Female International Students in Engineering: A Qualitative Review
- Publisher:
- Curran Associates, Inc.
- Publication Type:
- Conference Proceeding
- Citation:
- 9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference, REES AAEE 2021: Engineering Education Research Capability Development, 2021, 2, pp. 942-950
- Issue Date:
- 2021-01-01
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CONTEXT When international students relocate overseas to pursue higher education, they undergo transitions in social culture, educational approaches and professional practice. These transitions shape various aspects of their identity (e.g., personal, professional), engineering identity being one of them. Engineering identity is a complex, contested construct that informs how engineering is perceived, how education curricula are developed, and which student it attracts. Due to stereotypes about engineering, white middle-class males continue to dominate the profession. However, there is a need for a more diverse engineering workforce that better represents the society. With female international students' varied journeys and intersectional identities, a closer look at this population will shed light on ways to attract and retain diverse individuals within engineering. PURPOSE OR GOAL As a first step in a larger study about understanding the identities and experiences of female international students, in this paper we ask the following research question: What research has been conducted on female international students in engineering? APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS As a starting point, the following keywords (and their synonyms) are searched on Scopus and targeted journals: 'international student', 'wom*n', 'engineer*'. After the abstracts are screened based on their relevance to the research question, the remaining abstracts are analysed to determine an appropriate scope for this review, and the inclusion and exclusion criteria are refined. References from the included papers are screened and analysed using the same process. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES Based on the search strategy as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6 papers were identified as relevant to the research question, and the findings were qualitatively analysed based on two categories: university and family/society. Discussion on university focussed on female international students' interactions in the social and academic context, while discussion on family/society focussed on the impact of societal perceptions of engineering and gender roles on female international students. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY The paucity of relevant literature from the initial search strategy suggest that female international students in engineering are understudied. The findings suggest that this population's experience has been underrepresented in both the literature on international students and women in engineering. We conclude with a call for more studies to investigate more nuanced accounts and narratives of female international students in engineering to better inform pedagogical approaches and interventions.
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