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' 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's 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' engineering self-efficacy.