How do gender and race/ethnicity intersect to impact students' perceptions of experiences in engineering? Elizabeth Litzler, PhD University of Washington Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering & Technology March 7, 2011 Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation PI: Suzanne G. Brainard, PhD Co-PI: Susan S. Metz

Importance  Little on gender & race in engineering  Research & theory tells us that it matters (Hooks 1981, Spelman 1988)  Disaggregation by gender and race/ethnicity is often difficult for engineering disciplines— PACE data makes it possible. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Objectives  Introduce PACE  Quick overview of methodology  Findings  Professor-Student Interaction  Student-Student Interaction  Confidence  Risk of Attrition Litzler, E., Jaros, S., Metz, S., & Brainard, S.G. (2010). “Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Engineering: Preliminary Findings from the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering.” 2010 ASEE conference: Louisville, KY. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

PACE Goals  Improve retention among engineering undergraduates  Action steps to achieve this goal:  Data, Benchmarking, Recommendations, Follow- ups  22 Schools  Funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

PACE Schools Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation PACE (n = 22) EWC (n = 350) Public77%62% Minority-Serving Institution18%9% Land Grant University41%19% 2005 Basic CC RU/VH55%25% Mean Enrollment26,22414,296

PACE Online Survey  Current engineering students  Oversampled under-represented groups  > 10,000 completions (28%) Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation  Online Survey

Survey Respondent Demographics Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation MaleFemaleTOTAL African American Native American Hispanic American ,240 Hawaiian/Pacific Islander White3,3212,9946,315 Asian American International ,070 Unknown/Other TOTAL5,6424,52510,167

School Representation  African American survey respondents  No one school >13 percent  Every school contributes  Hispanic American Survey Respondents  One school = 22 percent  Two schools combined contribute 28 percent  All other schools contribute Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Focus of Analyses  Differences and similarities in four main areas:  Professor-Student Interaction  Student-Student Interaction  Confidence  Risk of Attrition Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Analysis Methods  2 x 2 Contingency Tables  5 point scales reduced to binary variables  Chi-Square: Are two variables associated?  Adjusted Residuals: Where is the association?  Values > |2|  Odds Ratios: How strong is the association?  OR=1=no effect, OR>1=increase in odds, OR<1=decrease in odds Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Professor-Student Interaction Never, Rarely, Sometimes=1 and Usually, All the Time=2  Do your professors inspire you to study engineering?  Are you comfortable asking questions in class?  Do your professors care whether or not you learn the course material? Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Professor-Student Interaction Race within Gender MalesFemales BlackLatino/aBlackLatino/a Inspire 0.62* 1.25* 0.55* 1.48* Comfortable * * Care Learning * 0.69* Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Gender within Race BlackLatino/aWhite Inspire Comfortable * 0.65* Care Learning *

Student-Student Interaction Never, Rarely, Sometimes=1 and Usually, All the Time=2  Do you feel like part of an engineering community?  Do other students take your comments/suggestions in class seriously?  Do students compete with each other in classes?  Do engr. students help each other succeed in class? Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Student-Student Interaction Race within Gender MalesFemales BlackLatino/aBlackLatino/a Community * 0.76* Take Seriously 0.64* 0.78* 0.53* 0.63* Compete * Help Succeed *0.85 Gender within Race BlackLatino/aWhite Community * Take Seriously * Compete Help Succeed *

Confidence Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree=1, and Somewhat Agree, Strongly Agree=2  I am confident in my ability to succeed in my college engineering courses Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Confidence Race within GenderMalesFemales BlackLatino/aBlackLatino/a Confidence in Engr 0.41* Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Gender within RaceBlackLatino/aWhite Confidence in Engr *0.43*

Risk of Attrition Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree=1, and Somewhat Agree, Strongly Agree=2  I have no desire to declare a non-engineering major (e.g. biology, theater, English, philosophy)  I can think of other majors that I would like better than engineering Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Risk of Attrition Race within GenderMalesFemales BlackLatino/aBlackLatino/a No Desire Diff. Major Like Other Majors Better1.97* Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Gender within RaceBlackLatino/aWhite No Desire Different Major * Like Other Majors Better * 1.35*

Take Away  Student experiences are diverse at the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender  Race and inspiration  More race differences among females (Interaction)  No gender differences among African Americans  Females less comfortable, confident, more risk of attrition than males (Whites and Hispanics)  Disaggregate whenever possible  Look for interaction effects Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Thank you! Questions? Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation