Differences in Classroom Engagement of Asian American Engineering Students

Abstract

Background Asian American experiences have been largely ignored in the engineering education research literature. Asian Americans are often considered as a homogenous group, despite including over 40 different ethnic subgroups who speak over 300 languages. The immigrant trajectories, cultural experiences, and college completion rates of Asian Americans also vary. Purpose This study compares classroom engagement of Asian American subgroups whose members are undergraduate engineering majors, and next examines the relationship between classroom engagement and grade point averages across subgroups. Design/Method Survey responses from Asian Americans in undergraduate engineering programs at nine campuses in a public research university system were analyzed using quantitative methods to test for measurement invariance in terms of classroom engagement. The classroom engagement was correlated with grade point average, after controlling for prior achievement and student demographics. Results There was evidence of measurement invariance of classroom engagement across Asian American subgroups. Classroom engagement was higher for the East Indian/Pakistani subgroup than the Chinese, Filipino, and Thai subgroups. There was also evidence that classroom engagement was significantly related to grade point average. However, the low effect sizes suggest that these items may not adequately capture classroom engagement. Conclusions Disaggregating data by subgroups provides important information regarding student classroom engagement and academic outcomes. Our findings can inform policies and approaches to ensure that all racial/ethnic groups benefit from classroom activities.

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