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Abstract This thesis makes a novel and original contribution to the discourse surrounding engineering education, and how it can be made more accessible to underrepresented groups. The study includes two contexts representing two different perspectives. Two studies are conducted, one examines upper secondary school pupils’ views of engineering students and the other the societal and cultural production of the engineering student in a recruitment campaign for KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Few earlier studies have examined the messages communicated in initiatives aiming to increase and broaden the recruitment of underrepresented groups to technical universities. Still, many initiatives sharing this goal are initialised in Sweden. The theoretical framework applied by discourse analysis and governmentality analysis enables a critical examination of the discursive framework surrounding the engineering student. The thesis concludes that there is a power struggle between a discourse of a contemporary technologist and a traditional technologist and that this position is exclusively but only for the most advanced engineering students, excluding BSc students as communicated by a KTH recruitment campaign. / Moderna samhällen förutsätter att människor är ansvariga för att göra val av olika slag, till exempel av utbildning och yrke. Dessutom förväntas yrkesvalet överensstämma med individens självuppfattning. Det finns ett stort engagemang i Sverige och globalt för att öka och bredda rekryteringen till tekniska utbildningar som leder till yrken inom teknik och naturvetenskap. Detta är synligt i den stora mängd av initiativ som görs med syfte att öka ungas intresse för utbildningar av detta slag. Ungas intresse för teknikintensiva utbildningar är ett väl utforskat område. Detta är däremot inte budskap som kommuniceras med syfte att öka och bredda rekryteringen till teknisk intensiva utbildningar.  Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka det diskursiva ramverket som definierar subjektet ingenjörsstudenten i en rekryteringskontext i Sverige. Det teoretiska och metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet är inspirerat av diskursanalys och governmentalitetsstudier. Detta perspektiv förser analysen med en kritisk blick vilket resulterat i ett intressant bidrag till forskningen om diskursen som omger ingenjörsutbildningens tillgängliggörande för underrepresenterade studentgrupper. Uppsatsen består av en sammanhållande kappa och två artiklar som beskriver två olika studier och perspektiv. Den första studien undersöker gymnasieungdomars uppfattningar om ingenjörsutbildningar och ingenjörsstudien. Det metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet kombinerar klassrumsstudier gjorda med hjälp av mindmapping-tekniker och diskursanalys på ett unikt sätt. I den andra studien analyseras de budskap som kommuniceras i en rekryteringskampanj för KTH. I den sammanhållande kappan analyseras det samlade resultatet av studierna. Denna analys visar att det pågår en diskursiv kamp mellan en diskurs av traditionell karaktär och en av nutida karaktär. Den traditionella som lyfts fram av gymnasieeleverna bygger på ett reduktionistiskt förhållningsätt och traditionella värden som personlig framgång (ekonomisk framgång och social status). Den nutida som lyfts fram i kampanjen i bygger på ett holistiskt förhållningsätt och vikten av att bidra till en gynnsam samhällsutvecklingen för alla. I teorin bjuder den nutida in nya studentgrupper i högre grad än den traditionella. Intressant nog sker inte detta i kampanjen, vilket beror på att endast de mest avancerade grundstudenterna, civilingenjörsstudenter som studerar på det äldsta av KTH:s campus, representeras i kampanjen. Detta får till följd att den breddning som sker endast är gällande för en liten skara individer  Uppsatsens viktigaste bidrag är insikter om diskursen som omger ingenjörsutbildningen, som trots försök till breddning verkar exkluderande för många presumtiva studenter. Vidare är det teoretiska och metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet ett intressant bidrag till forskning och en breddad rekrytering till tekniska lärosäten.

Although access to South African universities has increased, academic persistence among undergraduate students remains low. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted to investigate the underlying psychosocial and social identity factors that influence academic persistence among undergraduate students at a South African university. Studies 1, 2, and 3 demonstrated that academic adjustment, academic motivation and identification with the academic department are prominent factors in predicting academic persistence. Studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that students who highly identified with the university/academic department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to be academically motivated and academically persistent. Study 3 confirmed that students who highly identified with the academic department were more likely to adjust to the university environment and to persist academically. The studies also revealed that the relationship between identification with the university/academic department and academic persistence via academic adjustment and academic motivation was conditional on whether students were from historically underrepresented or overrepresented racial groups (Studies 1 and 2) and whether students were first-generation or continuing-generation students (Study 3). These results underscore the importance of psychosocial and social identity factors on academic persistence among undergraduate students. / Psychology / D. Phil (Psychology)

The aim of the study was to identify the factors that have an influence on the completion rates of undergraduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Using Tinto's retention rate theory as the theoretical foundation, data were collected from freshman who were enrolled in the years 2005 to 2008. Results showed gender and first-generation status were significant predictors of STEM completion and time taken to complete the degree. Institutional bias played a role in race/ethnicity not being a factor affecting completion rates, as this study was conducted at a Predominantly White Institution. SAT scores and first and second-year college GPA showed to have the most prominent influence on both STEM completion rate and time taken to complete the degree. Females with higher first-year college GPA and higher high school rank finished faster. Similar results were found with first-generation students as well. Students belonging to ethnic minority groups with higher SAT scores and college GPA had greater success in STEM fields as well. The study results can be used to increase completion rates of underrepresented students in the STEM fields, given what we know about the interactions between underrepresented student groups and the most important predictors.

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For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the healthcare professions, though many healthcare professions have historically been perceived as caregiving professions, and therefore, as “female work.” The purpose of this qualitative study was to add to the existing body of literature on underrepresented pre-health students by exploring the experiences of racial/ethnic minority and male undergraduate students on pre-health paths. This study included 11 participants who self-identified as intending to pursue a graduate or professional healthcare program and as African American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hispanic, or male; all were enrolled at one mid-sized, regional university in the southeastern United States. I utilized semi-structured interviews to investigate the experiences of the participants. The themes that emerged among the experiences of pre-health students, included common influences on career choice, what pre-health students believe they need to do to be competitive, challenges, fears and worries about the future, motivation to persist, resources and support utilized, and planning (or lack of planning) for alternate career paths.