Records from the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development indicate that engineering students are typical of students in other majors with respect to: persistence in major; persistence by gender and ethnicity; racial/ethnic distribution; and grade distribution. Data from the National Survey of Student Engagement show that this similarity extends to engagement outcomes including course challenge, faculty interaction, satisfaction with institution, and overall satisfaction. Engineering differs from other majors most notably by a dearth of female students and a low rate of migration into the major. Noting the similarity of students of engineering and other majors with respect to persistence and engagement, we propose that engagement is a precursor to persistence. We explore this hypothesis using data from the Academic Pathways Study of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. Further exploration reveals that although persistence and engagement do not vary as much as expected by discipline, there is significant institutional variation, and we assert a need to address persistence and engagement at the institutional level and throughout higher education. Finally, our findings highlight the potential of making the study of engineering more attractive to qualified students. Our findings suggest that a two-pronged approach holds the greatest potential for increasing the number of students graduating with engineering degrees: identify programming that retains the students who come to college committed to an engineering major, and develop programming and policies that allow other students to migrate in. There is already considerable discourse on persistence, so our findings suggest that more research focus is needed on the pathways into engineering, including pathways from other majors.

/pdf/persistence-engagement-and-migration-in-engineering-programs-24pd2scquw.pdf

Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs

Background

As estimates continue to indicate a growing demand for engineering professionals, retention in engineering remains an issue. Thus, the engineering education community remains concerned about students who leave engineering and must work to identify the factors that influence those students’ decisions.



Purpose (Hypothesis)

Our purpose was to identify a set of factors describing the experiences of students’ in a college of engineering that are strong influences on decisions to leave and study how those factors are related to both predictor variables (e.g., high school preparation) and future behaviors (e.g., new major chosen).



Design/Method

We solicited survey data from students who had recently transferred out of a large engineering college. We conducted exploratory factor analysis to determine the main factors for leaving engineering and then used these factors to answer the research questions.



Results

Results indicate that both academic (e.g., curriculum difficulty and poor teaching and advising) and a non-academic factor (lack of belonging in engineering) contribute to students’ decisions to leave engineering. We did find differences for some factors between majority and non-majority students; however, there were no gender differences.



Conclusions

Both academic and non-academic factors contribute to students’ decisions to leave engineering; however, our sample indicated the non-academic factors may be a stronger influence. Implications for educators focus on addressing both academic and the belonging factor and include examining pedagogical activities that may be less welcoming to a wide variety of student groups, providing opportunities for meaningful faculty interaction and other activities designed to support students pursuing engineering degrees.

Leaving Engineering: A Multi‐Year Single Institution Study

Background



Researchers have identified many factors affecting undergraduate engineering students' achievement and persistence. Yet, much of this research focuses on persistence within academia, with less attention to career plans after graduation. Furthermore, the relative influence of expectancy-versus value-related beliefs on students' achievement and career plans is not fully understood.



Purpose (Hypothesis)



To address these gaps, we examined the relationships among the following motivation constructs for female and male first-year engineering students: (a) expectancy-related constructs that included engineering self-efficacy (i.e., a judgment of one's ability to perform a task in engineering) and expectancy for success in engineering (i.e., the belief in the possibility of success in engineering); (b) value-related constructs that included identification with engineering (i.e., the extent to which one defines the self through a role or performance in engineering) and engineering values (i.e., beliefs related to engineering interest, importance, and usefulness); (c) engineering achievement; and (d) engineering career plans.



Design/Method



Participants included 363 first-year engineering students at a large state university. The students completed an online survey instrument in the first and second semester of their first year.



Results



Students' expectancy- and value-related beliefs decreased over the first year for both men and women. Men reported higher levels for expectancy-related beliefs than women. Expectancy-related constructs predicted achievement better than the value-related constructs, whereas value-related constructs predicted career plans better for both men and women.



Conclusions



Expectancy- and value-related constructs predicted different outcomes. Thus, both types of constructs are needed to understand students' achievement and career plans in engineering.

An Analysis of Motivation Constructs with First-Year Engineering Students: Relationships Among Expectancies, Values, Achievement, and Career Plans

Stereotype threat impairs performance across many domains. Despite a wealth of research, the long-term consequences of chronic stereotype threat have received little empirical attention. Beyond the immediate impact on performance, the experience of chronic stereotype threat is hypothesized to lead to domain disidentification and eventual domain abandonment. Stereotype threat is 1 explanation why African Americans and Hispanic/Latino(a)s “leak” from each juncture of the academic scientific pipeline in disproportionately greater numbers than their White and Asian counterparts. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the stereotype threat-disidentification hypothesis across 3 academic years with a national longitudinal panel of undergraduate minority science students. Experience of stereotype threat was associated with scientific disidentification, which in turn predicted a significant decline in the intention to pursue a scientific career. Race/ethnicity moderated this effect, whereby the effect was evident for Hispanic/Latino(a) students but not for all African American students. We discuss findings in terms of understanding chronic stereotype threat.

