Gatekeepers to broadening participation in engineering: A qualitative investigation of a case site in Virginia (Work in progress)

Abstract

To broaden participation in engineering, there is a need to move beyond examining the variables that differentiate underrepresented students from majority students and take a systemic approach. As part of a larger project, this research begins closing that gap by examining systemic variables that influence enrollment in 4-year University engineering programs. Situated in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this work in progress analysis examines interviews with principals at a single case site to identify proximal and distal influences on engineering career choice pathways. In addition to identifying factors consistent with current literature, this analysis expands current literature by articulating how the same factor can be perceived differently within different schools in the same case site region.