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Chapter 16 - Retention and Persistence of Women and Minorities Along the Engineering Pathway in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2015

By
Gary Lichtenstein ,
Helen L. Chen ,
Karl A. Smith  and
Theresa A. Maldonado
Edited by
Aditya Johri  and
Barbara M. Olds
Gary Lichtenstein
Affiliation:
Quality Evaluation Designs
Helen L. Chen
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Karl A. Smith
Affiliation:
Purdue University
Theresa A. Maldonado
Affiliation:
Division of Engineering Education and Centers of the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation
Aditya Johri
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Barbara M. Olds
Affiliation:
Colorado School of Mines
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Summary

Introduction

Countries around the world rely on the contributions of engineers to support national interests and maintain economic competitiveness. In the United States, government and industry leaders have long regarded engineers and other members of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce as vital to the nation's economy and security. It is hardly surprising, then, that issues surrounding student retention and persistence in engineering degree programs and the engineering workforce are of special interest to engineering educators.

Since the 1970s, federal policy and funding have specifically focused on attracting and retaining women and minorities in science and engineering fields. Yet progress has been halting. In one comprehensive study, the United States ranked 30th of 35 countries in the proportion of female Ph.D.s in engineering, manufacturing, and construction, and 24th of 30 with respect to growth in the proportion of female Ph.D.s in these sectors (European Commission, 2009, p. 51). In this chapter, we examine the influence of U.S. federal policy on engineering education over the past forty years, with special attention to the impact of efforts to increase the number of women and minorities in the STEM workforce.

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Cambridge Handbook of Engineering Education Research , pp. 311 - 334
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

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