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CHAPTER II-A
INTRODUCTION TO FINDINGS: THE PROCESS OF BECOMING AN
ENGINEER
In this chapter we present our conceptualization of the process that students of
engineering undergo during their undergraduate years and show how our study
contributes to the understanding of that process and the role that gender plays in it. We
then explain how the chapters that follow shed light on this process, based on the findings
of our study.
As we see it, students come into the engineering program at Rowan with certain
characteristics and training, which serve as their input into this process. This input
includes:
1) demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, ethnicity/race, marital
status);
2) socio-economic background, including parents’ education, occupation,
and income 14 ;
3) social support for their pursuit of engineering as a major and as a career
goal by significant others (e.g., parents, siblings, friends, influential
teachers) and wider societal attitudes about the suitability of people like
them (e.g., women or men) being an engineer;
4) exposure to role models which can reinforce their expectations to succeed
in the major and in the career as an engineer;
14 and/or their own, depending on their age and marital status.
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