Research Initiation: The Role of Internships in Developing Engineering Professional Identity for First Generation Low-Income Students

研究启动：实习在培养第一代低收入学生的工程职业认同中的作用

基本信息

批准号：
1830761
负责人：
Sara Atwood
金额：
$ 18.62万
依托单位：
Elizabethtown College
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2018-09-01 至 2023-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1830761&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Research Initiation Role Internships Developing

项目摘要

The U.S. has a goal to strengthen and diversify its engineering and technology workforce. Particularly in engineering, internship experiences are a valuable way that students explore the field, form an identity as engineers, connect with various technology industries, and build professional skills. However, first generation college students are significantly less likely to experience an undergraduate internship compared to students whose parents attended college. Understanding how internships impact the engineering professional identity of first generation and low-income students, and the barriers and supports for these students to access internship experiences, increases social mobility and develops the U.S. technology sector by strengthening a pathway into the engineering workforce for these students. Furthermore, understanding how internships influence professional engineering identity can increase engagement between academia and industry, and enable students, career counselors, and human resources directors to facilitate impactful internship experiences, particularly for first generation low-income students.This study generates new knowledge pertaining to later-year undergraduate students, how they form identity as a professional engineer as they prepare to enter the workforce, and how that is mediated by first generation low-income status. Grounded in the frameworks of engineering identity and social capital, the research questions are: What role do internships play in developing engineering professional identity as students approach entering into the workforce?; How do engineering professional identity and the role of internships in forming engineering professional identity differ for first generation low-income students as they approach entering into the workforce?; and What are the barriers and supports to internship access for first generation low-income students? The study uses a sequential mixed-methods approach that will use existing quantitative survey data to inform qualitative interviews using three constructs of engineering identity (competence, interest, recognition) and two constructs from social capital (assets and deficits). The combined data is triangulated to generate new knowledge and create research products useful for students, institutions of higher education, and employers in 1) facilitating internship experiences that help develop engineering professional identity and, 2) increasing access to internships for first generation low-income students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国的目标是加强和多样化其工程和技术劳动力。特别是在工程学中，实习经验是学生探索该领域，形成工程师身份，与各种技术行业建立认同并建立专业技能的一种宝贵方式。但是，与父母上大学的学生相比，第一代大学生经历本科实习的可能性要小得多。了解实习如何影响第一代和低收入学生的工程专业身份，以及这些学生获得实习经验，增加社会流动性并通过加强进入这些学生的工程劳动力的途径的障碍和支持。此外，了解实习如何影响专业的工程认同可以增加学术界和行业之间的参与度，并使学生，职业顾问和人力资源主管能够促进有影响力的实习经验，尤其是对于第一代低收入学生而言，这项研究产生了新的知识，这些知识会产生与后来的学生，他们如何以专业的工程师的身份成为职业生产者，以使他们成为职业生产者，并如何使他们成为职业生产的工作，并以工作为生。基于工程认同和社会资本的框架，研究问题是：当学生接近进入劳动力时，实习在发展工程专业身份方面起着什么作用？当第一代低收入学生进入劳动力时，工程专业身份和实习在成立工程专业身份中的作用如何？对于第一代低收入学生的实习机会有哪些障碍和支持？该研究使用了一种顺序的混合方法方法，该方法将使用现有的定量调查数据使用工程认同的三种结构（能力，利益，认可）和社会资本（资产和缺陷）的两种结构来为定性访谈提供信息。组合数据是三角剖分来产生新知识并创建对学生，高等教育机构以及雇主有用的研究产品的1）促进实习经验，这些经验有助于发展工程专业的身份，以及2）增加对第一代低收入学生的实习机会的机会，这是NSF的法定任务，并通过评估范围来进行评估，这一奖项被认为是构成构成的范围的范围。