Social cognitive predictors of engineering students' academic persistence intentions, satisfaction, and engagement.

The demand for high quality engineers is of particular importance as engineering jobs are projected to grow in the next 10 years (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). More work is needed to understand factors related to academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions of Latino/as and women in engineering: 2 underrepresented groups in the engineering pipeline. We present findings that explored the role of social-cognitive, environmental, and personality variables in engineering persistence intentions, engagement and satisfaction of a diverse sample of 1,335 engineering students using an extension of the integrative social cognitive career theory model (SCCT; Lent et al., 2013). Results indicated that (a) the hypothesized model fit the data well for the full sample and across 8 subsamples based on gender-ethnicity (i.e., Latinas, Latinos, White women, and White men) and ethnicity-school type (i.e., Latina/os at Hispanic-serving institutions [HSIs], Latina/os at predominantly White institutions [PWIs], Whites at HSIs, and Whites at PWIs), (b) all but 5 model parameters were significant and positive for the full sample, (c) a subset of model parameters differed by the interactions of race/ethnicity-gender and race/ethnicity-school type groups, and (d) the relations within the model explained a significant amount of variance in engineering academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions for the full sample and 8 subsamples. Implications of the findings for educational and career interventions aimed at retaining Latina/os and women in engineering are discussed in relation to building on social cognitions in engineering academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Surviving and thriving: Voices of Latina/o engineering students at a Hispanic serving institution.

This study examined factors that played a role in Latina/o undergraduate students' persistence in engineering at a Hispanic serving institution (HSI; N = 10) using the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Data analyses resulted in five domains: institutional conditions, additive intersectional burdens, personal and cultural wealth, coping skills, and engineering identity. Participants described how they persisted in the face of stressors, citing specific coping skills they developed over time as well as general personal and cultural strengths they carried with them into their pursuit of engineering. Although the structures of the students' institution were generally described as supportive, Latina participants reported experiences with gendered racism that created added barriers to their persistence in engineering. Supportive institutional conditions, personal and cultural assets, and adaptive coping strategies appeared to facilitate the development of a strong engineering identity, which helped to solidify students' sense of belonging, pride, and commitment to complete their degree. Results highlight the need to address intersecting experiences of privilege and oppression to promote access and equity for Latinas/os in engineering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).