2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

A Quantitative Analysis of Engineering Identity and Sense of Belonging for Students Who Provide Derogatory Responses to Write-in Demographic Questions

Presented at Identity and Student Thriving

This full empirical research paper explores engineering identity and sense of belonging among participants who use write-in demographic options on surveys to give derogatory or otherwise negative responses. Traditionally, these derogatory responses are considered a “norm” of research, removed during data cleaning, and are thus rarely the focus of a study. This investigation specifically investigates these participants’ sense of belonging (sense of fitting in within engineering) and engineering identity (sense of being the kind of person who does engineering). These constructs may help us understand who these participants are within engineering and why they might behave this way. By combining four surveys from large NSF-funded projects into a single dataset, we created a dataset comprising n=9,904 undergraduate engineering students, of whom n= 127 left derogatory responses. All write-in responses in the race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation categories were identified and manually classified as either recognized or derogatory responses. Derogatory responses occurred across all demographic categories, though most frequently in the gender category. After identifying derogatory responses, we used structural equation modeling to analyze (in)direct effects and latent relationships with engineering identity and belonging. We found that those in the derogatory group had lower perceptions of performance/competence, interest, recognition, identity, and sense of belonging in engineering. Drawing upon existing literature, we connect this behavior to the experiences of marginalized students, who describe being discriminated against by their peers. We question how deeply ingrained bigoted behavior is in engineering culture and call on all members of the engineering community to drive a culture shift that makes diversity and inclusion central in engineering.

Authors

Ash Quadd Rowan University [biography]

Ash Quadd (they/them) is a second-year Ph.D. Student at Rowan University in the Experiential Engineering Education Department, where they draw on their experiences as an agender queer person and advocate for research inspiration. Ash previously attended the University of Delaware, where they completed their B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and M.S. in Biopharmaceutical Science. After working in the biopharmaceutical industry, they decided to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering education to continue their advocacy work with the Queer community in engineering. Ash is currently a member of Dr. Justin Major’s ASPIRE (Advancing Student Pathways through Inequality Research in Engineering) Lab, where they study how mental health affects undergraduate engineering students’ career trajectories. In their dissertation work, Ash focuses on LGBTQIA+ experiences and identity negotiation in engineering. Across their efforts, they aim to use research to change engineering culture, making engineering more accessible to all marginalized populations, resulting in thriving rather than just surviving.
Dr. Justin Charles Major http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3111-8509 Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Justin C. Major (they/them) is an Assistant Professor of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University where they leads ASPIRE Lab (Advancing Student Pathways through Inequality Research in Engineering). Justin’s research focuses on low-income students, engineering belonging and marginalization mechanisms, adverse childhood experiences, and feminist approaches to EER, and connects these topics to broader understandings of student success in engineering. Justin completed their Ph.D. in Engineering Education (’22) and M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics (’21) at Purdue University, and two B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Secondary Mathematics Education at the University of Nevada, Reno (’17). Atop their education, Justin is a previous NSF Graduate Research Fellow and has won over a dozen awards for research, service, and activism related to marginalized communities, including the 2020 ASEE ERM Division Best Diversity Paper for their work on test anxiety. As a previous homeless and food-insecure student, Justin is eager to challenge and change engineering engineering education to be a pathway for socioeconomic mobility and broader systemic improvement rather than an additional barrier.
Prof. Allison Godwin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-3356 Cornell University [biography]

Allison Godwin, Ph.D. is the Dr. G. Stephen Irwin '67, '68 Professor in Engineering Education Research in the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. She is also the Associate Director of the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility and a McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute Research Fellow. Her research focuses on how identity, among other affective factors, influences diverse groups of students to choose engineering and persist in engineering. She also studies how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belonging, motivation, and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning to understand engineering students’ identity development. She has won several awards for her research including the 2021 Chemical Engineering Education William H. Corcoran Award, 2022 American Educational Research Association Education in the Professions (Division I) 2021-2022 Outstanding Research Publication Award, and the 2023 AIChE Excellence in Engineering Education Research Award.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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