2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work-in-progress paper describes the examination of women students’ sense of belonging in the Summer 2022 NSF funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in the chemical engineering department at a large, research-one university. In addition to learning technical research skills through the REU program, administrators also hoped to promote and assess a host of educational and psychosocial skills, including the interest and motivation for participating in undergraduate research, the likelihood of attending graduate school, engineering growth mindset, sense of belonging, and creative identity. To measure any potential changes in participants in these areas from before to after participating in the REU, evaluators conducted a pre- and post-survey, including both quantitative scales and qualitative interviews, for the participants.

The historical gender disparity in engineering education and industry is well documented (Solomon, 1985). This work-in-progress paper will take the evaluation of the Summer REU beyond its typical reach by analyzing the survey data with reported gender data as a variable. The research question for this paper seeks to investigate if sense of belonging in the REU was experienced differently by men and women identifying students. Through the collected demographic information, the 32-participants will be divided into two groups: those who reported identifying as men, and those who reported identifying as women. Each area examined on the pre- and post-surveys will be analyzed by the additional variable of gender, with special attention given to the sense of belonging questions. The analysis of these areas will allow administrators to gauge the success of gender inclusivity through sense of belonging in the summer 2022 REU by measuring 1) which areas allowed women the highest-rate of growth, and 2) which areas provided barriers to growth for the women by showing the lowest-rate of growth from pre- to post-survey.

Workshops utilized during the REU program included an active-learning improv workshop, graphics 101, grad school 101, and a tour of the labs in a main science building on campus, among others. Qualitative feedback was gathered from the students about each of the workshops. Through analyzing the qualitative workshop feedback based on gender, the REU administrators will understand which workshops had the highest sense of belonging for women students. Through uncovering codes and categories related to women students’ sense of belonging, REU administrators will have additional information about which areas and workshops may need to be altered or enhanced for upcoming years to ensure better sense of belonging for women identifying students. By providing a more inclusive REU experience, the hope is to not only provide a clearer pathway for women to persist through the REU program and their undergraduate studies, but also help inspire interest and a sense of belonging for future graduate education. This work-in-progress paper will provide a detailed overview of the REU assessment process and initial results of the interviews and survey.

References

Solomon, B. M. (1985). In the company of educated women: A history of women and higher education in America. Yale University Press.