Collaborative Research: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding the Retention of Latinx in Engineering Jobs

过去几年来，在扩大工程学科代表性不足的群体的参与方面取得了缓慢的进展。尤其是拉丁裔的数量在成为执业工程师的道路上的每个转变点沿着继续减少（即，申报工程专业，获得工程学位毕业，在工程领域工作）。需要在整个工程生态系统中加大努力，特别是在从大学到工作的过渡期间，以扩大拉丁裔（美国增长最快的族裔群体之一）的参与并满足行业对填补工程职位的需求，预计未来十年将增加。该项目旨在了解环境，个人和心理因素，影响工作参与度，满意度和持久性的决定，在大学到工作的过渡拉丁美洲工程，以及在他们的职业生涯的早期。调查人员将进行年度调查，体验式调查，并在5年的时间内对工程劳动力中的Latinx工作场所经验进行个人访谈，以跟踪与Latinx工程师的工作参与度，工作满意度和持久性相关的因素。该项目是密苏里州大学和北达科他州大学之间的共同努力，并得到了EHR核心研究（ECR）计划的支持，该计划支持推进STEM学习和学习环境的基础研究，扩大STEM的参与和STEM劳动力发展。额外的支持已经提供了由工程局的扩大参与工程（BPE）programme.As的综合社会认知职业生涯理论透镜的假设，调查人员假设，社会认知，上下文和文化因素之间的关系将解释一个显着的变量在拉丁美洲工程师的工作投入，满意度和持久性。结构方程模型（SEM）将用于纵向检验这一假设。研究人员将通过SEM多组分析评估基于性别、种族以及性别和种族相互作用的综合SCCT模型的普遍性。 调查人员还将使用经验抽样方法来收集感知工作场所气候的细粒度快照，以通过多层次建模和增长建模来研究这种感知的瞬时和纵向变化对Latinx工程师工作参与度，满意度和持久性的影响。最后，他们将使用因素分析和项目反应理论技术为受雇的工程师产生一个可靠和有效的工程利益衡量标准。该项目的潜在成果包括：1）研究综合SCCT模型在预测工程参与度，满意度和工程持久性方面的效用，为拉丁裔工程师在大学到工作的过渡和早期职业生涯阶段; 2）工程兴趣的新措施，用于未来的研究;以及3）开发定制干预措施，以增加相关的系统支持，最大限度地减少系统障碍，并加强社会认知，这些社会认知是工作参与度，满意度，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Slow progress has been made over the past several years to broaden the involvement of groups who are underrepresented in engineering disciplines. The number of Latinxs in particular continues to decrease at each transition point along the pathway to becoming a practicing engineer (i.e., declaring a engineering major, graduating with an engineering degree, working in the engineering field). Increased efforts across the engineering ecosystem, but specifically during the college-to-work transition, are needed to broaden the participation of Latinxs (one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S.) and to meet the industry demands to fill engineering jobs, which are projected to increase in the next decade. This project aims to understand environmental, personal, and psychological factors that influence work engagement, satisfaction, and persistence decisions during the college-to-work transition among Latinx in engineering, as well as during the early years of their career. The investigators will conduct annual surveys, experiential surveys, and individual interviews about workplace experiences with Latinx in the engineering workforce across a 5-year period to track factors related to Latinx engineers’ work engagement, job satisfaction, and persistence in the field. This project is a joint effort between the University of Missouri and the University of North Dakota and is supported by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. Additional support has been provided by the Directorate for Engineering's Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) program.As posited by the integrative social cognitive career theory lens, the investigators hypothesize that the relations among social cognitive, contextual and cultural factors will explain a significant amount of variance in Latinx engineers’ work engagement, satisfaction, and persistence. Structural equation modeling (SEM) will be used to examine this hypothesis longitudinally. The investigators will assess the integrative SCCT model’s generalizability based on gender, race, and the interaction of gender and race via SEM multigroup analyses. The investigators also will use experience sampling methodology to gather fine-grained snapshots of perceived workplace climate to examine the effects of momentary and longitudinal changes in such perceptions on Latinx engineers’ work engagement, satisfaction, and persistence via multilevel modeling and growth modeling. Finally, they will generate a reliable and valid measure of engineering interests for employed engineers using factor analytical and Item Response Theory techniques. Potential outcomes of the project include: 1) examining the utility of the integrative SCCT model in predicting engagement, satisfaction, and persistence in engineering for Latinxs in engineering during the college-to-work transition and early career stages; 2) a new measure of engineering interests for use in future research; and 3) the development of custom interventions to augment relevant systemic supports, minimize systemic barriers, and bolster social cognitions that are strong predictors of work engagement, satisfaction, and persistence for Latina women and Latino men.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.