Developing a survey instrument to characterize social capital resources impacting undergraduates' decisions to enter and persist in engineering

This paper describes the theoretical basis, development, and initial results of a quantitative survey instrument that measures the engineering-related social capital resources of undergraduate engineering students. Despite significant efforts over the last few decades to increase participation of under-represented groups in engineering within the United States, progress has been disturbingly slow. Further research in this domain is needed to realize the significant advancements that are necessary for diversifying undergraduate engineering enrollment. The long-term purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual model based on Social Capital Theory to provide a deeper understanding and explanation of undergraduates' academic and career choices related to engineering, of which developing the survey instrument is the first step. Our “Name and Resource Generator” instrument has been administered to 890 students at three institutions within the United States. Supporting literature and initial results indicate that under-represented students in engineering may utilize different mechanisms for developing and activating engineering-related social capital compared to other engineering undergraduates, and that an approach utilizing social capital theory shows promise as a model with which to improve the diversity of the engineering field.