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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

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ENGINEERING STUDENTS' IMAGINED FUTURES

Volume 20, Issue 3, 2014, pp. 197-209
DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2014007079
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ABSTRACT

Background: Future Time Perspective (FTP) theory addresses how the content and dimensions of people's imagined futures impact their learning and motivation. We used FTP theory to determine if gender differences existed in types of future events students envision and how these events were related to academic functioning. Purpose: In light of the intense national focus on career/life balance for women in the sciences, the focus of this study was to determine if students actually imagine such a trade-off when asked to think about the future. Design: We examined self-reported future events, motivation, and knowledge building from a sample of 366 engineering students. We analyzed the survey data using correlations, t-tests, and frequency counts to determine the relationship between imagined futures and academic functioning, as well as gender differences, respectively. Results: Results indicated that male students imagined significantly more professional events than female students, and that professional events were related to adaptive academic functioning. Analysis of the data suggests female engineering students self-reported a trade-off between professional and domestic events. Conclusions: We discuss the findings in the context of recent career/life balance initiatives and the need for improved industry mechanisms for helping women balance career and family.

CITED BY
  1. Husman Jenefer, Hilpert Jonathan C., Brem Sarah K., Future Time Perspective Connectedness to a Career: The Contextual Effects of Classroom Knowledge Building, Psychologica Belgica, 56, 3, 2016. Crossref

  2. Ijagbemi Christianah O., Kanakana Mukondeleli G., Campbell Harold M., Interventions and pathways for South African women in engineering and the built environment professions, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 9, 6, 2017. Crossref

  3. Wong Phoebe, Lee Daisy, M.L. Ng Peggy, Online search for information about universities: a Hong Kong study, International Journal of Educational Management, 32, 3, 2018. Crossref

  4. Hilpert Jonathan, Marchand Gwen, Complex Systems Research and Evaluation in Engineering Education, 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings, 2017. Crossref

  5. Heddy Benjamin C., Nelson Katherine G., Husman Jenefer, Cheng Katherine C., Goldman Jacqueline A., Chancey John B., The relationship between perceived instrumentality, interest and transformative experiences in online engineering, Educational Psychology, 41, 1, 2021. Crossref

  6. Dubeau Annie, Plante Isabelle, Jutras-Dupont Camille, Samson Ghislain, Frenay Mariane, Understanding the Relationships between Psychological and Contextual Determinants, Motivation and Achievement Outcomes for Students in Vocational Training or Technical Training Programs, Vocations and Learning, 14, 1, 2021. Crossref

  7. Scheidt Matthew, Godwin Allison, Berger Edward, Chen John, Self Brian P., Widmann James M., Gates Ann Q., Engineering students' noncognitive and affective factors: Group differences from cluster analysis, Journal of Engineering Education, 110, 2, 2021. Crossref

  8. Potvin Geoff, McGough Catherine, Benson Lisa, Boone Hank J., Doyle Jacqueline, Godwin Allison, Kirn Adam, Ma Beverly, Rohde Jacqueline, Ross Monique, Verdin Dina, Gendered Interests in Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering: Intersections With Career Outcome Expectations, IEEE Transactions on Education, 61, 4, 2018. Crossref

  9. Unger Alexander, Omari Soumia, Papastamatelou Julie, Working in Argan cooperatives is associated with the time perspectives of Amazigh women in the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, Personality Science, 3, 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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