Engineering persisters and non-persisters: Understanding inflow and outflow trends between middle school and college

Abstract

A science identity framework was applied to discern how pre-college science experiences can affect persistence in engineering career trajectories. Engineering persisters (n=751) and nonpersisters (n=528) were isolated from a nationally-representative dataset, and groups were compared against a number of self-reported factors associated with performance, competence, recognition, and interest in science. Results demonstrated that persisters reported significantly higher values for factors that contribute to science identity formation, particularly in physics. It was concluded that physics courses can be used as arenas in which to develop science identity, with the ultimate goal of increasing inflow and persistence in engineering career paths. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.