Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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perceptions of gender and race, and occupational (engineering) identity formation.
Essentially, this framework is used to support the argument that students‘ perceptions of
experiences relating to gender and race may affect their views on becoming an engineer.
The Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) (Spencer, Dupree,
Hartmann, 1997) combines Bronfenbrenners‘s ecological systems theory with other selforganization
perspectives. PVEST encapsulates the preeminent theme in human
development that acknowledges the complex interaction of various domains of human
functioning. Using the classroom as a context in which identity is formed, Spencer et al.
(1997), discusses the relationship between healthy identity formation, a major crossroad
in human development, as a predictor of positive identity development. Spencer defines
identity as a ―psychological element that…maintains an individual‘s sense of self and
‗others‘ through development changes…identity processes become defined specifically by
how individuals make meaning of their own experiences and the contexts they encounter
at multiple levels‖ (Spencer, et.al, 1997, p. 818). Within the ecological setting, student‘s
identification with academic achievement and high status occupations (such as an
engineer) is mediated through self-appraisal and feedback. PVEST asserts that the
perception of experiences in different cultural contexts influences how students perceive
themselves. For example, a young Asian American student may take advantage of the
perception that he or she is perceived as a ―model minority‖ by the larger society. He or
she may choose to excel academically to meet the expectations of teachers, peers, and
family members. Conversely, many other minority students (i.e., students of African
American, Hispanic & Latino, and Native American heritage) may not benefit from such
societal perceptions of academic excellence and therefore may feel incapable of battling
the existing low performance stereotypes integrated within their cultural self-perception.
Methodology
Four distinct American universities participated in the data collection during the 2003-
2007 academic years. In order to provide anonymity to each participating university, a
pseudonym is used: 1) Engineering Public Institution (EPI), a public mid-western
university specializing in teaching engineering and technology; 2) Historical Private
University (HPU), a private Historically Black University in the Mid-Atlantic region; 3)
Metro Public University (MPU), a large public university in the Northwest U.S.; and 4)
Pacific Private University (PPU) a medium-sized private university on the West Coast.
This paper focuses on the data collected from 63 individual structured interviews with
engineering students administered at all four institutions. Although the larger study
employed multiple instruments, this paper solely focuses on a sub-study of student
responses to the structured interviews that were collected during the sophomore year and
again in their junior year. Although 105 students were surveyed, only 63 of these students
completed an interview during both their sophomore and junior years. Both sophomore
and junior year findings were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods.
Structured responses were analyzed using NVivo 9 qualitative software where responses
were coded. Gender and racial themes and patterns quickly emerged.
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011