| A young child dreams of being an astronaut. She dreams of piloting a complex rocket full of buttons and gadgets through the sky and discovering new planets in the unknown, unchartered universe of scientific frontiers. As the child grows, she makes her way through the sacred halls of formal schooling. She takes classes, goes to college, and starts to work. Somewhere along this way, the stars and spaceship dreams of her childhood become obscured, maybe by the ceiling of an unsupportive classroom, maybe by the bright lights of other opportunities. More likely than not, when we see the adult, the starry-eyed engineer is no longer there. Where did she go?;In this dissertation, I examine the formal mechanisms that create qualified engineers. I am motivated by the important role that engineers play in the economic and social development of nations around the world. I am further motivated by the justice and importance of supporting children from all backgrounds in their aspirations to become engineers. I use quantitative and qualitative analyses to understand the factors that influence engineering achievement and application. I focus on college factors, and I extend the central analysis with studies of pre-college problem-solving achievement and post-college choice. A broader understanding of the engineering training process as a whole gives policymakers a more nuanced, detailed understanding of where to target solutions as well as an increased understanding of areas that previously posed challenges in research design and analysis. |
