Board 93: Toward a National Agenda for Broadening Participation of African Americans in Engineering and Computer Science: A Systematic Review of Workforce Barriers

London, Jeremi S.; Lee, Walter; Watford, Bevlee A.; Pee, Crystal; Holloman, Teirra K.; Ash, Chanee Hawkins

doi:10.18260/1-2--32464

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

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“…The most salient publications were those addressing the experiences of students of color and/or underrepresented minority graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) (Figueroa, 2015; Rincon and Yates, 2018; Squires, 2015; Tran, 2011). Few articles addressed both engineering education at the graduate level, the experiences of Black males and the experiences of those who persist (Holloman et al , 2021) leading us to see the need for our study (London et al , 2019; Burt et al , 2018). In the following sections, we share relevant, recent, exemplar studies that helped frame our work.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s a Vibe: understanding the graduate school experiences of Black male engineering faculty

Henderson

Davis

Benjamin

et al. 2022

JME

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Purpose In spite of ongoing and recent initiatives aimed at broadening participation in engineering, the representation of diverse groups of learners in engineering graduate programs in the USA remains a challenge. Foregrounding the voices of 26 Black male engineering faculty, this study aims to investigate how institutions might recruit and retain more Black men in engineering graduate programs. Design/methodology/approach For this study, inductive thematic analysis was used. Findings The authors show that three themes, namely, representation as an asset, invested mentors and faculty, and supportive peer networks described as the “Vibe” manifest as crucial elements for successful recruitment and retention of Black men in engineering graduate programs. Originality/value These findings are meant to augment the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion in engineering graduate programs and to address a dearth of published research on the Black male engineering population. This work is also meant to help institutions conceptualize ways to create a “Vibe” that might be transferable to their institution’s sociocultural context.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s a Vibe: understanding the graduate school experiences of Black male engineering faculty

Henderson

Davis

Benjamin

et al. 2022

JME

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Identifying Supports and Barriers in Engineering Students’ Processes Toward Career Attainment

Desing

Nocera

Delaine

et al. 2023

Biomed Eng Education

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Evidence shows that biomedical engineering students face unique challenges in entering the workforce compared to peers in other engineering majors. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors impacting undergraduate engineering students’ career attainment, or the acquisition of employment in a chosen field, and how the students experienced these factors in their pathways towards post-graduate employment. By studying differences in processes towards career attainment, there is an opportunity to promote equity and better support the inclusion and persistence of women and racially minoritized groups in engineering, particularly their readiness to enter the engineering workforce. We sought to answer two research questions: (RQ1) What contextual factors are identified by engineering students as supports and barriers to their attainment of a career in the engineering field? (RQ2) How are engineering students experiencing inequities in their processes toward career attainment? We conducted six focus groups with undergraduate engineering students at a large Midwestern University. Participants were purposefully sampled based on demographics from four engineering disciplines: biomedical engineering and the three preferred majors for students transferring out of biomedical engineering at our university, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering. We used social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to inform our data collection and analysis and interpret the findings. The transcripts were analyzed by developing a codebook containing theory-driven codes from SCCT and emergent codes from the data. We identified five themes representing the contextual factors impacting engineering students’ processes toward career attainment: implications of (1) interpersonal relationships; (2) institutional infrastructure; (3) academics; (4) social identity; and (5) out-of-class experiences. We also found that these contextual factors may act as either a support or barrier depending on personal factors such as demographics, personality, or identity. The nuance revealed in this study, that a contextual factor may be both a support and barrier, presents implications for universities to provide more individualized career preparedness resources and recognize the ways that students’ positionalities impact their processes toward career attainment.

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Board 93: Toward a National Agenda for Broadening Participation of African Americans in Engineering and Computer Science: A Systematic Review of Workforce Barriers

Cited by 2 publications

References 11 publications

It’s a Vibe: understanding the graduate school experiences of Black male engineering faculty

It’s a Vibe: understanding the graduate school experiences of Black male engineering faculty

Identifying Supports and Barriers in Engineering Students’ Processes Toward Career Attainment

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