Becoming an Engineer in Public Universities. Pathways for Women and Minorities

Abstract

This edited book is a welcome opportunity to revisit some of the central arguments in relation to the retention of engineering undergraduates, especially underrepresented groups such as minority students and women. The book presents rich empirical material gathered in a three year research effort across five public Universities in the state of Florida in the USA. The research team manages to clearly present the main difficulties and obstacles that prevent successful socialization into the public engineering programs, which range from individual factors, such as self-esteem, to organizational aspects tied to departmental climate and (missing) institutional support structures. New insights are offered, especially in relation to the reasons why students have left engineering programs and the inherent tensions that confront the necessity for supporting students with individual and institutional (research) needs. Apart from these strong points, an academic readership might wish for a more thorough dialogue with existing research, whereas administrators and program managers would probably find a more synthetic list of key policy recommendations helpful.