International Research Exposure: Impact on Early-Career, Undergraduate Engineering Students
Author: Preuss, Michael D.
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Research Training,Engineering Education,First Generation College Students,Minority Group Students,Student Participation,Study Abroad,Cultural Differences,Social Problems,Disproportionate Representation,Program Descriptions,Student Attitudes,Educational Experience,Program Improvement,Student Interests,Academic Aspiration,Graduate Study,Overseas Employment,Self Esteem,Travel,Educational Finance,Gender Differences,Race,Ethnicity

The Texas A&amp;M University (TAMU) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TAMUS LSAMP) office provided funding to the Texas A&amp;M University College of Engineering to support student participation in the Engineering Learning Community Introduction to Research (ELCIR) program. ELCIR is a two-week, study abroad, research program implemented in a learning community pattern. ELCIR has three purposes: (1) to expose sophomores to research, (2) to introduce students to cultural differences and global challenges, and (3) to provide students with the basic tools to prepare them for future research involvement. Participation is limited to first-generation college students and/or students from underrepresented populations. The external evaluator for the TAMU System LSAMP developed a survey for students to complete following their participation in the ELCIR international experience. Survey questions were designed to identify the impact of participation in ELCIR on students and gather participant suggestions for improvement of future LSAMP supported international research experiences. The evaluator compiled information gathered from 91 LSAMP supported participants during five years of ELCIR programming. This paper describes the participants' self reports of experience with and continued interest in study abroad programming, interest in another similar experience, subsequent involvement with undergraduate research, and ELCIR's impact on their confidence regarding international travel, their awareness of, interest in, and plans regarding graduate school, their education and career plans, and interest in employment outside the United States. Increases in confidence regarding international travel and increases in interest in study abroad programming, in continued involvement with research, awareness and interest in graduate school, and willingness to consider employment outside the United States were found. Less than half of participants felt their ELCIR experience impacted their career plans and programming did not appear to have a pronounced immediate impact on student involvement with undergraduate research. The respondents reported concern about their ability to afford graduate study but that they felt their families would be supportive of plans to attend graduate school. No significant differences were found by gender, ethnicity, or race for any of the queries. These findings can inform engineering education programming for first-generation and minority students, an area of national need, at institutions across the United States. [For the complete volume, &quot;Proceedings of International Conference on Social and Education Sciences (IConSES) (Chicago, Illinois, October 15-18, 2020). Volume 1,&quot; see ED626033.]