methods. In Chapter 2, I again apply contact theory to service academy cadets while taking into consideration the negative feelings associated with interracial contact. Negative cross-racial interactions at a service academy impact Black students’ sense of belonging more intensely than White students. In Chapter 3, I apply social identity contingency threat theory (Purdie-Vaughns, 2004), aversive racism (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004), and research on diversity ideologies to explore how cadets at a different service academy may be interpreting institutional diversity efforts. By considering how diversity messages act as cues for both White and Black students, I investigate how identity contingency theory can apply to cadets and their sense of belonging. In these studies, I am interested in documenting some of the disparate experiences that Black cadets experience compared to White cadets and find the extent to which sense of belonging manifests in those disparities

Identifying Inclusive Practices on U.S. University Campuses That Create Engagement for Diverse Populations

Interactions between diversity and inclusion have been incompletely studied on U.S. college campuses. Previous researchers have also demonstrated an incomplete understanding of these two constructs, resulting in uneven attempts to create inclusion on college campuses. Diversity and inclusion research on college life is needed because inclusion is relatively new and unexplored, student diversity in U.S. higher education is increasing, and practical models and programs for enhancing campus inclusion are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify best practices and student attitudes regarding inclusion and group memberships with Generation Z and Millennial college students in the United States, the most diverse student generations to-date. Attitudes and behaviors on inclusion were specifically surveyed at 3 U.S.- based Christian universities. To examine diversity and inclusion, a quantitative study design was used to explore how demographic, group membership, and group practices impact student’s feelings of inclusion. A planned outcome of this research was identifying findings with practical applications for higher education professionals that want to create a culture of inclusion on campus, using survey results. The results revealed that group membership significantly affects students’ feelings of inclusion. Practices of intentional fellowship, mentorship, and diversity were also found to affect feelings of inclusion. Keywords: diversity, inclusion, Generation Z, Millennial, social identity theory, fellowship, mentorship, intentional diversity practice

Life-Experiences of Female Students in Physics: The Outsiders Within

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the kinds of experiences that were critical to the physics trajectories of four purposefully selected undergraduate female physics students in central Europe. The data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and were analyzed following an inductive approach and a combination of open and in-vivo coding. The findings showed that: (a) all participants experienced a lack of sense of belonging in physics because of stereotypes and biases about the role of women in physics, which were evident both in classroom discourses and lack of recognition by their instructors and their male peers; (b) the intersection of gender and physics identity served as a barrier to the participants’ perceived recognition (by others) as competent physics persons as well as their sense of belonging in physics; and, (c) all participants pointed to the lack of role-models and specifically women of color in academia