Gender Differences In The Values Of Minority High School Students That Affect Engineering Discipline Choice & Recommendations For Attracting Minorities To Environmental Engineering

In the summer of 2007, Michigan Technological University held a week long Engineering Explorations summer camp for minority high school students considering engineering as a major in college. Nine gender separated groups each attended the hour and a half session about environmental engineering and wastewater treatment. The males were in four groups of 7-10 students each, including a total of 35 male students. The females were in five groups of 6-8 students each, resulting in a total of 36 females. It is well known that, among the engineering disciplines, environmental engineering has been comparatively successful at attracting female students. It is suspected that male and female students may have different values which drive career choice as students. This paper details gender differences in the questions raised by students during the introduction to wastewater treatment session. The subjects and questions raised by the students in each session were recorded, the results of which reveal distinct value differences among males and females when choosing a future career. Suggestions are made for ways to attract minorities to the discipline by focusing on their values in recruitment efforts.