Freshmen Women in Engineering: Comparison of Their Backgrounds, Abilities, Values, and Goals With Science and Humanities Majors

O'Hara, Susana Krivatsy

doi:10.1615/jwomenminorscieneng.v2.i1-2.30

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…One prominent longitudinal study showed a general pattern of loss of self-efficacy emerging throughout engineering education (Brainard and Carlin, 1998). While women entered engineering reporting high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem (O'Hare, 1995), their self-confidence declined precipitously during the first year and, although it did begin to elevate, it never again reached the same heights (Brainard and Carlin, 1998). Similarly, Hawks, and Spade (1998) found that during their engineering studies, women compare themselves unfavorably to their male peers and judge themselves more harshly than the men judge themselves.…”

Section: E Self-efficacy and Women In Stem Domainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is in contrast to the second self-efficacy scale which is stated in terms of respondents' "confidence" (e.g., "I am confident I can do ______"). The use of items phrased in terms of confidence is a common convention in self-efficacy scales (Pajares, 2007); however, the first self-efficacy subscales' "succeed (earn A or B)" terminology can be interpreted as a stronger statement. To say that one can earn an A or B more clearly operationalizes "success" and may provide us with a clearer reading on students' actual sense of efficacy than a simple statement of "confidence" as used in the second self-efficacy scale-the one that showed a significant increase.…”

Section: A Longitudinal Changes In Self-efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

Marra

Rodgers

Shen

et al. 2009

J of Engineering Edu

418

354

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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...

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Section: E Self-efficacy and Women In Stem Domainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Longitudinal Changes In Self-efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

Marra

Rodgers

Shen

et al. 2009

J of Engineering Edu

418

354

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Women often do not see the societal relevance of an engineering career. This perceived lack of societal relevance is supported by the work of O'Hara, who concluded that women would be attracted to engineering if they thought that their goals of contributing to the improvement of society could be better met by studying engineering [23]. Similarly, Sax found that university women did not persist toward STEM careers because they did not see the societal good that could result from this career choice [24].…”

Section: ) Societal Relevance Of Engineering-contributing To the Grementioning

confidence: 99%

An Intervention to Address Gender Issues in a Course on Design, Engineering, and Technology for Science Educators

Baker

2007

J of Engineering Edu

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A course on design, engineering, and technology based on Bandura's theory of self‐efficacy was taught to nine science education graduate students who were also practicing teachers. The interpretive analysis method was used to code and analyze qualitative data from focus groups, weekly reflections on classes and readings, and pre‐, post‐, and delayed‐post course questions. The improvement in tinkering and technical self‐efficacies for five males was limited because of initially higher self‐efficacies while that for four females was moderate to high, especially when working in same‐sex teams in a non‐competitive environment. All students also increased their understanding of the societal relevance of engineering and their ability to transfer engineering concepts to pre‐college classrooms. Implementing the principles employed in this intervention in pre‐college science and university engineering classrooms could help recruit students into engineering as well as help retain both male and female undergraduate engineering students.

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“…In terms of self-appraisal, a general pattern of loss emerges throughout the engineering education. Women enter engineering reporting high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem 22 . Their self-confidence declines precipitously during the first year and, although it does begin to elevate, it will never again reach the same heights 10 .…”

Section: Wie Programs and The Need For Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Women In Engineering (Awe): Assessment Results On Women Engineering Students' Beliefs

Marra¹,

Moore²,

Schuurman³

et al.

2004 Annual Conference Proceedings

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Freshmen Women in Engineering: Comparison of Their Backgrounds, Abilities, Values, and Goals With Science and Humanities Majors

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

An Intervention to Address Gender Issues in a Course on Design, Engineering, and Technology for Science Educators

Assessing Women In Engineering (Awe): Assessment Results On Women Engineering Students' Beliefs

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