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

本研究的目的是扩大了解社会资本和工程成功的文化模式（CMES）如何有助于女性和少数民族工程本科生的保留和学位获得，传统上在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）中代表性不足。社会资本是指学生的社会关系以及通过这些关系可以获得的资源。CMES指的是关于如何在工程项目中取得成功的信念（即学位获得）。本研究的前提是，在工程专业取得成功的女性和少数民族大学生更有可能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CMES和项目所支持的文化之间的冲突。拟议的四年纵向研究，建立在以前的研究项目的基础上，以社会资本和文化模型理论框架为指导。该研究将采用混合方法，特别是一个部分混合的同时主导地位的设计，其中定量（在线调查）和定性（面对面和视频访谈）的数据同时收集。数据将从十一（11）个不同合作机构（安柏瑞德航空大学、佛罗里达农业和机械大学、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、马亚圭斯波多黎各大学和南佛罗里达大学）的工程专业学生中收集。结果变量为：1）决定让这11所院校的学生攻读本科工程学位，2）将这些学生保留到工程课程的第四年。该研究的双重目标是：1）确定社会资本和CMES对传统上在工程领域代表性不足的妇女和学生的保留和学位获得的影响; 2）研究社会资本和CMES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（项目反应理论的扩展）来测量CMES。该研究项目的成果将为工程教育做出理论贡献，并有可能改变工程系的文化，促进设计干预措施，扩大妇女和少数群体的参与。

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.