Investigating inclusive professional engineering identity developmental patterns of first-year engineering majors: A person-centered approach

Background

The lack of diversity within engineering degree programs and occupations has been an ongoing concern for decades. National engineering programs have placed a high priority on broadening participation in engineering and making the engineering culture more inclusive. Specifically, the cultivation of engineering students' inclusive professional engineering identities (IPEIs)—or the value these individuals place on diversity and their willingness to act inclusively within engineering contexts—might be one way to address this long-standing lack of representation.

Purpose

Rooted in theoretical contexts regarding professional identity development, the purpose of this study is to uncover developmental patterns of first-year engineering students' IPEIs and factors that influence IPEI cultivation.

Methods

This study built upon the previous variable-centered research findings regarding IPEI development. Specifically, the person-centered approach of random intercept latent transition analysis (RI-LTA) was utilized. RI-LTA allows for the detection of different meaningful groups of individuals demonstrating similarities on the construct and investigating these groups for probabilistic changes over time.

Results

Four IPEI groups of students emerged with IPEI developmental patterns that were not always stable. Student IPEI classifications differed significantly across gender and students' levels of engineering identity. Furthermore, a series of intervention experiences instigated an even more malleable nature to student IPEIs.

Conclusions

Engineering students' IPEIs demonstrate some likelihood to change over time, with intervention experiences enhancing the likelihoods for changes to occur. Continuing to investigate factors influencing the positive cultivation of students' IPEIs is fundamental to broadening participation in engineering and making the engineering culture more inclusive.