Collaborative Proposal: Pathways of Blacks and Hispanics in Engineering Education

霍华德大学和佛罗里达国际大学计划与合作伙伴Prairie View A&&M大学和波多黎各大学-Mayaguez合作进行一项为期三年的大型实证性研究。这项研究将考虑这四个少数民族服务机构(MSI)学生在本科工程教育中的坚持性和认同感因素。也就是说，研究人员将研究学生的文化和种族对工程认同感发展的影响，以及先前确定的持久性因素(即自信、对工程的态度、教学质量等)的重要性。在少数族裔占多数的机构中，少数族裔学生的自然减员问题。本项目旨在解决学术路径研究的不足之处，该研究将两名PI作为研究团队的成员。保留理论和社会认知职业理论提供了研究的理论基础，该团队将探索他们相对于学生经验的演变和现状。项目团队将利用三角混合方法研究设计来收集和分析数据。也就是说，调查将被用来收集定量数据，个人访谈和焦点小组访谈将提供定性数据。该项目直接涉及扩大工程学教育的参与，其独特的重点是(1)确定密歇根州立大学相对于以白人为主的机构的环境因素如何有助于少数族裔学生的学术和职业成就，(2)确定历史上由黑人组成的学院和大学(HBCU)、西班牙裔服务机构(HSI)以及HSI和HBCU之间在结果方面的潜在差异。这项拟议的工作可能会影响学者们如何对待少数民族学生的学习，以及他们如何概念化和研究MSI，而在大学生的学习中，MSI往往被边缘化。事实上，MSI产生了相当大比例的黑人和西班牙裔STEM学位，这增加了这项工作的相关性和潜在影响。在更广泛的意义上，该项目考虑了背景与学生成绩和STEM中的坚持性的相关性，这是所有学生教育中的一个重要问题。

Howard University and Florida International University plan a large, empirical, three year collaborative research study with partners Prairie View A&M University and University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. The proposed research will consider persistence and identity factors in undergraduate engineering education of students at these four Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). That is, the researchers will examine the impact of students' culture and ethnicity on the development of engineering identity and the importance of previously identified persistence factors (i.e., self-confidence, attitudes toward engineering, quality of instruction, etc.) on minority student attrition in institutions where they are the majority. This project seeks to address short-comings of the Academic Pathways Study, which included two of the PIs as members of the research team.Retention theory and social cognitive career theory provide the theoretical underpinnings of the study and the team will explore their evolution and current status relative to student experiences. The project team will utilize a triangulated mixed methods research design to collect and analyze data. That is, surveys will be used to collect quantitative data and a mix of individual and focus group interviews will provide qualitative data. The project directly addresses broadening participation in engineering education with a unique focus on (1) identifying how environmental factors at MSIs versus Predominately White Institutions contribute to academic and career outcomes for minority students and (2) determining potential differences in outcomes among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), among Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and between HSIs and HBCUs. The proposed work has the potential to influence how scholars approach the study of ethnic minority students, as well as how they conceptualize and study MSIs, settings that often are marginalized in the study of college students. The fact that MSIs produce a substantial proportion of Black and Hispanic STEM degrees increases the relevance and potential impact of this work. In a broader sense this project considers the relevance of context in student achievement and persistence in STEM, which is a significant issue in the education of all students.