NSF Award
2406798
Engineering identity is the way students describe themselves and how they are perceived as engineers. This identity is related to student retention and success in undergraduate engineering programs. Integrated support programs can improve retention and graduation rates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, particularly for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. Student support services include academic, faculty interaction, extracurricular, peer-interaction, professional development and additional support. The levels of support attributed to these areas likely change over the course of study for an engineering student at a large, regional university. Transitions from higher support in a general engineering program in the first year into fewer supports in specific engineering majors in the second-year present challenges that need to be explored. This project will examine connections between engineering identity and the role of student support services. This project is aligned with the goals of the Professional Formation of Engineers: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program. A better understanding of the relationship between student support and engineering identity may help support colleges and universities in defining the support structure for improved retention of the next generation of STEM professionals. <br/>The long-term goal is to contribute new knowledge into the development of engineering identity as students progress through an engineering program, moving from a general engineering program into a specific engineering discipline. The objective of this project is to evaluate the influence of key student support services variables on changes in engineering identity. The hypothesis is that the overall decreases in student support during the transition from a general first-year engineering program into their chosen engineering major may influence engineering identity. An explanatory cross-sectional mixed methods design will be used to address three research questions: 1) To what extent do student services support factors influence engineering identity over a four-year engineering program? 2) How does students’ engineering identity shift due to changes in support over time in their engineering programs? and 3) How do themes mentioned by instructors, advisors, and mentors help explain any differences? First, a survey of undergraduate engineering students will investigate students’ perceptions about student support services (i.e., Lee et al. 2022) and engineering identity (i.e., Godwin 2016) at various stages in an undergraduate civil engineering experience: 1) first year in a general engineering program, 2) second year after moving into the civil engineering major, 3) third year civil engineering student, and 4) fourth year civil engineering student. Next, a series of targeted student and faculty interviews will examine perceptions of engineering identity and student support services. Students interviewed will include those from underrepresented and underserved populations. Finally, interview data from instructors, faculty mentors, and advisors will be analyzed to identify emergent themes related to student support and engineering identity. Results will seek to explain student perceptions from the perspective of those educators who are responsible for designing the undergraduate curriculum and co-curriculum (e.g., faculty, instructors, advisors, and other mentors). These educators can directly utilize the results to inform a support plan for students throughout their program. The rationale for this project is that its successful completion will identify student support variables that influence perceived engineering identity during different stages of an undergraduate engineering program. This new knowledge may aid colleges and universities in developing or refining the support structures necessary to improve retention at their institutions.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