/pdf/the-consequences-of-chronic-stereotype-threat-domain-4y30wbpfvd.pdf

The Consequences of Chronic Stereotype Threat: Domain Disidentification and Abandonment

Who succeeds in STEM studies? An analysis of Binghamton University undergraduate students

BACKGROUND Understanding more about student decisions to leave engineering may lead to higher retention. This study builds on the literature and focuses on the experiences of a cohort of students who aimed to complete their undergraduate work in 2007. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS) This paper presents the outcomes of the longitudinal administration of the Persistence in Engineering survey. The goal was to identify correlates of persistence in undergraduate engineering education and professional engineering practice. DESIGN/METHOD The survey was administered seven times over four years to a cohort of students who had expressed interest in studying engineering. At the end of the study, the participants were categorized as persisters or non-persisters. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used, in conjunction with other approaches, to test for differences between the groups. RESULTS Persisters and non-persisters did not differ significantly according to the majority of the constructs. Nevertheless, parental and high school mentor influences as a motivation to study engineering, as well as confidence in math and science skills, were identified as correlates of persistence. Intention to complete an engineering major was also a correlate of persistence; it appears to decline sharply at least two semesters prior to students leaving engineering. The findings also suggest that there might be differences among non-persisters when they are further grouped by when they leave engineering. CONCLUSIONS Facilitating higher levels of mentor involvement before college might increase student motivation to study engineering, and also constitute a mechanism for fostering confidence in math and science skills. Since the intention to complete an engineering degree decreases well before students act, there may be opportunities for institutions to develop targeted interventions for students, and help them make informed decisions.

Outcomes of a Longitudinal Administration of the Persistence in Engineering Survey

A knowledge of the differences between persisters and nonpersisters may aid in the design of engineering curricula as well as strategies for academic advising. In the preliminary stage of analysis, as reported in this paper, the differences between persisters and non-persisters in engineering are apparent in the freshmen and sophomore years. In general, non-persisters are more likely to be motivated to study engineering by external (family) influences, are less confident in their math and science skills, and less likely to be engaged in their studies than persisters.

https://www.engr.washington.edu/caee/CAEE_Briefs_PDFs/APreliminaryAnalysis_Eris_ASEE07.pdf

A Preliminary Analysis Of Correlates Of Engineering Persistence: Results From A Longitudinal Study

The Case that Won't Go Away: Besieged Institutions and the Massachusetts Teacher Tests.

Equity is at the heart of the current efforts to reform science education. Recent reform documents explicitly put forward the idea that all students regardless of culture, gender, race, and/or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. Despite this emphasis, there continue to be widespread differences in the access, retention, and achievement of students depending on their culture, gender, race, and/or socioeconomic status. To address this need, the Urban Ecology Institute in partnership with the Boston Public Schools and the Lynch School of Education at Boston College has been developing and implementing a field-based science program to engage traditionally underrepresented groups in the doing of real-world science. To date we have found that our program improves student interest in science, supports students in developing a better understanding of scientific methodologies, and improves students' sense of environmental stewardship when compared to students experiencing traditional science instruction over the course of an academic year.

Improving urban youth's interest and engagement through field-based scientific investigations

This article describes the development, validation and application of a Rasch-based instrument, the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES), for measuring students’ perceptions of constructivist practices within the elementary science classroom. The instrument, designed to complement the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), is conceptualised using the RTOP’s three construct domains: Lesson Design and Implementation; Content; and Classroom Culture. Data from 895 elementary students was used to develop the Rasch scale, which was assessed for item fit, invariance and dimensionality. Overall, the data conformed to the assumptions of the Rasch model. In addition, the structural relationships among the retained items of the Rasch model supported and validated the instrument for measuring the reformed science classroom environment theoretical construct. The application of the ESSCES in a research study involving fourth grade students provides evidence that educators and researchers have a reliable instrument for understanding the elementary science classroom environment through the lens of the students.

Development and application of the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES): measuring student perceptions of constructivism within the science classroom

Camelia Rosca

Papers

Outcomes of a Longitudinal Administration of the Persistence in Engineering Survey

A Preliminary Analysis Of Correlates Of Engineering Persistence: Results From A Longitudinal Study

The Case that Won't Go Away: Besieged Institutions and the Massachusetts Teacher Tests.

Improving urban youth's interest and engagement through field-based scientific investigations

Development and application of the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES): measuring student perceptions of constructivism within the science classroom