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1. Nascent Professional Identity Development in Freshman Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Women

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34991  

   Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N.; Ofori-Boadu, Victor; Vanderpool, Jacob; Deng, Dongyang (June 2020, ASEE annual conference exposition)

   Miller, Eva (Ed.)

   Nascent Professional Identity Development in Freshman Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Women Increasing the persistence of talented women into male-dominated architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professions could reduce prevailing workforce shortages and improve gender diversity in AEC industry. Identity theorists advocate that professional identity development (PID) improves students’ persistence to become professionals. However, little empirical research exists to inform and guide AEC educators and professionals on AEC-PID in undergraduate AEC women. As the preliminary part of a larger nationwide and longitudinal research study investigating PID processes in undergraduate AEC women, the objective of this research is to examine the characteristics and nascent AEC-PID in 69 women enrolled in freshman AEC courses in five U.S. institutions. A purposive sampling approach ensures participants have a wide range of demographic characteristics. Data from a recruitment survey is analyzed using the NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Content and relational inductive open coding are conducted vertically for each participant and horizontally across different participants. Results indicate passion/interest, inherent abilities, significant others, benefits from industry, and desire to contribute to industry influence decisions to pursue AEC careers. With 52% of participants having science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) subject preferences, an in vivo code, Perfect Middle Ground, demonstrated the quest to combine STEM and visual art preferences in AEC career decisions. A participant noted that ‘this major (civil engineering) is the perfect middle ground because I can be creative, but still use my strong gift which happens to be math’. Girls with STEAM strengths and passion, particularly in math and fine art, are most likely to develop nascent AEC-PID. Beyond STEM pre-college programs, AEC educators should consider recruiting from sports, as well as visual and performing arts events for pre-college students. Participants’ positive views focus on the importance and significant societal impact of the AEC industry; while, negative views focus on the lack of gender and racial diversity. A combination of participants’ AEC professional experiences and views reveal four increasing levels of nascent AEC-PID which are categorized as the 4Ps: Plain, Passive, Progressive, and Proactive. As a guide to AEC education and professional communities, recommendations are made to increase the AEC-PID of women in each category. With the highest nascent AEC-PID, women in the Proactive category should serve as leaders in AEC classrooms and student organizations. Considering their AEC professional experience and enthusiasm, they should serve as peer mentors to other students, particularly AEC women. Furthermore, they should be given the opportunity to step into more complex roles during internships and encouraged to pursue co-op opportunities. Insights can guide more targeted recruitment, mentoring, preparation, and retention interventions that strengthen the persistence of the next generation of AEC women professionals. In the long term, this could reduce AEC workforce shortages, improve gender diversity, and foster the innovation and development of more gender friendly AEC products and services. 

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2. Transfer Student Receptivity in Patriarchal STEM Contexts: Evidence of Gendered Transfer Student Stigma in Computer Science From a Mixed Methods Study

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521231218233  

   Blaney, Jennifer_M; Hernandez, Theresa_E; Feldon, David_F; Wofford, Annie_M (January 2024, Community College Review)

   Research Questions: While community college transfer (i.e., upward transfer) represents an important mechanism for advancing equity across STEM fields, existing studies of gender and women’s participation within computer science have largely excluded the perspectives of upward transfer students. We address this gap in the literature by exploring transfer receptivity and gender discrimination within computer science, guided by the following questions: (1) How do upward transfer computer science students report their receptivity experiences, and how might this differ by gender? (2) How do upward transfer computer science students make meaning of receptivity experiences, and how might that meaning making be shaped by gender? Methods: We use a sequential mixed methods design, relying on longitudinal survey and interview data from upward transfer computer science majors, collected throughout students’ first year at the receiving university. Results: Findings reveal that, relative to men, upward transfer women report greater experiences of transfer stigma and challenges accessing resources at the receiving university. Qualitative findings document additional nuances in how upward transfer students—especially women—describe resilience as they navigate the university campus, encounter navigation challenges at the university, and make meaning of various manifestations of transfer stigma on campus. Contributions: In addition to implications for research and theory, we discuss what universities can do to foster a more receptive environment for upward transfer women. Specific recommendations focus on ensuring that spaces for women in computing are inclusive of transfer students and, likewise, creating supportive transfer cohort communities that are inclusive of women. 

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3. Inclusion of Underrepresented Entrepreneurial-minded Postdocs in High-tech Startups Increases U.S. Competitiveness

   https://doi.org/10.34297  

   Ivanitzki, T; Johnson, R; Levitin, R. (October 2021, American journal of biomedical science research)

   null (Ed.)

