Transitions to post-secondary engineering studies

Engineering students often struggle with the transition from high school to college, whether because of new academic challenges or difficulties adjusting to a new social context. While college and high school students are typically studied in their respective contexts, few studies follow high school students into college. This study contributes to filling that gap: nine high school seniors interested in attending college for engineering were recruited from a diverse set of three high schools. Students participated in semi-structured interviews throughout their senior year of high school and freshman year of college. High school data collection included multiple perspectives of school stakeholders---teachers, principals, and counselors in addition to students---as well as observations of a variety of classes taken by the students participating in the study. We find that student experiences, opportunities, challenges, and resources vary widely by background and high school. Challenges students face in their transition to college vary accordingly. However, personal relationships are universally important for students to overcome those challenges. Through a longitudinal, in-depth, qualitative approach, we are able to gain a detailed picture of student experiences over time. This study is complemented by several studies undertaken at the university level focusing on an introductory, calculus-based mechanics course required of engineering students and typically taken in the spring of their freshman year: a quantitative demographic study of student performance in the course, an interview study of engineering seniors who had retaken the course, and a survey of students' support structures. The results of this series of studies can help guide future work to support students of all backgrounds in their transitions to college engineering programs.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Shafer, Devyn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stelzer, Tim
• Kuo, Eric
• Eckstein, James
• Krist, Christina

• Engineering Education
• Physics Education
• Transition To College
• Ethnography
• Interviews
• Longitudinal
• High School Settings
• Introductory Physics
• Suburban High Schools
• Rural High Schools
• Urban High Schools
• First Generation College Students
• Student Support Structures
• High School Teachers
• Social Capital Theory

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Devyn Shafer

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127127

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127127