Leaving Engineering: Lessons from Rowan University's College of Engineering

Hartman, Harriet; Hartman, Moshe

doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00877.x

Cited by 73 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…These factors include pre-entry characteristics such as skills and abilities 10,11 family background 12 , institutional experiences 13,14 , and finances 15 . While research in college retention has focused on integration into the university, research in engineering retention has focused more on integration into the engineering culture 16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Step-Outs to Stars: Engineering Retention Framework

Honken¹,

Ralston²,

Tretter³

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This research paper, grounded in Expectancy-Value Theory, investigates the relationship between interest, first semester GPA and first year retention in engineering. The research resulted in a purposefully parsimonious framework that can be readily implemented to provide useful discrimination for predicting retention, and can be used when investigating other factors related the retention. Quadrants based on interest were created based on results from logistic regression analysis which showed a difference in the probability of retention between students with equal, less, or no interest in engineering compared to other fields, and those with only or more interest in engineering. GPA quadrants were created based on average GPA. The usefulness of the framework is demonstrated by investigating gender as a variable. The analysis showed a difference of retention rate between males and females only in the quadrant with high grades and low interest.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Step-Outs to Stars: Engineering Retention Framework

Honken¹,

Ralston²,

Tretter³

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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“…Not only is middle school a critical time for all students to start thinking about their future and make the appropriate academic choices, it is particularly important for young girls because until the high school years girls and boys do not differ much in technical abilities years but rather in their attitudes toward technological careers like engineering [40][41] . By the time some girls reach high school they begin underestimating their own technical abilities and start placing more importance on being popular rather than academic performance [42][43] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparisons of a Female-Only, Male-Only, and Mixed-Gender Engineering Enrichment Program for 4th Graders

Hirsch

Heyman

Cano

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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The benefits and relative effectiveness of single-gender education are still unclear and more research is necessary before strong conclusions can be formed. Results of previous evaluations comparing aspects of female-only summer enrichment programs to equivalent mixed-gender programs has shown female-only programs to be particularly effective in educating young girls about engineering and positively influencing their perceptions of engineers and attitudes toward engineering as a career. Subsequent evaluations comparing single-gender vs mixed-gender programs including male-only programs had mixed results. The current study is a more rigorous examination of gains in content knowledge and takes a closer look at the issues of self-efficacy, gender equity and qualitative perceptions of engineers using the Middle School Attitudes toward Engineering and Knowledge of Engineering Careers Survey and the Draw an Engineering Test in equivalent post 4 th grade female-only, male-only and mixed-gender programs. Previous evaluations included higher-grade programs with some returning students that had already participated in other program(s) so they had some prior knowledge of engineering and had possibly participated in a program of a different gender composition. In addition to comparisons among gains in content knowledge, comparisons between characteristics of students drawing from the Draw an Engineer Test and responses to the Attitudes toward Engineering and Knowledge of Engineering Careers Survey found significant differences among the three gender group programs in terms of self-efficacy and gender attribution of engineers.

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“…The concerns of low numbers of women in STEM have led to studies on the attrition 1 and the implementations of programs for the female students 2 . Studies found that students who withdraw from STEM majors are less involved in extra-curricular engineering activities, have lower engineering self-efficacy and career expectations, but higher anxiety 1,3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies found that students who withdraw from STEM majors are less involved in extra-curricular engineering activities, have lower engineering self-efficacy and career expectations, but higher anxiety 1,3 . However, the average GPA of women who withdraw from STEM is no different than that of others 1 . To increase the retention of women in STEM, solutions have been proposed by many studies such as facilitating communities for females [4][5] , involving peer mentors [6][7][8][9] , and mentoring by faculty and/or women engineers 10 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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