Accepted in the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
Authors: Dina Verdín and A. Lili Castillo
Abstract
Establishing and sustaining a sense of belonging is a necessary human motivation with particular implications for student learning, including in engineering. Validation is a crucial component of the learning process, as it helps individuals feel a sense of belonging and purpose within their educational environment. Yet, there is a dearth of literature that speaks to practical classroom practices that validate women’s sense of belonging without putting the onus directly on them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine validating practices and messages that contributed to minoritized women’s engineering classroom belongingness. This study used cross-sectional survey data of engineering students collected from nine 4-year institutions. Multiple regression analysis with interaction effects was used to understand how practices and messages differentially validated classroom belongingness when considering an intersectional lens. Our findings identified strategies that could help remedy classroom belongingness for minoritized women based on parents’ level of education, transfer status, and institution type. Instructors have a crucial role to play in fostering student belongingness, but it must be done with attention to the different practices and messages that speak to students about their fit in engineering. Identifying specific validating mechanisms practiced by both instructors and peers can provide engineering educators with concrete strategies to continue supporting women’s sense of belonging in the engineering culture. We conclude with recommendations of how to enact validating messages and teaching practices to promote classroom belongingness for women in engineering.
Purpose
To the best of our knowledge, there is no literature on practical classroom strategies engineering instructors can implement to mitigate belonging uncertainty for minoritized women. Similarly, the scholarship documenting practical classroom strategies to promote women’s classroom belongingness in the two specific institutional environments of HSIs and PWIs is scant. Therefore, we seek to answer the following:
RQ: Which validating strategies foster engineering classroom belongingness among minoritized women, and how do they differ based on institution type, first-generation college student status, and transfer status?
Identifying specific validating practices and messages instructors and peers can enact may provide engineering educators with concrete strategies to support women’s sense of belonging.
There is ample evidence documenting the effect of belonging uncertainty on women’s intentions to persist and, conversely, the positive effect of establishing a sense of belonging on persistence and identity development (e.g., Foor et al., 2007; Seymour et al., 2019; Verdín, 2021a, 2021b). However, most literature on establishing belongingness focused on resources or activities outside the classroom setting; there is a dearth of literature on practical classroom practices that validate women’s sense of belonging without putting the onus directly on them. Our findings identified strategies that could help remedy classroom belongingness for minoritized women when considering intersectional demographic markers.
Rendón (2002) argued that validation is a crucial component of the learning process, as it helps individuals feel a sense of belonging and purpose within their educational environment. Creating an educational culture that validates students can lead to more meaningful and engaged learning for all students. Of the validating messages and practices examined in this study, two commonly supported women’s classroom belongingness across all demographic markers: (1) the ability to ask instructors for help when they did not understand course-related material and (2) being recognized as an engineer by instructors. There were more validating practices and messages that were moderated by institution type, parents’ level of education, and transfer status. That is, for racially/ethnically minoritized women, the validating practices and messages that support their classroom belongingness were contingent on additional social positions tied to being a transfer student or a first-generation college student. Therefore, it is important that instructors consider students’ lived experiences more holistically as they attempt to cultivate a classroom environment that is welcoming to minoritized women.
In the published paper, we discuss and provide recommendations on how instructors can further implement the validation practices and messages in their classrooms to promote belongingness.
| Results: Validating practices and messages that can promote a sense of belonging in the engineering classroom | ||
| §Direction of influence | Std. Coef. | |
| Intercept | 0 | |
| Institution Type (Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) coded as 1) | – | -0.82** |
| Parents’ Level of Education (First-generation college students (FGCS) coded as 1) | + | 0.50* |
| Transfer Student (coded as 1) | – | 0.58** |
| My instructors were available to meet with me if needed. | 0.06 | |
| I believe that a majority of my instructors want me to succeed. | -0.17 | |
| I receive responses from instructors in a timely manner. | 0.08 | |
| My instructors fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect. | + | 0.58** |
| My instructors provide supplemental resources to support my learning. | -0.09 | |
| I received useful feedback on course assignments. | + | 0.25** |
| My instructors connect class topics to my future career. | – | -0.32*** |
| I could ask my instructors for help if I did not understand course-related material. | + | 0.43*** |
| Receive compliments from a professor for incorporating prior knowledge into my engineering design. | 0.15 | |
| My team members appreciate my contribution to the project. | – | -0.70*** |
| My peers entrust me with the responsibilities of a leader. | + | 0.50** |
| My instructors see me as an engineer | + | 0.33*** |
| My peers see me as an engineer. | – | -0.37* |
| Others ask me for help in engineering. | -0.07 | |
| I see connections between my hobbies and what I am learning in my engineering coursework. | + | 0.37*** |
| I see connections between experiences at home and what I am learning in my engineering courses. | 0.04 | |
| I draw on my previous experiences from my hobbies when little instruction is given on how to solve an engineering task. | – | -0.20* |
| I draw on my previous experiences at home when little instruction is given on how to solve an engineering task. | 0.14 | |
| Interaction Effects | ||
| Institution Type | ||
| HSI · My instructors were available to meet with me if needed. | + | 1.42** |
| HSI · I receive responses from instructors in a timely manner. | – | -1.05** |
| HSI · My instructors fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect. | – | -0.84* |
| HSI · My instructors provide supplemental resources to support my learning. | + | 0.92** |
| HSI · Others ask me for help in engineering | + | 0.69*** |
| Parents’ Level of Education | ||
| FGCS · My instructors were available to meet with me if needed. | – | -1.09** |
| FGCS · I receive responses from instructors in a timely manner. | + | 0.86** |
| FGCS · My instructors fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect. | – | -0.65* |
| FGCS · My team members appreciate my contribution to the project. | + | 0.76** |
| FGCS · My peers entrust me with the responsibilities of a leader. | – | -0.99** |
| FGCS · My peers see me as an engineer. | + | 0.39* |
| Transfer Status | ||
| Transfer Student · My instructors fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect. | + | 0.87* |
| Transfer Student · My instructors provide supplemental resources to support my learning. | – | -1.21*** |
| Transfer Student · Receive compliments from a professor for incorporating prior knowledge into my engineering design. | – | -0.27* |
| Transfer Student · My team members appreciate my contribution to the project. | + | 0.53* |
| Transfer Student · I see connections between my hobbies and what I am learning in my engineering coursework. | – | -0.62*** |
| Note. § a column indicating directional influence was added for results that are significant to facilitate interpretation. *statistical significance less than 0.05 but greater than or equal to 0.01, **statistical significance less than 0.01 but greater than or equal to 0.001, and *** statistical significance less than 0.001 | ||