Research Initiation: The Role of Internships in Developing Engineering Professional Identity for First Generation Low-Income Students

美国的目标是加强其工程和技术劳动力并使其多样化。特别是在工程领域，实习经历是学生探索该领域，形成工程师身份，与各种技术行业联系并培养专业技能的宝贵方式。然而，与父母上过大学的学生相比，第一代大学生经历本科实习的可能性要小得多。了解实习如何影响第一代和低收入学生的工程专业身份，以及这些学生获得实习经验的障碍和支持，增加社会流动性，并通过加强这些学生进入工程劳动力的途径来发展美国技术部门。此外，了解实习如何影响专业工程身份可以增加学术界和工业界之间的参与，并使学生，职业顾问和人力资源总监促进有影响力的实习经验，特别是对第一代低收入家庭的学生。他们在准备进入劳动力市场时如何形成专业工程师的身份，以及第一代低收入状况如何介导这一点。基于工程身份和社会资本的框架，研究问题是：实习在学生进入劳动力市场时，在发展工程专业身份方面发挥什么作用？当第一代低收入家庭学生进入劳动力市场时，他们的工程专业认同和实习在形成工程专业认同中的作用有何不同？第一代低收入家庭学生获得实习机会的障碍和支持是什么？该研究采用了顺序混合方法的方法，将使用现有的定量调查数据，告知定性访谈使用三个结构的工程身份（能力，兴趣，认可）和两个结构的社会资本（资产和赤字）。合并后的数据进行三角测量，以产生新的知识，并创建对学生，高等教育机构和雇主有用的研究产品，1）促进实习经验，帮助发展工程专业身份，2）增加第一代低收入者获得实习机会的机会-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评估的支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The U.S. has a goal to strengthen and diversify its engineering and technology workforce. Particularly in engineering, internship experiences are a valuable way that students explore the field, form an identity as engineers, connect with various technology industries, and build professional skills. However, first generation college students are significantly less likely to experience an undergraduate internship compared to students whose parents attended college. Understanding how internships impact the engineering professional identity of first generation and low-income students, and the barriers and supports for these students to access internship experiences, increases social mobility and develops the U.S. technology sector by strengthening a pathway into the engineering workforce for these students. Furthermore, understanding how internships influence professional engineering identity can increase engagement between academia and industry, and enable students, career counselors, and human resources directors to facilitate impactful internship experiences, particularly for first generation low-income students.This study generates new knowledge pertaining to later-year undergraduate students, how they form identity as a professional engineer as they prepare to enter the workforce, and how that is mediated by first generation low-income status. Grounded in the frameworks of engineering identity and social capital, the research questions are: What role do internships play in developing engineering professional identity as students approach entering into the workforce?; How do engineering professional identity and the role of internships in forming engineering professional identity differ for first generation low-income students as they approach entering into the workforce?; and What are the barriers and supports to internship access for first generation low-income students? The study uses a sequential mixed-methods approach that will use existing quantitative survey data to inform qualitative interviews using three constructs of engineering identity (competence, interest, recognition) and two constructs from social capital (assets and deficits). The combined data is triangulated to generate new knowledge and create research products useful for students, institutions of higher education, and employers in 1) facilitating internship experiences that help develop engineering professional identity and, 2) increasing access to internships for first generation 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.