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Background: Determining the root causes of persistent underrepresentation of different subpopulations in engineering remains a continued challenge. Because place-based variation of resource distribution is not random and because school and community contexts influence high school outcomes, considering variation across those contexts should be paramount in broadening participation research. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study takes a macroscopic systems view of engineering enrollments to understand variation across one state's public high school rates of engineering matriculation. Design/Method: This study uses a dataset from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System that includes all students who completed high school from a Virginia public school from 2007 to 2014 (N=685,429). We explore geographic variation in four-year undergraduate engineering enrollment as a function of gender, race/ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status. Additionally, we investigate the relationship between characteristics of the high school and community contexts and undergraduate engineering enrollment across Virginia's high schools using regression analysis. Results: Our findings illuminate inequality in enrollment in engineering programs at four-year institutions across high schools by gender, race, and socioeconomic status (and the intersections among those demographics). Different high schools have different engineering enrollment rates among students who attend four-year postsecondary institutions. We show strong associations between high schools' engineering enrollment rates and four-year institution enrollment rates as well as moderate associations for high schools' community socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Strong systemic forces need to be overcome to broaden participation in engineering. We demonstrate the insights that state longitudinal data systems can illuminate in engineering education research.

To help students become better learners, educators need to be able to provide feedback to students on their learning processes. However, this can be challenging for educators due to the customized nature of such feedback. To that end, we have created and evaluated the Acknowledge, Affirm, Challenge, and Encourage (A2CE) framework as a practical and scalable way to provide formative feedback for engineering students. The A2CE framework was: 1) developed through a research project focused on developing metacognitive skills in engineering students, and 2) evaluated for functionality in a workshop setting where we taught educators how to use the A2CE framework. Within the workshop, we collected participants' feedback on the framework in the form of open-ended surveys. Analysis of responses revealed that workshop participants believed the A2CE framework was useful as a method for having caring conversations with students about their learning, while giving constructive feedback that students can use to improve their learning in and out of the classroom; prior to the workshop, participants indicated a need for more support in having meaningful conversations with their students about learning processes. We conclude that the A2CE framework is an accessible tool educators can leverage to help students improve as learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family, school, and community contexts each link to secondary school enrollment, yet these factors have been comparatively examined only in limited ways. A holistic examination of contextual factors will be particularly important for engineering where college enrollment patterns vary by demographics. To begin explaining patterns of engineering college-going at different high schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia, we answered the following research questions: "Within a single school system and from a socializer's perspective, what outcome expectations and environmental factors influence students' engineering-related postsecondary educational plans?" "How are these factors the same and different between high schools within a school district?" Using a single-case-study approach and in-depth interviews with socializers (teachers, administrators, and counselors), we examined similarities and differences in outcome expectations and environmental factors at three high schools within a single school district. By integrating the results regarding outcome expectations and environmental factors, three important findings emerged: (1) relationships between outcome expectations and environmental factors vary across schools within the same system, (2) proximity to a postsecondary institution is not just about physical distance, and (3) messaging regarding career pathways matters. Each of these has practical implications but can also set the foundation for future research.

To explore the ways context may shape career choices, we used a qualitative approach to analyze interviews with college-oriented high school students from the rural Central Appalachia region of Virginia. Using social cognitive career theory, we analyzed pathways to career choices and relevant contextual factors, using data from 24 interviews. Results revealed that participants' pathways partially matched the model, though we also found variant pathways triggered by significant environmental influences and incomplete pathways due to variations in possible career plans. Explanatory factors included status as prospective first-generation college student, outcome expectations that included remaining local and having job stability, and an emergent factor of continuing generation Appalachian. The patterns that emerged with respect to contextual factors and career choice pathways highlight the importance of culture and context when examining how students make career choices. This research extends prior research by examining career pathways using student's own words as data. Moreover, the patterns offer insights career coaches, counselors, and educators can use in supporting students' post--high school career planning.

