Elizabeth Litzler, PhD University of Washington ASEE Session 3592, June 23, 2010

Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Engineering:

Preliminary Findings from the Project to Assess Climate in Engineering (PACE)

Elizabeth Litzler, PhDUniversity of Washington

ASEE Session 3592, June 23, 2010

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

PI: Suzanne G. Brainard, PhDCo-PI: Susan S. MetzRA: Stephanie Jaros

Objectives How do gender and race/ethnicity intersect to

impact students’ perceptions of experiences in engineering?

Introduce PACE Quick overview of methodology Findings

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

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

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 Arizona State University Boston University California State University-L.A. Clemson University Howard University Michigan Tech New Jersey Institute of Technology New Mexico State University North Carolina State University The Ohio State University Penn State

Purdue University Renssalear Polytechnic Institute Rose-Hulman Texas A&M Texas Tech University of Maryland University of Michigan University of Texas at Austin University of Texas at El Paso Virginia Tech Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

PACE Schools

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

PACE(n = 22)

EWC(n = 350)

Public 77% 62%Minority-Serving Institution 18% 9%Land Grant University 41% 19%2005 Basic CC RU/VH 55% 25%

Mean Enrollment 26,224 14,296

PACE Mixed-Mode MethodOnline Survey Current engineering

students Oversampled under-

represented groups > 10,000 completions

(28%)

On-site Interviews Current and former

engineering students:

179 interviews completed at 16 schools, 124 current students and 55 former students

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Survey Respondent Demographics

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Male Female TOTALAfrican American 209 164 373Native American 86 53 139Hispanic American 851 389 1,240Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 17 18 35White 3,321 2,994 6,315Asian American 429 409 838International 636 434 1,070Unknown/Other 93 64 157TOTAL 5,642 4,525 10,167

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 InteractionNever, 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 InteractionRace within Gender Males Females

Black Latino/a Black Latino/a

Inspire 0.62* 1.25* 0.55* 1.48*

Comfortable 0.81 0.77* 0.93 0.74*

Care Learning 0.81 0.94 0.60* 0.69*

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Gender within Race Black Latino/a White

Inspire 0.86 1.12 0.97Comfortable 0.74 0.63* 0.65*Care Learning 0.86 0.84 1.16*

Student-Student InteractionNever, 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 InteractionRace within Gender Males Females

Black Latino/a Black Latino/aCommunity 0.81 1.06 0.63* 0.76*Take Seriously 0.64* 0.78* 0.53* 0.63*Compete 1.18 1.18 1.21 1.44*Help Succeed 0.78 1.06 0.44* 0.85

Gender within Race Black Latino/a White

Community 1.27 1.13 1.60*Take Seriously 0.95 0.91 1.13*Compete 0.96 1.18 0.96Help Succeed 0.70 0.99 1.25*

ConfidenceStrongly 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

ConfidenceRace within Gender Males Females

Black Latino/a Black Latino/aConfidence in Engr 0.41* 0.78 0.80 1.06

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Gender within Race Black Latino/a WhiteConfidence in Engr 0.84 0.58* 0.43*

Risk of AttritionStrongly 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 AttritionRace within Gender Males Females

Black Latino/a Black Latino/a

No Desire Diff. Major 0.89 0.87 0.88 1.01Like Other Majors Better 1.97* 0.94 1.34 0.97

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Gender within Race Black Latino/a WhiteNo Desire Different Major 0.67 0.79 0.68*Like Other Majors Better 0.92 1.39* 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

Respondent Representativeness

Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Male Female TOTAL

African American -0.80% +0.59% -0.21%

Native American +0.42% +0.40% +0.81%

Hispanic American +0.91% +1.89% +2.80%

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander +0.16% +0.17% +0.33%

White -22.21% +18.27% -4.38%

Asian American -2.85% +2.16% -0.68%

International +1.72% +3.30% +5.02%

Unknown -2.12% -0.04% -2.17%

Other -1.30% -0.24% -1.53%

TOTAL -26.51% +26.51%

Positive percentages indicate group is overrepresented among respondents while negative percentages indicate group is underrepresented among respondents.