An official website of the United States government
Doctoral students from underrepresented groups in engineering tend to complete their degrees at lower rates than their White and International peers. Research indicates that early support in doctoral programs, rather than later remedial efforts, can lead to long-term success. To that effect, we designed the Rising Doctoral Institute (RDI), an early information intervention for minoritized doctoral students. In this work in progress, we specifically explore how this intervention supports doctoral student agency throughout the first year of the doctoral experience We address the following questions: 1) How can agency be encouraged/promoted among minority students in the first year of the engineering PhD? Employing a longitudinal qualitative design, we conducted monthly interviews with six participants throughout their first year of doctoral study in engineering programs. We ground our work in Klemenčič’s Student Agency Model, focused on experiences affecting their persistence, to help uncover different aspects of agency that can manifest throughout this period of time. Preliminary results reveal that students cultivate agency through self-regulation, self-direction, self-determination, and self-efficacy, evident in their planning, motivation, and community engagement. Future work will focus on uncovering the specific mechanisms through which agency is enhanced. By linking positive first-year experiences to agency development, this research can guide interventions and tools for engineering departments to support student persistence.
more »
« less
From Proving to Connecting: The Shifting Nature of Belonging in the First Year of Minoritized US Doctoral Engineering Students
The first year of doctoral study is a critical period for students' academic formation and persistence, especially in engineering disciplines where early integration into research and advising relationships is expected. In the US, for Black and Latiné students—groups historically underrepresented in engineering—this period can be critical as they navigate systemic inequities and social isolation. This longitudinal qualitative study explores how a sense of belonging manifests and evolves for minoritized engineering doctoral students during their first year in U.S. programs. Drawing on focus group data collected across eight sessions with sixteen students from a national summer bridge program, we identify two dominant forms of belonging: merit-contingent belonging, characterized by a need to demonstrate competence and legitimacy, and relational belonging, fostered through supportive advisor and peer relationships. Findings show that while merit-contingent belonging dominates early experiences, it gradually gives way to relational forms of connection as students gain confidence and build community. We call for equity-focused interventions that humanize students, clarify merit, and build trust.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2450400
- PAR ID:
- 10653911
- Publisher / Repository:
- Zenodo
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Doctoral Students Sense Of Belonging Minoritized Students
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Increases in the representation of Black and Latiné students in doctoral engineering programs over the past decades have not yet led to long-term success in achieving parity with the population's demographics. Although graduation rates show such students are recruited to such programs, they remain underrepresented due to their early departure due to unreconcilable differences in institutional cultures being exclusive of their identities. Although the socialization experiences of first-year doctoral students can predetermine their success or failure, scant research has looked at Black and Latiné students in engineering programs. This longitudinal qualitative case study explores the first-year program experiences of such students and how their minority identities influenced theirsocialization. We present the experiences of sixteen engineering graduate students from variousinstitutions who met in virtual focus groups throughout their first year. We found that Black and Latiné students' racial-ethnic identities influence how they experience the first year of their doctorate.This influence extends from how they perceive their sense of belonging and qualification to be in such programs to how and where they seek support when facing racialized experiences. Moreover, participants shared how their programs were not equipped to support their identities and potential contributions to their fields. These findings are key to the engineering context, where representation is starkly limited for these students. Our implications for institutions focus on the needed cultural shifts to ultimately diminish the barriers that Black and Latiné students face while pursuing doctoraldegrees.more » « less
-
Background: Belonging is a fundamental human motivation associated with a wide range of positive psychological, educational, social, and job outcomes. Frequent and predominantly conflict-free interactions within a stable, relational framework of caring are required to facilitate belonging. Purpose: The goal of this study was to understand if and how emergency remote teaching (ERT) used during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways in which instructional support and interactions were linked to belonging among engineering students. Methodology/Approach: This study used survey data from a cross-sectional dataset at a single, large institution comprised of sophomore to senior level students (n = 1,485) enrolled in engineering courses between 2016 and 2021. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to study relationships among instructional support, instructor interactions, and belonging. Findings/Conclusions: HLM models of ERT and traditional learning differed dramatically. In traditional classroom learning, race, interactions with faculty and teaching assistants (TAs), and instructional support were important factors in belonging. In ERT, certain motivations to study engineering (altruism; desire to build things) had nuanced associations with belonging, while race and interactions with faculty as well as TAs became largely irrelevant. Most concerning, faculty interactions in traditional learning were negatively associated with belonging. Implications: Rather than returning to pre-pandemic traditional learning, a hybrid model that offers a more level playing field for marginalized students to find belonging in the classroom is recommended. In developing such models, faculty must take special care to avoid having a potentially negative impact on student belonging.more » « less
-
IntroductionSeveral factors shape doctoral students’ decisions to leave their programs before completion. Among these, the quality of the advising plays a critical role. Yet, there remains limited understanding of how advisor relationships influence consequential decisions, such as early departure and lab change considerations in doctoral engineering students. This paper investigates the influence of advisor relationships on early departures and lab change considerations in doctoral engineering students. MethodsEngineering doctoral students from 26 top-ranked universities in the United States and 17 doctoral engineering disciplines responded to an online survey on departure considerations, advisor relationships, and lab change actions. In our sample (n = 269), fewer women (n = 108) participated compared to men (n = 121), with gender non-conforming individuals comprising a smaller proportion (n = 12), and 28 participants not self-identifying a gender. Linear regression was used to measure the association between advisor relationships and departure considerations, both with and without a master’s degree. Mediation tests were performed to assess the mediating effect of student’s ability to assess their progress to degree (progress assessment) on this relationship. ResultsOur results indicate that advisor relationships explained 12% of the variance in departure without a degree (R2 = 0.12,F(1, 267) = 36.85,p < 0.001) and with a master’s degree (R2 = 0.12,F(1, 267) = 35.66,p < 0.001). Progress assessment was statistically associated as a partial mediator of this relationship, with significant indirect effects (β = −0.05,p < 0.05) for departure with or without a master. DiscussionLow advisor relationship was associated with self-reported engagement in preparatory steps for early departure and research lab change considerations among doctoral engineering students. Conversely, negative advisor relationships are associated with increased self-reported engagement in steps leading to lab changes or departure considerations.more » « less
-
Engineering requires new solutions to improve undergraduate performance outcomes, including course grades and continued enrollment in engineering pathways. Belonging and engineering role identity have long been associated with successful outcomes in engineering, including academic success, retention, and well‐being. We measure the relationships between belonging and role identity at the beginning of a first‐year engineering course with course grade and continued enrollment in engineering courses. We test the effect of an ecological belonging intervention on student belonging, course grade, and persistence.Students reported their sense of belonging in engineering, cross‐racial experiences, engineering performance/competence, interest in engineering, and engineering recognition before and after an in‐class intervention to improve classroom belonging ecology. Through a series of longitudinal multigroup path analyses, a form of structural equation modeling, we tested the predictive relationships of the measured constructs with engineering identity and investigated differences in these relationships by student gender and race/ethnicity. The proposed model predicts course grades and continued enrollment, providing insight into the potential for interventions to support first‐year engineering students. Group analysis results demonstrate the difference in the function of these psychosocial measures for women and Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous (BLI) students, providing insights into the potential importance of sociocultural interventions within engineering classrooms to improve the engineering climate, engagement, and retention of students. ImplicationsThe results highlight the need for more specific, nuanced theoretical investigations of how marginalized students experience the engineering environment and develop social belonging and engineering role identity.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17631851
