2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Using Photoelicitation to Explore Coping Strategies of First-Generation and Low-SES Engineering students

Presented at Student Division (STDT) Technical Session 4

This work-in-progress paper seeks to examine how first-generation and/or low-socioeconomic status (SES) undergraduate students navigate and cope with challenges they encounter in their engineering programs. The increasing influx of students who identify as either first-generation or low-SES, particularly within engineering, calls for educators and researchers alike to better understand how these students are acclimating, learning, and advancing in their higher education.

Previous research that analyzes low-SES or first-generation engineering students focuses on evaluating conditions or interventions that improve graduation or retention rates. While these findings have been beneficial, few studies qualitatively explore student experiences or attributes that influence success in an engineering context. This study aims to counter a deficit and individual framing towards low-SES and first-generation engineering students by finding shared coping strategies these students use throughout their undergraduate education. This could be learning more about their attitudes, strengths, and solutions from previously lived experiences that their peers may not have shared or had to learn on their own. The guiding research question to develop this understanding is: What coping strategies do first-generation and low-SES engineering students employ to navigate the challenges of their undergraduate experience?

This paper will introduce the use of Stallman’s Health Theory of Coping, methodology, and preliminary findings of a pilot study conducted with low-SES or first-generation engineering students (n=6) at a large, public, historically white university in the Southeastern United States . The analysis of the interview transcripts with this framework is a first step in understanding how first-generation and low-SES are managing the challenges faced pursuing their degree in engineering. This work in progress paper discusses newly developed codes for coping in this context and the common themes found among students. By understanding how students are responding to obstacles in their education, we can better address how to support students throughout their journey into engineering.

Authors

Nataly Cortez University of Michigan
Ms. Elizabeth (Betsy) Strehl University of Michigan [biography]

Elizabeth (Betsy) is a PhD candidate and NSF Research Fellow in the Engineering Education Research program at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the experiences of engineering students that come from low-SES backgrounds and what resources are needed to help these students thrive in engineering long-term.

Betsy is also earning her MSE in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on improving socio-technical education in engineering classrooms. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan and worked as a K-12 educator before transitioning back to higher education.
Dr. Sarah Jane Bork http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4344-554X University of Georgia [biography]

Dr. Sarah Jane (SJ) Bork is an Assistant Professor in Engineering Education and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Bork’s research has focused on examining the mental health experiences of engineering graduate students. She has studied different areas (e.g., social factors, engineering culture, etc.) using a variety of research methods (e.g., regression analysis, photovoice, factor analysis, interview data, etc.). Dr. Bork earned her doctorate degree from the University of Michigan’s Engineering Education Research Program. Prior to this, she earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University.
Dr. Aaron W. Johnson University of Michigan [biography]

Aaron W. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department and a Core Faculty member of the Engineering Education Research Program at the University of Michigan. His design-based research focuses on how to re-contextualize engineering science engineering courses to better reflect and prepare students for the reality of ill-defined, sociotechnical engineering practice. Current projects include studying and designing classroom interventions around macroethical issues in aerospace engineering and the productive beginnings of engineering judgment as students create and use mathematical models. Aaron holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Michigan and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to re-joining Michigan, he was an instructor in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

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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