Are Future Constructors Experiencing aWarm Climate? An Initial Study of Citizenship Status and Affective Engagement.

This study explores the differences in student perceptions of academic discipline belonging (ADB) and peer interactions (PI) for students from different citizenship backgrounds and who are also majoring in Civil Engineering and Building Construction programs. A quantitative, causal-comparative study (n = 397) was conducted using the Postsecondary Student Engagement (PosSE) Survey. The survey included participants from sophomore to senior levels. Analysis of the survey data includes two-way ANOVAs. ANOVA results indicated that student citizenship status is a significant factor for ADB and PI. Further, results indicated that permanent residents had significantly more positive perceptions of academic discipline belonging and peer interactions than other groups, while naturalized citizens had significantly lower perceptions. The significance of this study lays on it being one of the few quantitative studies focusing on civil engineering and building construction students' affective engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]