From Starting Point to Support System: Women's Involvement in an Engineering Living-Learning Program

The experiences of female students in an engineering living-learning program (LLP) are described in this study using a constructivist theoretical perspective. The study aims to fill gaps in the literature using qualitative methods. Data from 13 semi-structured individual interviews serve as the primary data source. After conducting a metaphorical analysis, five interpretive metaphors emerged: the LLP as a Starting Point, the LLP as a Neighborhood, Engineering Classes as Challenges, Different as Normal, and Female Engineers as a Support System. Conceptually speaking, metaphors related to Starting Point and Neighborhood focused on the LLP itself, while those related to Engineering Classes as Challenges and Different as Normal focused on the experiences of the women both inside and outside the LLP. The final metaphor of Female Engineers as a Support System served as the common thread connecting the other metaphors or one that "melded" their other experiences. The primary implications are that housing staff should enhance recruitment activities and invest in maintenance/renovation projects to develop separate locations for social activities and studying, while colleges of engineering should support the involvement of faculty within the LLP. Both groups should work to enhance collaborative efforts by providing joint LLP events and mentoring opportunities. [Discussion questions developed by Denise Davidson, Hannah Hensch, Bryson Purcell, and Erica Smith.]