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to see the entire research report - Rowan - Rowan University

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engineering self-confidence was similar for males and females. As we showed above (Ch.<br />

II-D) students who felt <strong>the</strong>y belonged in engineering and were confident <strong>the</strong>y would stay<br />

in engineering, tend <strong>to</strong> be more satisfied with most aspects of <strong>the</strong> program. Presumably<br />

<strong>the</strong>re may be a two-way influence, that students who were satisfied with <strong>the</strong> program<br />

would have stronger self-confidence that <strong>the</strong>y would stay in engineering and that <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

engineering abilities were adequate for <strong>the</strong>ir studies.<br />

Looking at <strong>the</strong> interrelationships between satisfaction and engineering self-<br />

confidence by gender, we find that for both males and females, confidence about staying<br />

in engineering (CONF STAY ENG) is indeed related <strong>to</strong> satisfaction with <strong>the</strong><br />

programmatic elements of <strong>the</strong> program (SATCHOIC, SATCLASS), and with peer<br />

relationships (SATPEERS) (Table IIE-28). Males and females who are satisfied with<br />

<strong>the</strong>se aspects of <strong>the</strong> program are more confident <strong>the</strong>y will stay in engineering. However,<br />

among females <strong>the</strong>re is no relationship between engineering self-confidence and how<br />

satisfied <strong>the</strong>y are with <strong>the</strong> program applications (SATLAB, SATTEAM, SATCLIN).<br />

This suggests that <strong>the</strong> personal self-confidence of female students is triggered less by<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir reaction <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>se parts of <strong>the</strong> program than by o<strong>the</strong>r fac<strong>to</strong>rs (for example, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

participation in extra-curricular activities, as we show below).<br />

Students’ satisfaction with student-faculty relationships is not related <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

personal self-confidence for males nor for females. This suggests that positive student-<br />

faculty relationships are not confined <strong>to</strong> those who are most confident in <strong>the</strong>ir future in<br />

<strong>the</strong> program but ra<strong>the</strong>r are spread among <strong>the</strong> <strong>entire</strong> engineering student body.<br />

IIE-203

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