| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to evaluate undergraduate women participating on collegiate extracurricular competitive project teams (PT) in comparison to non-project team (non-PT) female students. The study determined that PT participation significantly leads to an increase in engineering identity development and enrollment in non-traditional majors for women. A five-year retrospective study on PT participants was conducted to analyze participation and draw conclusions for ethnically underrepresented and first-generation (FGEn) populations. Cumulative GPA was used to evaluate differences in academic identity between PT, non-PT female, and college of engineering (COE) populations. A forced Likert survey was designed to determine other factors that influence engineering identity formation between cohorts. A full-factorial analysis of survey data found that the strength of ⁰́₋risk-taking⁰́₊ and ⁰́₋making mistakes⁰́₊ covariates were higher in PT participants than non-PT females (p<.05). Information from the data analysis was used to develop a Causal Loop Model (CLM) and Event Tree Analysis for women⁰́₉s participation and success on competitive project teams. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/197299 |
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