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1. Development of a Brief College Embeddedness Scale

   https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251231217094  

   Donnelly, James_P; Finn, Kristin_E; Stewart, Andrew_D (December 2023, Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice)

   Embeddedness is a construct with potential explanatory power in studies of student persistence, retention, and success. The goal of this study was to address a need for a brief embeddedness measure for use in small college undergraduate environments. Three measures of embeddedness were developed: an initial 43-item scale, a reduced 35-item scale, and a final brief 12-item version of the scale. A total of 450 undergraduate students at a small private liberal arts college were included in the study. Internal consistency reliability was assessed with both McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha, test–retest reliability was observed over a one-year period, factor analysis was used in item analysis, structural validity was examined with confirmatory factor analysis, and criterion-related validity was assessed with convergent and discriminant validity correlations. The results provide acceptable initial estimates of reliability and validity. 

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2. A Tale of Two Universities: An Intersectional Approach to Examining Microaggressions Amongst Undergraduate Engineering Students at an HBCU and a PWI

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34072  

   Berger, M (June 2020, ASEE 2020)

   null (Ed.)

   The current study utilized the intersectionality theory to analyze microaggressions towards engineering undergraduate underrepresented gender and racial minority students. In this study, participants were sampled from intersecting identity groups (Asian female, Asian male, Black female, Black male, Hispanic female, Hispanic male, White female) at two institutional settings: 1) a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and 2) a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). The study’s analysis examined microaggressions in the context of undergraduate engineering programs at both sites, an HBCU and a PWI. The results suggested that a higher frequency of microaggressions took place at the PWI than the HBCU. The most frequently identified microaggressions included disjointed race and gender dialogue, hidden language, projected stereotypes, an ascription of intelligence, silence, and marginalization. The paper aims to increase awareness of the prevalence and varying types of microaggressions experienced between the sites. These results may influence policies and educational practices to meet the needs of underrepresented minority students in engineering. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (1828172 and 1828559). “Collaborative Research: An Intersectional Perspective to Studying Microaggressions in Engineering Programs”. 

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3. Self-Efficacy Versus Gender: Project-Based Active Learning Techniques in Biomedical Engineering Introductory Computer Programming Courses

   https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4047924  

   Cyrus Rezvanifar, S.; Amini, Rouzbeh (November 2020, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Engineering education has increasingly embraced active learning techniques within a variety of curricula. In particular, project-based active learning techniques have a significant potential to enhance students' learning experience. In this study, we implemented project-based techniques in biomedical engineering (BME) classes, and we investigated the effects of active learning on students' self-efficacy as an effective predictor of students' academic persistence and their career decision-making. Differences in self-efficacy were compared across genders. A high level of internal consistency was observed for both academic and career-oriented scales, as determined by Cronbach's alpha values of 0.908 and 0.862, respectively. While average scores of all survey questions indicated improvement in students' academic and career-oriented self-efficacy measures, significant improvements were observed in “clearer vision of programming application in engineering” and “BME careers,” as well as in “expectation of success in a future BME career that involves developing medical devices” after the completion of the project-based activity (p = 0.002, 0.023, and 0.034, respectively). For two of the survey questions, female students reflected a significantly lower “self-confidence about understanding the most complex course material” as well as a significantly lower “willingness to have a future career in BME that involves intensive computer programing” as compared to male students (p = 0.035 and 0.024, respectively). We have further discussed possible explanations for the observed differences and multiple potential ways to enhance gender equality in STEM fields from a self-efficacy standpoint. 

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4. Toward an Understanding of the Relationship Between Race/Ethnicity, Gender, First-generation Student Status, and Engineering Identity at Hispanic-serving Institutions

   Arnett, Stephanie M.; Way, Sandra M.; Ortiz, David G.; Humble, Lorissa B.B.; Martinez, Analyssa D. (July 2021, ASEE annual conference proceedings)

   This research paper investigates the relationship between race/ ethnicity, gender, first-generation college student status, and engineering identity using cross-sectional data from early-career engineering majors. Measures of engineering identity are increasingly used in models of engineering education to evaluate how identity contributes to success and persistence of engineering students. Engineering identity is generally assumed to contribute to educational success, with stronger engineering identity leading to persistence. At the same time, data clearly shows that persistence of engineering students varies by race/ethnicity and gender. Given these previous findings, we would expect to find that engineering identity will vary by race/ ethnicity, gender, and first generation status. Yet, relatively little work has quantitatively compared how engineering identity differs across racial/ ethnic groups and gender. While researchers are increasingly trying to gain a better understanding of engineering identity among Latina students, for example, the literature has not yet adequately accounted for how Latina students differ from their non-Hispanic white peers. This works seeks to address that gap in the literature with an exploration of the ways that race/ethnicity, gender, and first generation status work together to impact engineering identity among early-career engineering students at four public Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the Southwestern United States. We conducted surveys as part of a longitudinal study on STEM education. Data discussed here comes from baseline surveys of three cohorts of engineering students (N=475). Approximately two-thirds of the respondents were attending a traditional 4-year university while the remainder (N=159) were attending community college at the time of the survey. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents identified as Latinx, 27% identified as female, and 26.5% reported that they were first-generation college students. While expectations were that engineering identity would vary by race/ethnicity and gender, preliminary analyses of our data unexpectedly reveal no significant differences between Latinx and White students in terms of their engineering identity and no significant differences in engineering identity between male and female students. Interactions between race/ethnicity and gender were also tested and yielded no significant differences between early-career Latinx and White students in terms of their engineering identity. Finally, students who reported that they will be the first in their family to get a college degree had significantly lower engineering identity scores (=-.422; p=.001). These results lead us to conclude that first generation status at HSIs may be more important than gender and race/ ethnicity in the development of engineering identity for early career students. 

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5. STEM‐related outcomes for adolescents with differing perceptions of school racial climate: A latent class analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21784  

   Cerda‐Smith, Jacqueline; Joy, Angelina; Mathews, Channing; Knox, Jerica; Mulvey, Kelly Lynn (May 2023, Science Education)

   Abstract Racially minoritized groups are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degree programs and careers, warranting the need to examine students' racialized experiences in K‐12 settings that may influence their STEM persistence. In particular, the current study explored adolescent perceptions of school racial climate (SRC) as a potential contributor to pre‐college racial disparities in STEM. We used latent class analysis to group adolescents based on their SRC perceptions and explored group differences in their interest in a STEM career and their belonging, psychological needs satisfaction, and engagement in STEM courses. Adolescent participants (N = 412, 50.2% female, 36.9% male, 12.9% other/not reported,M_age = 15.72 years, standard deviation = 1.24) attending five high schools in the Southeastern United States, were grouped into five classes based on their perceptions of SRC: Critical SRC (CritSRC), Average SRC, Average with Stereotyping, Positive SRC (PosSRC), and Positive with Stereotyping. Latent class membership differed by race, age, and learning environment. Results revealed that students with more positive perceptions of SRC reported greater belonging, engagement, and needs satisfaction in their STEM courses and more interest in a STEM career compared to students with CritSRC perceptions. Findings also indicated that White students were more likely than Black students to perceive a PosSRC. Recommendations for areas of future research and policy implications are discussed. 

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