Publication Date

5-2025

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

3-5-2025

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering

Department

Mechanical and Biomechanical Engineering

Supervisory Committee Chair

Krishna Pakala, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Co-Chair

Patrick Lowenthal, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Anne Hamby, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Eric Jankowski, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Bhaskar Chittoori, Ph.D.

Abstract

The engineering field experiences high attrition rates and a historical lack of diversity in the United States. Sense of belonging and identity have been shown to impact persistence, especially for people from historically marginalized communities. This three-paper dissertation is focused specifically on this phenomenon in academia and methods of contributing to improving and progressing conditions. To pivot to a new paradigm in which people from diverse backgrounds feel welcome and valued, there is a need for more inclusive practices in the field, particularly in the form of curriculum in academia. Inclusion has been shown to improve outcomes for students from historically underserved communities. Therefore, this dissertation presents three studies that further the research in inclusive undergraduate engineering education that promotes a sense of belonging, identity, and persistence.

Given the importance of inclusion in progressing the field in a positive direction for diversity, this dissertation includes a systematic literature review to identify which inclusive practices have been implemented in undergraduate engineering curricula and for whom/how they were impactful regarding belonging, identity, and persistence. This literature review identified seven categories of inclusive curriculum. Inclusive practices in the curriculum connected students to cultural capital, resulted in more inclusive engineering identities, and improved students’ sense of belonging, identity, and persistence in the major.

Additionally, a practitioner paper presents a storytelling intervention that has the potential to shift identity in positive and prosocial ways. This builds on the theory that identity is narrative and malleable and that reflection can be used to reshape it. This paper highlights the possibilities for a dynamic application of the intervention in various academic and professional settings across multiple fields of study, with the potential for measuring multiple outcomes. The outcomes from past implementations of the intervention regarding consumer identity and persistence are presented to illustrate the intervention’s efficacy.

The final paper in this dissertation presents results from a qualitative study that implements the storytelling intervention in engineering undergraduate classrooms across the span of our semesters, with each implementation targeting a different field of engineering. Researchers utilize participant interview data to explore participants’ sense of belonging, identity, and persistence. Participants overwhelmingly stated that the intervention either improved or affirmed their persistent intentions. The intervention resulted in a cultural shift in the classroom, in which students found a shared sense of camaraderie over their common experiences and came to appreciate their differences. This three-paper dissertation is presented in a five-chapter format.

This three-paper dissertation is presented in a five-chapter format.

Comments

Brooke Heller, ORCID: 0009-0006-9686-5237

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2410.boisestate

Download

Share

COinS