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Toward the Development of a Scale Linking Underrepresented Engineering Faculty’s Workplace Experiences and Career Outcomes

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Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 9

Tagged Division

Minorities in Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--35395

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/35395

Download Count

310

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Paper Authors

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Jeremi S. London Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Dr. Jeremi London is an Assistant Professor in the Engineering Education Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. London is a mixed methods researcher with interests in research impact, cyberlearning, and instructional change in STEM Education. Prior to being a faculty member, London worked at the National Science Foundation, GE Healthcare, and Anheuser-Busch. She earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University.

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Stephanie G. Adams University of Texas at Dallas

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Dr. Stephanie G. Adams is the 5th Dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas, Dallas and President of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). Dr. Adams has held administrative and faculty positions at Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Adams is an honor graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering. She was awarded the Master of Engineering degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and she received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas A&M University, where she concentrated on Industrial Engineering and Management.

Her research interests include: Broadening Participation, Faculty and Graduate Student Development, International/Global Education, Teamwork and Team Effectiveness, and Quality Control and Management. In 2003, she received the CAREER award from the Engineering Education and Centers Division of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Adams is a leader in the advancement and inclusion of all in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. She has worked with numerous of colleges and universities, government agencies and non-profit organizations on topics related to graduate education, mentoring, faculty development and diversifying STEM.

Adams is the recipient of numerous awards, including: the 2017 WEPAN Founders Award; the 2016 ASEE Engineering Management Bernie Sarchet Lifetime Award; the 2013 Alumni Achievement Award North Carolina A&T State University; and the Holling Teaching/Advising/Mentoring Award and Henry Y. Kleinkauf Outstanding Assistant Professor Teaching Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2005, she was selected as an AAAS/NSF Science and Engineering Policy Fellow and in 2013, she was selected as a fellow of ASEE.

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Julia Machele Brisbane Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-9580-0646

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Julia Brisbane is a Ph.D. student in the Engineering Education Department at Virginia Tech and an M.S. student in the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Engineering. She received her Bachelors of Science in Bioengineering from Clemson University. She was previously an undergraduate research assistant in Clemson University's Engineering and Science Education Department. Her research interests include undergraduate research experiences, diversity and inclusion in engineering, and intersectionality.

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Crystal M. Pee Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Crystal Pee is a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic and State University pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. Her research interests include broadening participation in industry. Prior to attending Virginia Tech, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Business Administration from Clemson University.

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Abstract

Although there has been an increase in the number of diverse students enrolling in engineering programs, the dismal progress in the representation of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with varying abilities among College of Engineering faculty highlight the need for more work in this area. Given this problem, this project builds on this need by focusing on Black women engineering faculty-- a group that is one of the least represented among their colleagues. Their underrepresentation is partly explained by idiosyncrasies in their experiences that lead to varying career outcomes; existing literature highlights four salient factors. Using Messick’s theory of instrument development as a methodological framework, the long-term goal of this study is to develop the Faculty Experiences & Outcomes Multidimensional Scale (FEOMS)-- a valid and reliable instrument that examines the influence of mentoring, organizational climate, incivility, and perceptions of role expectations on career outcomes and jobs satisfaction among Black women faculty in engineering. The initial draft of FEOMS includes 55 items that were modifications of items on existing scales that measured these four constructs individually. This paper presents the results of a pilot study including responses from 111 survey participants. The item analysis and polychoric correlation matrix offer preliminary evidence for the content, substantive and structural validity of the instrument. Additionally, these results link existing bodies of work by revealing empirical links between these latent constructs. Next steps for gathering additional validity evidence for the FEOMS are also discussed. Ultimately, this work will contribute to a more nuanced understanding how to familiar constructs and will have implications for broadening participation across all levels of engineering education.

London, J. S., & Adams, S. G., & Brisbane, J. M., & Pee, C. M. (2020, June), Toward the Development of a Scale Linking Underrepresented Engineering Faculty’s Workplace Experiences and Career Outcomes Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35395

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