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Catalysts and Barriers Faced by Native American Engineering Undergraduate Students in Arizona
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Catalysts and Barriers Faced by Native American Engineering Undergraduate Students in Arizona

Fernanda Cruz Rios, Hariharan Naganathan, Linda Tello, Stephanie Adams, Alison Cook-Davis, Mounir El Asmar, David Grau and Kristen Parrish
Journal of civil engineering education, v 147(2), 04020017
01 Apr 2021

Abstract

Education & Educational Research Education, Scientific Disciplines Engineering, Multidisciplinary Science & Technology Engineering Social Sciences Technology
Engineering schools have been unable to recruit and retain Native American students at the same rate as other students. Consequently, the Native American representation in engineering has been declining over the years in Arizona, even though the state ranks third in the number of degrees earned in the US by Native Americans. To understand the barriers and catalysts faced by Native American students in engineering, the authors interviewed 29 undergraduate Native American students from various engineering majors at three Arizona universities. The results were compared to factors identified by the Millennium Falcon Persistence Model. Family support and institutional support were mentioned by the students as catalysts to success in higher education, whereas themes related to tribal community support were brought up as bathers. Specifically, the students expressed concerns with the perceived lack of engineering jobs on the reservations and the negative environmental impact of the engineering industry. The authors discussed the implications of such findings to engineering schools and the role of the university in supporting Native American students' desire to give back to their communities.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#10 Reduced Inequalities

Source: SDGs in the Output

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Education, Scientific Disciplines
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
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