dc.contributor.author	DeLoach, Adrien D.	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Robbins, Claire K.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Lee, Walter C.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Scales, Glenda R.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Serna, Gabriel Ramon	en
dc.contributor.department	Higher Education	en
dc.date.accessioned	2020-06-10T08:02:02Z	en
dc.date.available	2020-06-10T08:02:02Z	en
dc.date.issued	2020-06-09	en
dc.description.abstract	Despite widespread efforts to reduce inequities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) job market, huge disparities remain for both African Americans and women in those sectors of employment. Extant literature affirms that Black women encounter various challenges when pursuing STEM careers. More specifically, the research on Black women in engineering focuses primarily on their experiences in academia and does not include their experiences as undergraduates transitioning into the industry workforce. To address these gaps in the literature, this study explored the career goal-setting (CGS) processes of Black woman engineering majors (BWEMs) through qualitative inquiry. Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher implemented a two-interview sequence with five Black/African American women enrolled in their final year of a baccalaureate engineering program at a predominantly White institution (PWI) in the southeast. Possible selves theory (Lee and Oyserman, 2009; Strauss, Griffin, and Parker, 2012) served as the framework for the guiding research questions and interview protocol, which were designed to capture the essence of the participants' experiences as they respectively engaged in setting career goals. The findings revealed that the participants' CGS processes encompassed a series of cognitive steps, which included their thoughts about goal-setting in general, exploring engineering careers, making adjustments academically, finding an area of career specialization, and dealing with anxiety related to the challenges they encountered as engineering majors. In addition, possible selves theory was used to explain how the participants' understanding of their experiences in current contexts influenced who they wanted to become in future work conditions.	en
dc.description.abstractgeneral	This qualitative study explored the career goal-setting (CGS) processes of Black woman engineering majors (BWEMs). The researcher used phenomenological methods to specifically describe the participants' experiences as they took part in CGS. Five participants were included in the study who all identified as Black/African American women enrolled in their final year of an undergraduate engineering program at a predominantly White institution (PWI) in the southeast. Possible selves theory (Markus and Nurius, 1986; Strauss, Griffin, and Parker, 2012) helped to guide the main research question and the research sub-questions, which were based on Lee and Oyserman's (2009) three individual and contextual factors of past experiences, developmental contexts, and social contexts. The researcher conducted two interviews with each of the five participants. The findings revealed that the participants' CGS processes consisted of several mental steps, which included their thoughts about goal-setting in general, exploring engineering careers, making adjustments academically, finding an area of career specialization, and dealing with anxiety related to the challenges they encountered as engineering majors. In addition, possible selves theory was used to explain how the participants' understanding of their experiences in current contexts influenced who they wanted to become in future work conditions.	en
dc.description.degree	Doctor of Philosophy	en
dc.format.medium	ETD	en
dc.identifier.other	vt_gsexam:25353	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/98814	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Black Women	en
dc.subject	Engineering Majors	en
dc.subject	Career Goal-Setting	en
dc.subject	Possible Selves	en
dc.title	The Career Goal-Setting Processes of Black Woman Engineering Majors	en
dc.type	Dissertation	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Higher Education	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	doctoral	en
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy	en

The Career Goal-Setting Processes of Black Woman Engineering Majors

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