   Studies have shown that in the U.S., Black, Hispanic, and women entrepreneurs are given a tiny fraction of venture capital funding, which is vastly disproportionate to their representation in the population. This investment discrepancy is not only socially unjust, but it also deprives the U.S. of the advantages in innovation and global competitiveness that could stem from increasing the participation of these groups in innovative sectors. This is particularly true within transdisciplinary startups, including those focused on smart energy, biomedical, and nanomedical technologies, all of which require cross-disciplinary experts. Every new enterprise in these fields experiences challenges in finding adequate support. These challenges exist at a time in the 21st century when U.S. innovation is facing unprecedented pressures in competition for primacy. In 1960, U.S. R&D expenditure for defense and private industries was approximately 69 percent of global spending on R&D [1]; whereas in 2016, the U.S. share of global R&D expenditure had decreased to just 28 percent [2], due to China’s substantial advances in R&D. If this trend continues, both China’s GDP and R&D expenditure measured by GDP will outperform those of the U.S. by 2030 [3]. To ensure that the U.S. remains a world leader in R&D, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship (I-PERF) program. I-PERF facilitates the professional development of Black, Hispanic and female research fellows, who are typically underrepresented within STEM fields, by offering them invaluable experience within research and technology companies. The program’s goal is to enhance diversity in the startup and entrepreneurial landscapes, improve opportunities for researchers from underserved groups, and increase the number of highly competent entrepreneurs within the U.S. STEM community. The startup companies involved in the program, which are also supported by the NSF, comprise a variety of new, mixed STEM fields that were unknown just a few decades ago. 

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4. Is the AEC profession a good fit for me? A Constructivist Grounded Theory on Professional Identity Formation in First-Year Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Women

   Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N.; Ofori-Boadu, Victor (August 2022, ASEE annual conference exposition)

   Miller, E. (Ed.)

   Abstract Women professionals are underrepresented in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. As part of a larger and longitudinal nationwide study that constructs grounded theories to explain professional identity development (PID) processes in undergraduate AEC women, the purpose is to examine the lived experiences of first-year AEC women. Using purposive sampling, 40 AEC women from five institutions completed surveys with open-ended questions about salient first year experiences. Also, resumes and academic transcripts were obtained. Adopting the grounded theory approach and constant comparative analysis, data was analyzed using the NVivo Qualitative Analysis software for coding, categorization, and theme development. Data analysis reveals a critical question on the minds of first-year AEC women: Is this AEC profession a good fit for me? Utilizing four categories and twelve subcategories, an emerging theory, Sparking AEC-PID Through Agency and Networks, highlights the role of interactions between self and structures in forming AEC-PID and influencing women persistence in undergraduate AEC programs. This theory proposes important predictors of AEC-PID and AEC persistence in women. It captures cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and academic processes that spark AEC-PID in women. Positive interactions between self and AEC program environments strengthen AEC-PID because of improvement in AEC knowledge, views, mindsets, and efforts to explore niches for progression in undergraduate AEC programs and towards AEC professions. However, the lack of gender diversity remains a concern. Also, heavy workloads and unfavorable program conditions cause stress, particularly in Architecture women. These negative interactions weaken AEC-PID because they result in declining views about the AEC profession. Therefore, women persistence in undergraduate AEC programs requires developing the ‘survival’ mentality and spurring the super woman mindset. While medium to strong AEC-PID sustains the desire to persist in many Prevailing women, medium AEC-PID is also associated with lowered desire to persist as a few Hesitant women become open to other careers options. Excessively negative interactions erode AEC-PID and the desire to persist, as one Yielding woman plans her AEC program exit. It is critical that undergraduate AEC women are provided early AEC gateway experiences that assure them that AEC programs and professions are a good fit for them. Insights have theoretical and practical implications towards transformations that will strengthen the attraction, preparation, and retention of the next generation of AEC women. In the long term, this would reduce AEC workforce shortages and foster the innovation of more gender friendly AEC products and services. 

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5. Students Talk: The Experience of Advanced Technology Students at Two-Year Colleges during COVID-19

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--37767  

   Barger, Marilyn; Jayaram, Lakshmi (July 2021, ASEE Conferences)

   There have been many questions and concerns raised by educators about how advanced technology students will adapt to remote learning during the COVID era. What will technician students’ academic engagement and persistence be like, and how will online learning affect their educational outcomes? What do technician students like about remote learning and what do they find challenging? What does online learning mean for hands-on applied and experiential learning, which are hallmarks of technical education programs? This paper explores pilot survey data collected in Florida from advanced technology students at two-year colleges. Five primary areas covered in the survey include enrollment status, access to technology, experience using a Learning Management System and learning online, impact on applied and experiential learning, and students’ background information. Key findings include decreased interaction between peers, increased reliance on instructors, and a significant decline in experiential learning such as labs, group projects, demonstrations, problem-based learning, and service-learning. The majority of students report feeling worried about making progress toward their degree, and about half worried about completing the semester. Two benefits students identified as having access to course materials all the time through the LMS and the flexibility of remote learning. Findings also show that technician students are quite diverse by way of age, partner status, having a family, race-ethnicity, employment status, and educational background. About one-third of students who responded are women. This paper concludes with several recommendations about the application of these research findings to address challenges technician students face learning online, including specific actions that instructors and programs can pursue to help retain students and provide support through the completion of degree programs. 

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