The Effects of Social Capital and Cultural Models on the Retention and Degree Attainment of Women and Minority Engineering Undergraduates

这项研究的目的是扩大对社会资本和工程成功的文化模式(CMES)如何有助于留住女性和少数族裔工程学本科生并获得学位的理解，这些学生传统上在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)中的比例较低。社会资本指的是学生的社会关系以及通过这些关系可获得的资源。CME指的是关于如何在工程项目中取得成功(即获得学位)的信念。这项研究的前提是，成功攻读工程专业的女性和少数族裔本科生更有可能1)进入并获得/发展各种形式/水平的社会资本，2)解决他们的CME与该项目所信奉的文化之间的冲突。拟议的四年纵向研究建立在先前研究项目的基础上，以社会资本和文化模型理论框架为指导。这项研究将采用混合方法，特别是部分混合的并行主导地位设计，其中同时收集定量(在线调查)和定性(面对面和视频访谈)数据。数据将从11个不同合作机构(安布里-里德尔航空大学、佛罗里达农业与机械大学、佛罗里达国际大学、佛罗里达州立大学、美世大学、密歇根州立大学、波多黎各理工大学、佛罗里达大学、密歇根大学、波多黎各大学马亚圭兹分校和南佛罗里达大学)的工程学学生那里收集。结果变量是：1)进入这11所院校攻读本科工程学位的学生的决定，以及2)这些学生保留到工程课程四年级的决定。这项研究的双重目标是：1)确定社会资本和CME对传统上在工程学专业任职人数较少的妇女和学生留住和获得学位的影响；2)审查社会资本和CME之间的关系。这项研究的一个创新方面是使用认知诊断评估(项目反应理论的延伸)来衡量CMES。该研究项目的成果将对工程教育作出理论贡献，并有可能改变工程学部门的文化，并有助于设计可扩大妇女和少数群体参与的干预措施。

The purpose of this study is to broaden understanding about how social capital and cultural models of engineering success (CMES) contribute to the retention and degree attainment of women and minority engineering undergraduates, traditionally under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Social capital refers to the social connections of students and the resources available through those connections. CMES refer to beliefs about how to succeed in an engineering program (i.e. degree attainment.) The study builds from the premise that women and minority undergraduates who succeed in engineering programs are more likely to 1) enter with and acquire/develop various forms/levels of social capital and 2) resolve conflicts between their CMES and the culture espoused by the program.The proposed four-year longitudinal study, which builds on a prior research project, is guided by social capital and cultural model theoretical frameworks. The study will employ a mixed methods approach, specifically a partially mixed concurrent dominant status design in which both quantitative (online surveys) and qualitative (face-to-face and video interviews) data are collected concurrently. The data will be gathered from engineering students at eleven (11) diverse collaborating institutions (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida International University, Florida State University, Mercer University, Michigan State University, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and University of South Florida). The outcome variables are: 1) the decision of entering students at these 11 institutions to pursue undergraduate engineering degrees and 2) retention of these students to the fourth year of their engineering programs. The two-fold goal of the research is to: 1) identify the effects of social capital and CMES on the retention and degree attainment of women and students traditionally underrepresented in engineering and 2) examine the relationship between social capital and CMES. An innovative aspect of the study is the use of cognitive diagnostic assessment (an extension of item response theory) to measure CMES. The results from the research project will make theoretical contributions in engineering education and is likely to transform cultures in engineering departments and facilitate the design of interventions that would broaden the participation of women and minorities.