Can diversity in the undergraduate engineering population be enhanced through curricular change?

TitleCan diversity in the undergraduate engineering population be enhanced through curricular change?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsBusch-Vishniac IJ, Jarosz JP
JournalJournal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
Volume10
Pagination255-282
Keywordscollaborative learning, Course content and curriculum, Diversity Institute Literature Review, Engineering, Feminism, Gatekeeper courses, Minorities, Women
SummaryThe authors present a review of the literature related to curriculum changes in undergraduate engineering to increase retention of underrepresented students. The authors recommend a revolutionary change in the "unattractive, unresponsive, and culturally biased curriculum" of engineering. There is evidence that integration of theory with applications "make[s] engineering attractive" to women. Also, emphasizing the contributions made by women and underrepresented minorities to science makes female and minority students "feel as if they are an integral part of the engineering profession." Collaborative learning methods are most effective for retaining female and minority students, provided that the presence of these students is "not diluted by dispersal into separate teams." Instructors and students should be trained to better understand the dynamics of teamwork. Gatekeeper courses strongly discourage women and minority students from entering engineering programs. (This claim partially disagrees with the research of Tobias (1990).) Introduction of "creative [or interdisciplinary] engineering degree programs" might attract more students to engineering. The authors believe that "web-based and other distance instruction approaches" may have potential in attracting underrepresented students to engineering (see Alha (2003)).
Extended Summary This article targets the lack of diversity in undergraduate engineering. It reviews literature and data on curriculum reform programs initiated at various engineering colleges. The authors report increasing attrition rates of female and minority students in engineering. Students from underrepresented groups and women continue to cite "chilly environments" as their reason for dropping out of engineering.The authors are concerned that courses in the engineering curriculum such as core science and math courses have little "cross-linking" with other courses such as physics or statistics- let alone the humanities and social sciences. This can be disadvantageous to women and minorities because they are "encouraged to pursue engineering careers" though they are "less likely to be exposed to engineering as a profession." The paper shows several instances wherein courses were integrated and more underrepresented students were retained. Several courses were integrated into one course (math was integrated with science, humanities and fine arts, for example) or integrated into a cluster of concurrent courses (engineering design, physics, calculus, and English classes during the freshman year). Also, social values were combined with technical material. Examples included courses in "technology, society, and values; environmental issues and societal values."The authors suggest that considerations relevant to women and minorities should be integrated into the engineering curriculum. Women and minority students perceive "concrete evidence of relevance to their subcultures" as especially important. Female students usually do not have any hands-on-experience with engineering, unlike boys, who "get into computers at an early age with tinkering and video games." Hence, women can benefit from hands-on-experience with engineering during their freshmen year in college. Designing traditional science courses with a feminist approach helps to increase the retention and participation rates of female and minority students. Acknowledging the contributions made by female and minority engineers makes underrepresented students more comfortable. Integrating the relevance of science to the culture and views of science of minority students is also effective in increasing the retention of minority students. The authors believe that there are too many courses required in engineering. Students, burdened with heavy course loads, have little room for experimentation. Also, "higher than normal credit hours" are required to graduate on time in an engineering program. Engineering programs often assume students have certain levels of knowledge and ability when they enter college. However, not all students take advanced math and science courses in high school. Therefore, a barrier is created that prevents the entry of many female and/or minority students. If students take the prerequisite classes before they enter the engineering program, this lengthens their stay in college, which can be expensive. The authors recommend reducing the prerequisites required to enter engineering programs.Engineering departments usually have an extremely competitive and discouraging environment. The authors recommend instituting collaborative learning, reducing the impact of gatekeeper courses, creating alternative paths to engineering-related careers, and advising freshmen on college pressures.The authors advocate a "well-rounded" or Renaissance model of engineering education which is highly interdisciplinary. They suggest offering minors in engineering, master's degrees for non-engineers and interdisciplinary majors in order to reduce the rigidity of engineering programs.The authors believe that "engineering colleges must assume responsibility for promoting technological literacy throughout the university."Technology can be used to make engineering more accessible to women, minority students and disabled students. Providing on-line lectures frees up lecture time for discussions that can be used as team problem-solving sessions. Online courses can also be effective when a topic does not require much interaction. However, students may not benefit from such teaching methods if there is a digital divide among students.Also, this form of teaching can lead to student frustration due to the lack of technical support and immediate instructor feedback. In addition, physical separation of students may make collaborative learning difficult and may frustrate students who seek communication and social support.
RecommendationsUse collaborative teaching methods to effectively reach all students in the classroom. When assigning teams, "distributing a minority within a majority can lead to the disappearance of the minority." Hence, care should be taken to avoid isolation of students within groups. It is useful to assign each member of the group different roles throughout the course ("so that an aggressive team member does not always assume the lead role") and to create all-female teams or teams with female majorities. Inform students of contributions made by women and minorities inengineering. Encourage students to attend workshops for introductory courses. Also, offer freshman orientation sessions wherein students can learn skills to adapt to the college environment. Attempt to reduce the impact of gatekeeper courses. Connect technical material with social issues and bridge physics and math with engineering applications. Attempt to institute interdisciplinary majors and reduce barriers to entering engineering.