Pre-College Interactions, Early Expectations, and Perceived Barriers: Are There Differences for Underrepresented Engineering Students?

One of the most significant challenges facing engineering education is the chronic problem of inclusion and retention of underrepresented groups, including women, certain racial and ethnic groups, and students whose parents did not complete college. An exploratory comparative study was conducted to investigate how engineering-related interactions prior to college and perceived barriers during engineering studies may differ among entering engineering students based on membership in an underrepresented group (women, students of color, first-generation). The sample included 252 first-year engineering students who completed an online questionnaire during their first week of studies at a four-year urban research university. Statistically significant group differences were found for perceived likelihood of experiencing financial and social support barriers, as well as number of pre-college interactions with adults who recommended engineering as a college career. The findings are useful to engineering education professionals involved with first year orientation experiences, and further current understanding about precollege experiences that are linked to engineering enrollment.