Transcript Investing or Divesting in the Future? The Impact of

Bryce E. Hughes and Sylvia Hurtado
UCLA
Association for the Study of Higher Education
November 2013
St. Louis, MO
Projections indicate the United States will need
an additional 500,000 engineers by 2018
 Institutions of higher education produce
relatively few engineering degrees
 Additionally, engineering bachelor’s recipients
may not pursue engineering careers
 Engineering identity may bridge degree
completion with career decision
 Marginalization may affect engineering identity
development for underrepresented groups of
students

 To
examine the effect of socializing
experiences within engineering
programs on engineering identity, and
whether campus climate affects students’
identification with and commitment to
engineering

Engineering Identity (Allie et al., 2009; Loui, 2005; Meyers et al.,
2012; Pierrakos et al., 2009; Tonso, 2006)
• Competence in engineering knowledge
• Recognition as an engineer by others
• Commitment to engineering as a career

Graduate and professional school socialization (Weidman et al.,
2001)
• Desired outcomes: Professional identity, Commitment to the profession
• Core elements of socialization:
 Acquisition of professional knowledge
 Investment in the professional field
 Involvement in the academic program and the broader professional community

Multicontextual Model of Diverse Learning Environments (Hurtado
et al., 2012)
• Campus climate includes individual and organizational dimensions
• Individual dimensions: behavioral and psychological
• Weidman et al. specifically pointed to the applicability of this campus climate
model to their socialization model
 Data
source and sample
• 2004 CIRP Freshman Survey
• 2008 CIRP College Senior Survey
• Longitudinal sample matched by student
• Filtered for engineering aspirants in 2004
• 979 students from 129 institutions
• More than 3/4 male; 36.45% White
 Analysis
• Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) and
Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling (HGLM)
 Dependent
variables
• Engineering identity (factor; α=0.710, 2004
α=0.703, 2008)
 Importance of becoming an authority in my field
(0.862, 0.783)
 Obtaining recognition from my colleagues for
contributions to my special field (0.695, 0.782)
 Making a theoretical contribution to science (0.491,
0.461)
• Commitment to an engineering career
(dichotomous)
 Independent variables
• Socializing experiences
 Internship programs
 Undergraduate research
 Major-related clubs or organizations
 Faculty support and mentoring
 Career concern: Working for social change
• Campus climate
 Negative cross-racial interactions
 Singled out on the basis of gender, race/ethnicity, or sexual
orientation
 Heard faculty express racial stereotypes in class
• Interactions
 Controls
• Pretest for both dependent variables
• Student background characteristics and
demographics
• High school academic preparation
• Pre-college expectations and aspirations
• Institutional characteristics
Engineering
identity (2008)
Engineering Identity pre-test (2004)
+
Reason: To get training for a specific career
–
Career concern: Opportunity to work for social change
+
Faculty support and mentoring
+
Negative cross-racial interactions
+
Interaction: Sex X Frequency of feeling singled out
+
Commitment to
Engineering
(2008)
Commitment pre-test (2004)
+
Master’s degree aspiration (ref: bachelor’s or less)
+
Doctoral degree aspiration
+
Plan to change major
-
Institutional type: private (level 2)
+
% students majoring in STEM (level 2)
+
Participated in internship program
+
Participated in major-related club or organization
+
 Interventions
enhance students’ sense of
engineering identity and commitment
 Campus climate does not appear to affect
engineering identity
• However feelings of isolation among women and
negative cross-racial interactions remain common
 Students
more concerned with social
change have stronger engineering
identities
 Different socialization experiences may
influence outcomes in different ways
 Continue
and expand internship programs
and engineering student organizations
 Though campus climate appears unrelated
to engineering identity, attention to
improving the climate is still necessary
 Engineering programs should identify
channels for students to engage in social
justice work (i.e. Engineers Without
Borders)
 Tying these engineering experiences to
different socialization outcomes helps
faculty more intentionally structure them