Investigating the Fit Between Students' Personal Interests and Their Perceptions of Engineering in a National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Precollege Summer Workshop (Fundamental Research)

摘要

Concern over the underrepresentation of women and certain minority populations in engineering has been a concern for the last few decades. Government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private companies have invested significant money and resources to address this concern (Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE), 2017; Gibbin & Davis, 2002); however, the numbers of women and underrepresented minorities participating in engineering remains dismal (National Science Foundation & National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2017). Much of this money has been invested in pre-college engineering education programs aimed at introducing students to engineering with the goal of improving their interests, attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, etc. of engineering. Research and evaluation efforts connected to these interventions have shown promising results, yet matriculation into engineering undergraduate programs continues to lag.