Factors Supporting Female Persistence in Undergraduate Engineering Studies: Insights Gained Through a Qualitative Analysis of Consistently Performing Programs

摘要

As part of our overall research into the issues of retention/persistence of female undergraduate engineering students, we identified and investigated programs that consistently conferred at least 30%, on average, of their baccalaureate degrees to females over a five year period. A qualitative analysis of six of these programs, all located in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), reveals five factors that encourage female persistence. The HBCUs were selected for this analysis due to the relative homogeneity of their student populations, which helps to reduce the impact of confounding factors on the analysis. In addition, they have managed to be successful with limited resources; the identified factors reflect institutional will and mission rather than economics and therefore are more universally adoptable. The results, obtained primarily through document review, are verified via triangulation with other data sources including interviews and representative sources from the literature. The success of these six programs in enabling female undergraduates to persist to graduation is further proof of the importance of climate, cultural, and environmental factors on the ability of retention/persistence strategies for female undergraduates in engineering to be successful. We recognize that these results are not unknown; however, they provide further evidence that a paradigm shift in the structure and delivery of undergraduate engineering studies is necessary to increase the overall percentage of female undergraduates receiving degrees in engineering.