Overcoming Barriers and Identifying Solutions: African American Female Students' Persistence and Matriculation in Engineering Programs

• In Event: 41.054 - Critical Examinations of Race, Class, and Gender in Higher Education

Abstract

There is a paucity of African American female students entering engineering studies and the engineering profession itself. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine the context within which African American female engineering students matriculate in engineering programs and to explore the role of environmental influences, contextual supports, and barriers on the ability of African American female students to persist in the STEM programs at a mid-size Historically Black University (HBU) in a southwestern state. All participants were seniors enrolled in the College of Engineering. in the following majors: civil engineering, computer engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. We assigned pseudonyms to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the participating students.

Authors

• Lisa D. Hobson, Essential Leadership Connections

• Kashan Ishaq, The National Industrial Training Institute

• John O. Attia, Prairie View A&M University