Building a Pathway to Engineering: Identities and Discourses of Mexican and Mexican-Origin College Students

• In Event: STEM and Hispanics

Abstract

According to U.S. Census data, only 7.9% of engineering bachelor’s degrees were awarded to Latinos/ Hispanics in 2011 (Landivar, 2013). This paper employs a sociocultural approach to understand the constellation of influences that shape Latinas/os’ pathways into engineering, with a focus on students’ discourses. The central question guiding this inquiry is: How do Mexican and Mexican-origin engineering students construct their identities in describing their pathways to engineering? Our analysis of the in-depth interviews of 14 participants, which were part of a larger 4-year ethnographic study, revealed three sets of recurrent discourses in students’ accounts of their pathways to engineering: Discourses about “choice” tied to the family structure; Discourses about teacher support; and Discourses about childhood activities tied to engineering aspirations.

Authors

• Erika L. Mein, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Alberto Esquinca, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Angelica Monarrez, University of Texas at El Paso

• Claudia Saldana Corral, University of Texas at El Paso