Engineering Future Scholars: Increasing Engineering Success through a Self-Efficacy Network and Identity Development

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Arizona State University's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Throughout its five years, this project will fund 40 scholarships for students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering. Scholars will be mentored by their peers, faculty, and industry professionals; conduct undergraduate research; participate in design-build-implement innovation challenges; participate in career development; and complete engineering workforce preparation experiences. This project will follow 40 Engineering Futures Scholars for four years allowing for a longitudinal study of engineering identity development. A cohort of 20 students will be added in project year one and year two. Each cohort will be supported for four years. The scholars' future potential selves will be nurtured to facilitate engineering identity development, which is expected to support sustained motivation and persistence in their goals towards engineering degree completion. Participants will enroll in a required Build Your Engineering Future course each semester of their degree program. This course will be used to anchor identity development activities. Scholars' engineering self-efficacy and their engineering identity will be studied longitudinally using qualitative and quantitative methods, to understand the degree to which students have explored and committed to becoming an engineer while also valuing the personal and social relevance of their aspirations. A comparison group will be used to study the impact of project activities. Results of this project may strengthen the understanding of existing strategies or reveal new ones to increase undergraduate student retention in engineering and four-year graduation rates in Arizona and across the nation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.