Pre-college interactions, early expectations, and perceived barriers of first year Black and Latino engineering students

One of the most significant challenges facing engineering education in the United States is the persistent problem of inclusion and retention of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. As part of a larger, federally funded project on student-faculty interaction in engineering, a case study was conducted to describe engineering-related interactions prior to college, perceived barriers during engineering studies, and early expectations of interactions with faculty among first year Black and Latino engineering students at a large university in the Southeastern United States. Descriptive data were gathered through focus groups and questionnaires. Findings indicated that recommendations from pre-college educators, mostly middle and high school math and science teachers, were important for deciding to study engineering in college. Students had expectations of minimal contact with engineering faculty based on early interactions, but expressed the desire to seek relationships with professors who would be able to connect them with engineering-related opportunities and resources. The most likely perceived barriers to studying engineering were financial problems and difficulties in science and engineering coursework. These findings are particularly useful to engineering education professionals involved with first year orientation experiences, and they further current understanding about pre-college and early experiences that are linked to engineering enrollment.