Engineering self-efficacy of women engineering students at urban vs. rural universities

For more than two decades researchers have addressed gender issues in engineering. Efforts such as Engineer Girl (www.engineergirl.org), a website dedicated to increasing young girls\u27 interest in pursuing an engineering degree, address the engineering diversity gap . Potential improvements exist for increasing the number of women pursuing engineering careers, such as increasing their engineering self-efficacy. Engineering self-efficacy refers to a person\u27s belief that he or she can successfully navigate the engineering curriculum and eventually become a practicing engineer. It encompasses self-efficacy, feeling of inclusion, and outcome expectations. A longitudinal multi-institutional study conducted by Marra and Bogue indicated statistically significant differences for female engineering students with respect to the coping, mathematics, and self-efficacy subscales. The authors wish to explore whether institutional setting (urban vs. rural) accounts for differences in female students\u27 engineering self-efficacy. © 2011 IEEE