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Background: Post-traditional students have become the norm in higher education, not the exception. The definition of a post-traditional student is not well established, but it is generally agreed that they are 25 years old or older, are enrolled part-time, and/or work to support themselves or their families. Currently, there is a focus on engaging post-traditional students in undergraduate engineering programs, but it is crucial to understand their diverse perspectives in order to effectively support them and promote their retention and persistence in the engineering workforce. Design/Method: The data for this study came from a larger project, Audio for Inclusion. We constructed narratives based on the interview responses. In this paper, we discuss the findings of a cross-case analysis of the narratives of two post-traditional participants: (1) Jakobe, a Black cisgender man studying computer science, and (2) Alejandro, a veteran Hispanic man studying mechanical engineering. Both participants attend separate R-1 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Findings: We present the constructed narratives by both participants to highlight points of similarity and contrast. For example, Jakobe sees education as a vital part of his goal of giving back to his community, whereas Alejandro describes his college experience as a means to achieve other goals, such as providing a more robust financial foundation for his family. Additionally, we present instances of similarities and differences that, in turn, uncover nuances in the experiences of these two post-traditional students. Implications/Conclusions: Understanding students’ experiences offers insights into the underlying factors that influence how some students view their educational experience and how their needs may differ. This can help shape more effective professional preparation approaches and enhance engagement. Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering the diverse perspectives of post-traditional students and the need for engineering educators to tailor their approaches to better support these students.
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A Narrative Exploration of Two Post-Traditional Students in Undergraduate Engineering Education
Background: Post-traditional students have become the norm in higher education, not the exception. The definition of a post-traditional student is not well established, but it is generally agreed that they are 25 years old or older, are enrolled part-time, and/or work to support themselves or their families. Currently, there is a focus on engaging post-traditional students in undergraduate engineering programs, but it is crucial to understand their diverse perspectives in order to effectively support them and promote their retention and persistence in the engineering workforce. Design/Method: The data for this study came from a larger project, REDACTED. We constructed narratives based on the interview responses. In this paper, we discuss the findings of a cross-case analysis of the narratives of two post-traditional participants: (1) Jakobe, a Black cisgender man studying computer science, and (2) Alejandro, a veteran Hispanic man studying mechanical engineering. Both participants attend separate R-1 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Findings: We present the constructed narratives by both participants to highlight points of similarity and contrast. For example, Jakobe sees education as a vital part of his goal of giving back to his community, whereas Alejandro describes his college experience as a means to achieve other goals, such as providing a more robust financial foundation for his family. Additionally, we present instances of similarities and differences that, in turn, uncover nuances in the experiences of these two post-traditional students. Implications/Conclusions: Understanding students’ experiences offers insights into the underlying factors that influence how some students view their educational experience and how their needs may differ. This can help shape more effective professional preparation approaches and enhance engagement. Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering the diverse perspectives of post-traditional students and the need for engineering educators to tailor their approaches to better support these students.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2114242
- PAR ID:
- 10529090
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the 2024 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Background: Post-traditional students have become the norm in higher education, not the exception. The definition of a post-traditional student is not well established, but it is generally agreed that they are 25 years old or older, are enrolled part-time, and/or work to support themselves or their families. Currently, there is a focus on engaging post-traditional students in undergraduate engineering programs, but it is crucial to understand their diverse perspectives in order to effectively support them and promote their retention and persistence in the engineering workforce. Design/Method: The data for this study came from a larger project, Audio for Inclusion. We constructed narratives based on the interview responses. In this paper, we discuss the findings of a cross-case analysis of the narratives of two post-traditional participants: (1) Jakobe, a Black cisgender man studying computer science, and (2) Alejandro, a veteran Hispanic man studying mechanical engineering. Both participants attend separate R-1 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Findings: We present the constructed narratives by both participants to highlight points of similarity and contrast. For example, Jakobe sees education as a vital part of his goal of giving back to his community, whereas Alejandro describes his college experience as a means to achieve other goals, such as providing a more robust financial foundation for his family. Additionally, we present instances of similarities and differences that, in turn, uncover nuances in the experiences of these two post-traditional students. Implications/Conclusions: Understanding students’ experiences offers insights into the underlying factors that influence how some students view their educational experience and how their needs may differ. This can help shape more effective professional preparation approaches and enhance engagement. Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering the diverse perspectives of post-traditional students and the need for engineering educators to tailor their approaches to better support these students.more » « less
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The transformation of engineering culture towards inclusion is a key objective in the retention and professionalization of a diverse engineering workforce. Faculty are key stakeholders impacting that inclusion because of their prominent role in shaping students’ underrepresented, marginalized, and/or hidden identities and core experiences in engineering classrooms. Yet, many faculty are not provided with practicable resources and training that can enrich their knowledge, empathy, and understanding of students’ diverse and marginalized experiences that differ from their own. This lack of resources has slowed the transformation of engineering culture and provides an opportunity for practical impact by researchers and faculty developers. However, the topic of developing inclusive culture remains understudied and has evaded traditional approaches to education research. Quantitative approaches can broadly identify the presence of marginalization or inclusion, but they lack the nuance to enhance a reader’s inclusive understanding. In contrast, qualitative and narrative-based approaches provide rich accounts of marginalized experiences and perspectives, but do not typically reach a broad audience of technical engineering faculty. Thus, these accounts are often disseminated to faculty and researchers already interested and invested in broadening participation, perpetuating a cycle of “preaching to the choir”. In the Audio for Inclusion project, we answer BPE’s call for innovative methods that increase research impact on broadening participation outcomes by proposing a novel audio narrative dissemination approach to foster inclusive understandings for engineering faculty. Specifically, we ask the following research questions: ● What marginalized student narratives related to identity and agency are present in engineering educational culture? ● How does hearing these narratives impact faculty perspectives of diversity and inclusion in engineering classrooms? This interactive poster presents the student audio narratives developed so far and overviews the entire project.more » « less
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In this paper, we discuss the results from our study on the experiences of first-year Black and Brown engineering students in engineering teams. This work is part of ongoing research on identifying teams engaging in marginalizing behaviors against minoritized (race, gender, LGBTQ identity, nationality) students. Using a diary study methodology, we explore the team experiences of Black and Brown students by examining two research questions: 1) what does racial marginalization look like within engineering classrooms where teamwork is a primary feature and 2) what experiences from the dairies inform researchers and faculty about participants’ experiences and personal knowledge of how race and racism operates in teams. We identified two central themes: 1) participants often avoided conversations when race could be a potential topic, and 2) participants believed that racism was a normal part of teams (in both the classroom and workplace). Participants explained that even if race was not explicitly discussed during their group work, they sensed that implicit bias and discrimination were affecting their experience. Further, when we asked participants how to increase support related to their teaming experience, they reported feeling unsure of what can be done to eliminate behaviors of racism and marginalization from engineering education. The participants expressed that change needed to happen so that other Black and Brown students are welcomed into the field, but that no one on campus (peers, faculty, and staff) has asked them about ideas for change. This diary study provides important insights into how Black and Brown engineering students contextualize their experience with marginalizing behaviors in teams.more » « less
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