Purpose: Internships play an important role in the choices engineering students make about future career pathways though there is little research about the messaging students receive regarding internships from academics. This messaging is important because it can contribute to the expectations students set for internships which in turn influences the interpretation of the experience and sense of appropriateness of that particular career pathway. Situated in Expectancy X Value theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the beliefs and behaviors of the academics with whom engineering students interact as related to internship experiences. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted and analyzed interviews with 13 career center employees and 14 academic advisers/faculty members across six demographically and geographically diverse schools. Interviews were coded, and within and across case patterns developed. Findings Across all six schools, interview participants believe internships are important for students with regard to three areas: enabling career discovery, providing opportunities for development of career skills and helping students with full-time job acquisition. However, participants describe few direct actions associated with these beliefs. The lack of recommended actions for making the most of the internship experience, despite a strong belief in their importance, is a major finding of this paper. Originality/value: This study is original in that it examines an important perspective that is not often a focus of research related to internships: academic advisors, faculty or career center personnel. The multi-institution sample enhances the value of the study as commonalities were seen despite variation in schools, enabling recommendations useful to a variety of contexts.

ePortfolios (ePs) have been used in a variety of applications ranging from undergraduate assessment to graduate student work showcases. We hypothesize that the flexible, individualized nature of ePs makes them suitable assessment tools for graduate engineering programs, which are likewise flexible and individualized. Our investigation resulted in a systematic design process that can be used to create eP systems for graduate programmatic assessment. The process was used to develop eP assessment systems for three different engineering graduate programs. Results indicate that (1) the end products, the eP assessment systems, were directly affected by the graduate programs' culture and vision of graduate engineering assessment, and that (2) ePs are flexible based on departmental or program needs. Therefore, we conclude that ePs are appropriate for assessment in graduate engineering programs and that a systematic process of development can be used.

The experiences and strategies of women faculty serving in leadership roles is understudied in the field of engineering education. This study begins to document how women leaders in engineering education engage in leadership using the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network's (KEEN) Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) as a lens. We conducted a thematic analysis of a series of artifacts associated with a workshop that aimed to generate conversation on leadership among a group of 14 women holding a variety of leadership positions in engineering education exploring how women leaders discussed their leadership roles. We also conducted in-depth interviews with 10 of the participants. We found that the women leaders in our study emphasized the importance of people in regard to connections. Within connections people were information sources to obtain insight and were considered when managing and assessing risks. The findings expand upon the current conception of connections as described iii the EM framework. As we increase our knowledge of women's experiences and strategies in leadership in engineering education. it will improve our ability to recommend methods for establishing, growing, and using connections within the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the ways context may shape career choices, we used a qualitative approach to analyze interviews with college-oriented high school students from the rural Central Appalachia region of Virginia. Using social cognitive career theory, we analyzed pathways to career choices and relevant contextual factors, using data from 24 interviews. Results revealed that participants' pathways partially matched the model, though we also found variant pathways triggered by significant environmental influences and incomplete pathways due to variations in possible career plans. Explanatory factors included status as prospective first-generation college student, outcome expectations that included remaining local and having job stability, and an emergent factor of continuing generation Appalachian. The patterns that emerged with respect to contextual factors and career choice pathways highlight the importance of culture and context when examining how students make career choices. This research extends prior research by examining career pathways using student's own words as data. Moreover, the patterns offer insights career coaches, counselors, and educators can use in supporting students' post–high school career planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation has been shown to modulate cortical excitability in various studies. Similarly, recent preliminary studies suggest that transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) may engender a modulation effect on spinal and cortical neurons. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dose-response effects of tsDCS in healthy subjects and thereby lay groundwork for expanding treatment options for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: Nine healthy subjects received each of the following 2 tsDCS conditions: Anodal and cathodal, in random order with at least 1 week washout period between each session. In order to test safety and dose response, various current intensities were used (2, 2.5 and 3 rnA) for 20 minutes. The active electrode was placed vertically over T10-T11, and the reference electrode was placed over the left shoulder. To evaluate corticospinal excitability, motor evoked potentials over soleus muscle elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured. To assess spinal cord excitability, H- and Mwave over soleus muscle to calculate Hmax/ Mmax ratio were measured. RESULTS: Linear regression showed a dose response with cathodal tsDCS on motor evoked potentials measured from the left leg as well as with anodal tsDCS on Hmax/ Mmax ratio measured from the left leg. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate tsDCS effects are dose-dependent. These effects should be investigated in a larger sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]