Search for: All records

Observations in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department of a large land-grant university with approximately 20% Latina/o enrollment revealed that Latina engineering students are significantly less likely to attend graduate school than women from other ethnic or racial groups. This observation is consistent with national trends showing underrepresentation of Latina/o populations in STEM disciplines. With this motivating background, a study has been undertaken to explore the social, cultural, educational, and institutional factors affecting matriculation of undergraduate Latina engineering students into graduate engineering programs and/or industry careers. A research team was formed with four members (co-authors of this paper) from diverse backgrounds but a common commitment toward an asset-based approach that avoids marginalizing individuals in the research design process and by selecting respective methods. Results of these team discussions and decisions sought balance between various philosophical perspectives. This work-in-progress paper describes the mixed-methods research design considerations in formulating the study with emphasis on the quantitative portion. Detailed development of the qualitative portions of the study are still in progress and will be reported at future date.