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TABLE IID-1
CHANGE IN ENGINEERING SELF-CONFIDENCE OVER THE COURSE OF THE ACADEMIC
YEAR BY GENDER
Gender
Total
Confidence that engineering
right major for me
21.9
% Increased Self-Confidence
Consider myself mechanically
inclined
19.4
Male 19.2 18.4
Female 31.1 23.0
Total
57.7
% Self-Confidence Stayed Same
57.9
Male 57.7 56.6
Female 57.4 62.3
Total
20.4
% Decreased Self-Confidence
22.7
Male 23.0 25.0
Female 11.5 14.8
These results were reinforced by students’ self-assessment in the Spring of whether
several of their abilities had changed during the academic year. In many respects,
students felt their abilities had improved over the course of the year. Over half of the
students felt their overall academic ability had improved over the course of the academic
year, that their critical thinking skills had improved, that their problem solving skills had
improved, their computer skills, their speaking skills and their mathematical ability
(Table IID-2).
In most of these areas, the percentage of females assessing an improvement was about
the same as that of males. Females were more likely than males to see an improvement
IID-144