Development of an Interview Protocol to Understand Engineering as a Career Choice for Appalachian Youth

As part of a grant funded by the National Science Foundation, we are conducting a three-phase, sequential mixed method project to research the factors influencing the choices Appalachian youth make about pursuing or not pursuing engineering degrees and careers. To identify the factors specific to Appalachia, we are using interviews that will inform the development of a survey. This approach will yield both in-depth and generalizable results. Outcomes from both the qualitative and quantitative datasets will ultimately be used to develop an empirical theory, based on Social Cognitive Career Theory and Future Possible Selves, to explain the gap in engineering as a career choice, and then to develop potential interventions to increase engineering career choice in the region. We believe that the outcomes from this study will be useful to engineering educators, researchers and those doing outreach to high school communities. Because little is known about engineering career choice among Appalachian students, interviews are central to providing the context-specific information needed for robust survey development. Therefore, we are using a quasi-longitudinal approach and we are interviewing Appalachian high schools students for a current perspective, Appalachian college students for a recent reflection, and working engineering professionals in Appalachia for a longer-term reflection. This paper focuses on the development and pilot testing of semi-structured interview protocols for each participant type. Preliminary findings from pilot testing support the protocol’s ability to provide meaningful information across multiple frameworks. Initial findings from a priori coding of the framework constructs suggest that influences specific to Appalachian students exist within the interview data. Additionally, the usefulness of the quasi-longitudinal approach was realized. Specifically, interviews with college students and professionals yielded insights that informed the high school interview protocol and question probes.