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Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering

Published 6 issues per year

ISSN Print: 1072-8325

ISSN Online: 1940-431X

SJR: 0.514 SNIP: 0.875 CiteScore™:: 2.4 H-Index: 27

Indexed in

CLIMATE FOR RETENTION TO GRADUATION: A MIXED METHODS INVESTIGATION OF STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS AND PROGRAMS

Volume 16, Issue 4, 2010, pp. 293-317
DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v16.i4.20
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ABSTRACT

This mixed methods investigation, part of a larger study examining student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, reports findings on departmental climates that enhance retention to completion of engineering degrees for women and underrepresented minorities. Quantitative analysis of student surveys conducted in the fall of 2007 at four selected Florida engineering programs revealed that faculty support, personal agency and peer support, and perception of social and academic fit were associated with student retention to completion; however, no statistically significant gender or racial differences were found. The rwg statistic, which captures agreement among students within departments and programs, indicated that sufficient homogeneity existed that justified aggregation of data. Analyses of interviews and focus groups data showed that women and underrep- resented minorities were not treated differently, nonetheless they experienced department climate differently from their majority peers. Our findings suggest that sexism and racism are subtle and students experiencing them are often unable to articulate it. This study illustrates the use of a mixed methods approach in examining the complex issue of gender and race in the context of climate for retention to graduation in engineering.

CITED BY
  1. Wang Xueli, Course-Taking Patterns of Community College Students Beginning in STEM: Using Data Mining Techniques to Reveal Viable STEM Transfer Pathways, Research in Higher Education, 57, 5, 2016. Crossref

  2. Tendhar Chosang, Singh Kusum, Jones Brett D., Using the domain identification model to study major and career decision-making processes, European Journal of Engineering Education, 43, 2, 2018. Crossref

  3. Holcombe Elizabeth, Kezar Adrianna, Ensuring Success Among First-Generation, Low-Income, and Underserved Minority Students: Developing a Unified Community of Support, American Behavioral Scientist, 64, 3, 2020. Crossref

  4. Pugh Kevin J., Phillips Michael M., Sexton Julie M., Bergstrom Cassendra M., Riggs Eric M., A quantitative investigation of geoscience departmental factors associated with the recruitment and retention of female students, Journal of Geoscience Education, 67, 3, 2019. Crossref

  5. Campbell‐Montalvo Rebecca, Kersaint Gladis, Smith Chrystal A. S., Puccia Ellen, Skvoretz John, Wao Hesborn, Martin Julie P., MacDonald George, Lee Reginald, How stereotypes and relationships influence women and underrepresented minority students' fit in engineering, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 59, 4, 2022. Crossref

  6. Fitzpatrick Mary E., Burrows Stephanie G., Yonker James A., An Exploratory Study of Engineering Graduate Student Persistence: Self-Efficacy and Contextual Influences, Journal of Career Development, 2022. Crossref

  7. Hardtke Mellissa, Khanjaninejad Leila, Lang Candace, Nasiri Noushin, Gender Complexity and Experience of Women Undergraduate Students within the Engineering Domain, Sustainability, 15, 1, 2022. Crossref

Forthcoming Articles

Mitigating Barriers, Scaffolding Success: Institutional Supports for Black Undergraduate Women in Engineering Programs Meseret Hailu, Neelakshi Rajeev Tewari, Brooke Coley Underrepresented Students Pursuing Mathematics-Intensive Degrees: Changes after Transitioning to College Alison Marzocchi What do STEM Clubs do? The Effect of College Club Participation on Career Confidence and Gender Inclusion Guillermo Dominguez Garcia, Jennifer Glass Validating Practices and Messages that Promote Women’s Engineering Classroom Belongingness: An Intersectional Approach Dina Verdin, A Lili Castillo Examining the Role of Institutional Support on International Doctoral Women’s STEM Persistence and Mental Health Aisha Farra, Aashika Anantharaman, Sarah Swanson, Kerrie Wilkins-Yel, Jennifer Bekki, Nedim Yel, Ashley Randall, Bianca Bernstein Searching for safe space: Student veterans’ uneven pathways to STEM careers by race Brittany Hunt, Jae Hoon Lim Does Race, Ethnicity or Gender of the Mentor Affect Whether They Will be a “Good Mentor”? A Qualitative Analysis of Students’ Perceptions Reuben May, Christine Stanley, America Soto-Arzat, Jennifer Ackerman PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AND TEAM MEMBER EFFECTIVENESS OF MINORITIZED STUDENTS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Behzad Beigpourian, Matthew Ohland Perceptions of Department Chair Roles and Responsibilities in Career Progression and Success of Women STEM Faculty Stephanie Jones, Patricia Ryan Pal “Barbed-Wire Boundaries”: Hidden Curriculum, First-Generation and Low-Income Engineering Students, and Internship Acquisition Jerry Yang, Joseph Towles, Sheri Sheppard, Sara Atwood “I Want to Make an Impact”: The Science Identity and Career Goals of Black and Latinx Science and Engineering Postdoctoral Scholars Sylvia Mendez, Kathryn Watson, Kathryn Starkey, Valerie Conley Care Work, Science Brokering, and Career Motivations: How Hispanic/Latinx Young Adults in STEM Express Social Agency during the COVID-19 Pandemic Angela Frederick, Angelica Monarrez, Danielle Morales Bridging the gap: A sequential mixed methods study of trust networks in graduate application, admissions, and enrollment Cynthia Villarreal, Julie Posselt, Theresa Hernandez, Alexander Rudolph
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