This paper describes the results of a multi-year study designed to uncover the reasons why students choose to leave engineering. The authors collected profile information hypothesized to be factors in retention or attrition (e.g. academic preparation, reasons for choosing engineering, participation in academic support and extracurricular activities) and measured the factors that influenced students' decision to switch out of an engineering degree program. The reported results are from data collection over three years at a large engineering degree granting institution in the eastern U.S. IntroductionThe U.S. Bureau of Labor estimates that the number of jobs to be filled in engineering

As our nation's need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are increasingly becoming concerned with how to attract women to this traditionally male career path. Self-efficacy has been shown to be related to positive outcomes in studying and pursuing careers in non-traditional fields. This paper describes the results of two years of engineering self-efficacy data collected from women engineering students at five institutions across the U.S. This study adds to the growing body of self-efficacy literature via its multi-year, multi-institution design and helps to clarify the impact of the engineering curriculum on self-efficacy. Results indicate that while women students show positive progress on some self-efficacy and related subscales, they show a significant decrease on feelings of inclusion from the first to second measurement period and further suggest a relationship between ethnicity and feelings of inclusion. Additionally, correlations show that self-efficacy is related to women students' plans to persist in this predominantly male discipline. Sadker and Sadker, 1994). As our nation's need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are focusing their efforts on attracting women to this traditionally male career (Chubin, May, and Babco, 2005). Although self-efficacy has been found to be an important factor in the success of women pursuing a non-traditional career choice such as engineering (Betz, 2001;Blaisdell, 2000;Lapan, Boggs, and Morrill, 1989;Marra, Schuurman, Moore, and Bogue, 2005; Nauta, Epperson, and Kahn, 2003), the exact nature of how the engineering curriculum impacts self-efficacy is unclear. Further, there is currently a lack of studies that track selfefficacy of individuals, as well as a lack of multi-institution studies that would increase generalizability. Given that different institutions likely offer differing levels and types of support, exploring the potential relationship between institution and engineering selfefficacy is an important piece in understanding student satisfaction, achievement, and ultimately, retention in engineering programs. This study begins to address these gaps in the literature.Self-efficacy refers to individuals' beliefs in their capabilities to plan and take the actions required to achieve a particular outcome (Bandura, 1986). Efficacy applies to any situation; it is particularly important in choosing and executing constructive actions in situations that can be barriers to successfully achieving the ultimately desired outcome. In engineering, such a barrier might be negative stereotypes, active discouragement by peers or faculty, or scoring poorly on a calculus exam.This study of self-efficacy is situated in the framework of understanding the constructs that impact the success of women studying engineering. We recognize that other frameworks exist for studying this phenomenon (e.g., career perceptions or skills development); however, we chose self-efficacy for several reasons. Self-efficacy is a concep...

This paper addresses the current and potential impact of the outreach activities that engineering professional societies (and others) offer to children and young adults and describes how to advance the outreach state of the art by using methods and tools that most engineers routinely use in their technical projects but do not typically transfer to an outreach project: research, training, adoption of best practices, and awareness of user needs and culture. Also critical, assessment (establishing goals, identifying outcomes metrics, and evaluating success) is discussed in the companion paper "Outcomes-Based Assessment: Driving Outreach Program Effectiveness" published in this special issue. Specifically, the paper discusses challenges facing professional society outreach efforts; key and proven practices for outreach success, including assessment; and the use of social science research in designing outreach programs.