CAREER: Centering the Engineering Identity of Black Men to Enhance Representation and Degree Completion

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to strengthen the future U.S. engineering workforce by enabling and encouraging the participation of all citizens in the engineering enterprise, particularly Black men. According to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering & Engineering Technology by the Numbers 2020 Report, Black men represented 2.8% of those who earned engineering bachelor's degrees. The lack of representation of Black men in engineering exemplifies the broader absence of voices from underserved populations whose knowledge, lived experiences, and perspectives hold the potential to address society's most complex issues. Through this project, the persistence and participation of Black men in engineering will be impacted. The goal of the education and research plan will be to uncover the engineering identity trajectories of Black men at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) over time. This will include developing a national virtual and face-to-face mentoring network that introduces Black male engineering majors to mentors in industry, government, and academia to form a cohort-styled community for emotional support, which will enhance their persistence and build their sense of belonging. Nearly 200 Black men enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Houston will be impacted over the duration of the project. Based on the dearth of literature that has sought to elucidate the nuanced experiences of Black men in engineering, especially at HBCUs and HSIs, this work will employ a longitudinal, multi-method study design which will include Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and photovoice to determine their engineering identities and to elucidate how those identities can be supported. Research questions include 1) How do Black male engineering undergraduate students come to identify themselves as engineers over time? 2) In what ways do Black male engineering undergraduate students in HSIs and HBCUs describe their engineering identities? 3) In what ways does a Black Male Engineering Mentoring Network support resiliency, engagement in communities of practice, building social capital, and engineering identity?; and 4) How can project-inspired engineering identity conversations facilitate practices that support positive and inclusive engineering identities? By centering the voices of Black men, through the integrated research and education plan, this work will inform the engineering education community about avenues for enhancing representation and degree completion for Black men. Dissemination of the project results through publications in open-access formats, posting on the project's Instagram page, and annual novel photovoice photo exhibit/symposium will impact thousands of stakeholders and offer tangible ways that institutions can support and retain Black men in engineering. In addition, the findings from this project will inform conversations around diversity and student support in engineering for a broader audience, including faculty, staff, students, industry partners, and the public. 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.