How Cooperative Education Programs Extend the Social Networks of Students of Color in Engineering

• In Event: Factors Impacting Career and Technical Education Outcomes

Abstract

Students of Color (SOCs) are underrepresented in engineering education and the workforce. Scholars suggest that gaining hands-on work experience while in college through a cooperative education program (co-ops) can increase technical skills, expand social networks, increase persistence, and help facilitate the transition from college into the workforce. This study uses Lin’s (1999) network theory of social capital to explore how participating in a co-op extends the social network for engineering SOCs. This study draws on interviews from six engineering SOCs at one institution. Our preliminary findings suggest that participating in a co-op expanded students’ social network, that students activated to acquire additional forms of capital (e.g., cultural, human, economic), which they can utilize to enter the engineering workforce.

Authors

• Ariana Lucia Garcia, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Blanca E. Rincón, University of Nevada - Las Vegas