Developing Engineering Academic Pathways for Low Income Students

美国国家科学基金会科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（S-STEM）计划支持有经济需要的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业。在这个为期五年的奖项中，北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校（UNCC）的这个项目将为四组15名攻读工程领域学士学位的学生提供60个奖学金。该项目将通过提供帮助学生准备大学入学考试的课程，重点提高北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市三所第一名学院校的申请人数。它还将为指导顾问提供专业发展，以便他们能够最好地建议和鼓励可能对工程专业感兴趣的学生。一套学生成功计划将提供给所有入学UNCC工程专业的学生。该计划还将包括年度务虚会，以在未来的工程专业人员中建立科学身份。它将提供旅费，帮助学者参加专业社交活动，在那里他们可以通过与行业专业人士的互动建立社会资本。通过学生支持方面和研究部分，该项目将实施夏洛特-梅克伦堡机会工作组在2017年推荐的四项改善夏洛特经济流动性的战略。这些策略包括：1)扩大我们的K-12和高等教育机构提供的高质量大学和职业道路的范围和机会，同时确保所有学生都能获得全方位的机会和支持；2)为所有学生及其家长提供所需的信息和指导，帮助他们理解和驾驭多种大学和职业道路、准备和流程；3)扩大和加强对第一代和其他低社会经济水平学生的支持，这些学生需要帮助他们过渡到中等教育并完成中等教育；4)提升并积极促进获得高等教育学位和/或行业认证的重要性，这对年轻人在快速变化、技术先进的劳动力市场中成功竞争至关重要。一个混合方法的研究设计将被用来调查计划和策略的成功和有效性。质性研究设计将检验学生支持服务、学术建议和低收入工程专业学生指导的有效性。研究小组还将探讨低收入学生如何创造科学身份、浏览课程、建立关系和跨越学术文化。本研究将以三个理论框架为框架：奇克林的学生发展理论、布迪厄的社会资本理论和荷兰、拉奇奥特、斯金纳和凯恩的认同理论。将采用扎根理论的方法来分析数据。此外，该团队将进行专门与夏洛特梅克伦堡学校为城市学生服务的高中辅导员相关的研究，研究这些专业人员的几个特征，包括(1)专业发展，(2)对公正世界的信念，(3)多元文化能力自我效能感和(4)学校辅导员对高成就低收入学生的STEM职业倡导。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. Throughout the five-year award, this project at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) will fund sixty scholarships in four groups of fifteen students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering fields. This program will focus on increasing applications from three Title I schools in Charlotte, NC, by delivering programs that prepare students for college entry exams. It will also provide professional development to guidance counselors so that they can best advise and encourage students who may be interested in engineering majors. A suite of student success programs will be provided to all students who matriculate to engineering programs at UNCC. The program will also include annual retreats to build a scientific identity among the future engineering professionals. It will provide travel funds to help scholars attend professional networking events, where they can build social capital through interactions with industry professionals. Through the student support aspects and research components, the program will implement four of the strategies for improving economic mobility in Charlotte that were recommended by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force in 2017. These strategies include: 1) broadening the range of and access to high quality college and career pathways offered by our K-12 and postsecondary institutions while ensuring all students have access to and support of the full range of opportunities; 2) equipping all students and their parents with the information and guidance they need to understand and navigate multiple college and career pathways, preparation, and processes; 3) expanding and strengthening support for First Generation and other low-socioeconomic students who need help transitioning to and completing secondary education; and, 4) elevating and actively promoting the critical importance of acquiring a postsecondary degree and/or industry certification for young people to successfully compete in a rapidly changing, technologically advanced labor market. A mixed methods research design will be used to investigate the success and effectiveness of the program and strategies. The qualitative research design will examine the effectiveness of student support services, academic advising, and mentorship among low-income students enrolled in engineering majors. The research team will also explore how low-income students create scientific identities, navigate curricula, form relationships, and traverse academic culture. The research will be framed by three theoretical frameworks: Chickering's theory of student development, Bourdieu's social capital theory, and Holland, Lachiotte, Skinner, and Cain's theory of identity. A grounded theory approach will be used to analyze the data. Additionally, the team will undertake research specifically related to high school counselors who are serving urban students in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools that will research several characteristics of these professionals including (1) professional development, (2) belief in a just world, (3) multicultural competency self-efficacy and (4) school counselor STEM career advocacy for high achieving, low-income students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.