Alberto Esquinca, Ph.D. - US grants

Intellectual Merit: This qualitative research investigation by an interdisciplinary team of scholars at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is exploring factors that influence Latinas' decision to major in and persist in computer science and/or engineering as a course of study. The theoretical frame of the study includes a socio-cultural theory of identity in which identity is dynamically shaped and mediated by personal, socio-economic status, linguistic and cultural knowledge, beliefs, and values. Researchers are interviewing between 20-30 graduating seniors and 2nd year majors in depth about their experiences as computer science and/or engineering majors. Data gathering also includes participant observation protocols and focus groups. Data are analyzed using discourse analysis and life charting as interconnected interpretative practices for analysis. The expected outcome is new knowledge and theory building that could eventually inform a wide audience of stakeholders of how to support positive factors (and counter negative factors) that influence career choice and persistence among Latinas.

Broader Impacts: The proposed work will contribute to the body of knowledge and build new theories around Latinas' recruitment to, retention and completion of degrees in computer science and engineering. Currently, there is a lack of research that focuses solely on Latinas in these disciplines. The findings will lay the groundwork for further studies that can advise stakeholders of ways to modify and extend the educational and experiential approaches to broadening participation of Latinas in engineering. Understanding the mitigating factors, such as socio-economic class, language, cultural knowledge, beliefs, family dynamics and values, that influence Latinas' education and career choices in computer science and engineering could inform appropriate interventions in educational settings and outreach programs. The investigators will disseminate the results and recommendations through publications and presentations.

A diverse and well-prepared engineering workforce, one that includes Hispanic women and men, can potentially advance the engineering field. Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) enroll almost half of Hispanic students attending college. If engineering educators and others are to successfully broaden participation of Hispanics in engineering, it is imperative to understand the role HSIs play and the potential for broadening participation of Hispanics in engineering and computer science. Equally important is the contribution to the understanding of the challenges, barriers, and/or hurdles Hispanics face in seeking engineering and computer science degrees at HSIs. To this end, a team at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) will conduct a qualitative research investigation to understand the persistence of Hispanic mechanical engineering and computer science undergraduate students who are in their senior capstone course; and identify those salient factors contributing to these students' successful trajectories as they seek professional positions in the workplace, and/or make decisions to continue in graduate school during their last year of undergraduate studies. The study will take place at UTEP, an HSI that has been identified as a university with one of the highest upward social mobility rates in the U.S. The project will be using a qualitative research methodology to answer the following overarching research questions:

1. How do undergraduate Latina/o students who are enrolled in a senior capstone engineering course understand their identities in the context of completing their studies and their transition to the workforce and/or graduate studies?

2. What institutional conditions in an HSI university facilitate or inhibit Latina/o transition into the engineering workforce and/or graduate studies?

Understanding the persistence of Hispanic undergraduate engineering and computer science students is particularly imperative, given that Hispanics are the nation's largest minority group and among its fastest growing populations. As such, this research project can contribute to the national conversation on the personal, social, and institutional conditions that facilitate or prevent the increased representation of Hispanics in engineering and computer science.

Engineering is part of everyone's local community and daily activities yet opportunities to learn about engineering are often absent from elementary school classrooms. Further, little is known about how teachers' and students' conceptions of engineering relate to aspects of their local community such as language and culture. Knowing more about this is important because students' perceptions of mismatch between their personal culture and the engineering field contributes to the continued underrepresentation of minorities in the profession. This mixed-method exploratory study will examine how bilingual teachers working in elementary schools in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico understand the role and skills of engineers in society. In turn, it will examine how teachers adapt existing engineering lessons so that those activities and concepts are more culturally and linguistically accessible to their students. This project is funded by the Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12), which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.

Consistent with the aims of the DRK-12 program, this project will advance understanding of how engineering education materials can be adapted to the characteristics of teachers, students, and the communities that they reside in. Further, its focus on bilingual classrooms will bring new perspectives to characterizations of the engineering field and its role in different cultures and societies. Over a three-year period, the team will investigate these issues by collecting data from 24 teachers (12 from each location). Data will be collected via surveys, interviews, discussion of instructional examples, videos of teachers' classroom instruction and analysis of artifacts such as teachers' lesson plans. Teachers will collaborate and function as a professional co-learning community called instructional rounds by participating and providing feedback synchronously in face-to-face settings and via the use of digital apps. Project findings can lead to teaching guidelines, practices, and briefs that inform efforts to successfully integrate bilingual engineering curriculum at the elementary grades. This work also has the potential to create professional development models of success for K-5 teachers in bilingual programs and enhance engineering teaching strategies and methods at these early grade levels.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.