Understanding the Barriers to Engineering as a Career Choice for Appalachian Youth

这个工程教育研究项目旨在了解阿巴拉契亚青年在工程劳动力和工程职业中的参与率相对较低。 通过采访实习工程师和工程专业的大学生，调查人员将了解动机和自我效能因素以及区域文化如何影响职业选择。 一系列适当的理论框架将被用来理解这个服务不足和研究不足的人口群体的需求和文化，这个群体遍布许多州。这个项目的更广泛的意义和重要性将有助于理解为什么阿巴拉契亚青年在STEM劳动力中的代表性不足。 该项目将与K-12和大学教育以及工业界的一系列合作伙伴合作，最终制定能够影响劳动力发展从而影响区域经济的干预措施。 该项目与NSF的战略目标重叠，即通过准备一支具有新能力和专业知识的工程队伍来改变前沿。 此外，NSF为社会创新的目标是通过建设国家公民通过工程解决社会挑战的能力来实现的。

This engineering education research project seeks to understand the relatively low participation of Appalachian youth in the engineering workforce and engineering careers. By interviewing practicing engineers and college students majoring in engineering, the investigators will develop an understanding of how motivational and self-efficacy factors as well as the regional culture influence career choices. An array of appropriate theoretical frameworks will be used to understand the needs and culture of this underserved and understudied demographic group that stretches over many states.The broader significance and importance of this project will be to contribute to an understanding of why Appalachian youth are under-represented in the STEM workforce. The project will work with an array of partners in K-12 and university education as well as industry to ultimately create interventions that can impact workforce development and thus regional economies. This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goals of transforming the frontiers through preparation of an engineering workforce with new capabilities and expertise. Additionally NSF's goal of innovating for society is enabled by building the capacity of the nation's citizenry for addressing societal challenges through engineering.