Exclusionary and Inclusionary Experiences in College Engineering Classrooms: Implications for Women With Different Racial Identities

• In Event: Gender and STEM Education

Abstract

This quantitative study utilized a diverse sample of approximately 300 female engineering college majors across the country to examine their classroom experiences, measuring those that were distinctly exclusionary and those that were inclusionary, with an eye towards how both predict positive engineering attitudes and doubts about staying. Black and Latinx women reported experiencing the least inclusionary climate, while Asian women reported the fewest exclusionary experiences. Both types of experiences predicted outcomes similarly across groups, with one exception. While Asian women were the least likely to experience exclusion, it nevertheless was associated with a higher frequency of thinking about leaving the major compared to other groups. This study brings needed attention to the heterogeneity of women’s experiences within engineering classrooms.

Authors

• Tatiane Russo-Tait, University of Georgia

• Catherine C. Riegle-Crumb, University of Texas at Austin

• Ursula Nguyen, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Katherine Doerr, University of Malmo