Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Wang, M., & Tang, X. (2025). Gende Di e ences in he
De elopmen o Unde g adua e S uden s’ Enginee ing Iden i ies in he Chinese
Con ex : A Pilo S udy. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B.
(Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing
Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631444.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ENGINEERING IDENTITIES IN THE
CHINESE CONTEXT: A PILOT STUDY
Mengling Wang a , Xiao eng Tang b,
1
a Tsinghua Uni e si y, Beijing, China, 0009-0007-4893-8048
b Tsinghua Uni e si y, Beijing, China, 0000-0002-6279-9941
Con e ence Key A eas: Di e si y, equi y and inclusion in ou uni e si ies and in ou
eaching; The a ac i eness o enginee ing
Keywo ds: enginee ing iden i y, gende di e ences, inclusi e eaching
ABSTRACT
This pilo s udy explo es ac o s in luencing male and emale enginee ing
unde g adua e s uden s’ de elopmen o enginee ing iden i ies in a Chinese
ins i u ion o highe educa ion. Th ough li e s o y in e iews, his s udy inds ha male
s uden s’ enginee ing iden i ies a e mo e p ominen ly shaped by p e-college
expe iences, ma ke demands, and in e es s in enginee ing, whe eas emale
s uden s’ de elopmen o enginee ing iden i ies is mo e in luenced by academic
pe o mance in majo cou ses, pe cep ions o ma ch be ween enginee ing and
pe sonal cha ac e is ics, and academic suppo om signi ican o he s. We a gue
ha he obse ed di e ences s em om en enched gende s e eo ypes and no ms
wi hin he Chinese con ex , which shape male and emale s uden s’ cogni i e
amewo ks, li e expe iences, and educa ional engagemen in dis inc ways.
Acknowledging and add essing hese di e ences is c ucial o de eloping inclusi e
educa ional p ac ices.
1
Co esponding Au ho
Xiao eng Tang
den e ang@ singhua.edu.cn
1 INTRODUCTION
Despi e wide awa eness o he “leaky pipeline” e ec o women in enginee ing,
solu ions o his issue emain unclea , and he unde ep esen a ion o women
con inues o haun enginee ing educa ion and p o ession (Beddoes & Bo ego, 2011;
Godda d e al., 2021). Ex ensi e esea ch in enginee ing educa ion has no ed he
c i ical impo ance o enginee ing iden i y in s uden s’ pa icipa ion and e en ion in
enginee ing (Pie akos e al., 2010; Hamle e al., 2021). Based on p io wo k
(Tonso, 2006; Beam e al., 2009; Choe e al., 2017), in he cu en s udy we
unde s and enginee ing iden i y as he p oduc o an enginee ing s uden ’s
iden i ica ion wi h enginee ing, which means he s uden eels close o he
enginee ing discipline in which one is s udying, and he enginee ing p o ession one
an icipa es o engage in a e g adua ion. In his de ini ion, we emphasize s uden s’
psychological eelings and he wo aspec s o enginee ing.
Though se e al s udies ha e examined he ac o s in luencing s uden s’ enginee ing
iden i ies, hey ypically chose o ocus on speci ic ac o s a he han conduc
comp ehensi e analyses (Fle che & Sh yock, 2024). Sys ema ically e iewing such
s udies on enginee ing p o essional iden i y published be o e 2014, Mo elock (2017)
p oposed a iple classi ica ion: cons uc i e ac o s (e.g., enginee ing knowledge
acquisi ion, collabo a i e p ojec s), de ac i e ac o s (e.g., gende , a lack o
enginee ing expe iences), and di ec ional ac o s (e.g., gende , pe sonal alues and
li e expe iences). A p e alen measu e adap ed om science iden i y is applied o
assess academic ac o s (pe o mance/compe ence, in e es , and ecogni ion)
(Godwin, 2016). Howe e , i s ex ended e sions inco po a ing p o essional ac o s
(e.g., design, collabo a ion) and demog aphic ac o s (e.g., gende , ins i u ion) ha e
no been widely ecognized (Pa ick e al., 2017; Kendall e al., 2019).
Al hough a numbe o quan i a i e s udies ha e examined gende di e ences in he
o e all le el o s uden s’ iden i ica ion wi h enginee ing, no conclusi e consensus
has eme ged. Some s udies ound emale s uden s displaying a highe le el o
enginee ing iden i y han males (Hamle e al., 2021), while o he s udies con ended
ha emale s uden s exhibi a lowe le el o enginee ing iden i y (Yu & Ma, 2023;
Bahnson e al., 2021); and hen, a numbe o s udies epo ed no signi ican gende
di e ences be ween male and emale s uden s’ enginee ing iden i ies (A ne e al.,
2021; Bade s, 2019; Pa ick e al., 2018).
A ew schola s u he in es iga ed he ac o s ha impac he de elopmen o
enginee ing iden i ies, and he e some gende di e ences we e epo ed. S udies
ha e indica ed dis inc gende ed cul u es in enginee ing (Du, 2006; Faulkne , 2007),
wi h a ying ac o s a ac ing male and emale s uden s o he ield (Pie akos e al.,
2010). Gende -based dispa i ies eme ged in unde s anding enginee ing’s na u e and
alued skills (Chach a e al., 2008), wi h women p io i izing social consciousness
and men emphasizing echnological leade ship in p o essional iden i y (Cech, 2015).
Recen s udies highligh ed he c ucial ole o ecogni ion o emale s uden s
(Hughes e al., 2021), while A wood e al. (2022) e ealed women’s highe
in e pe sonal ecogni ion bu lowe compe ence belie s and ca ee in e es s.
Despi e ex ensi e in e na ional esea ch on enginee ing iden i y ac o s and gende
di e ences, limi ed a en ion has been gi en o he de elopmen o enginee ing
iden i y in he Chinese con ex . P io s udies ha e p edominan ly elied on
quan i a i e measu es de i ed om in e na ional scales o examine he ela ionships
be ween enginee ing iden i y and ce ain ypes o expe iences in college and high
school (Chen e al., 2022; Wang e al., 2022; Ju & Zhu, 2023; Yu & Ma, 2023), wi h a
lack o quali a i e explo a ion in he local con ex s o unde s and wha cons i u es
enginee ing iden i y and how i de elops.
In sum, u he esea ch is needed o mo e comp ehensi ely examine he ac o s
in luencing enginee ing iden i y de elopmen , o explo e he gende -speci ic
a ia ions in hese ac o s, and o mo e e ec i ely unde s and he dis inc pa hs
h ough which s uden s o di e en o igins de elop iden i ies in enginee ing,
speci ically wi hin he Chinese con ex . This pilo s udy, conduc ed in a Chinese
ins i u ion o highe educa ion, seeks o answe wo esea ch ques ions: wi hin he
Chinese con ex , wha ac o s in luencing he de elopmen o enginee ing iden i y
ha e a mo e p onounced impac on (1) male unde g adua e s uden s; and (2) emale
unde g adua e s uden s?
2 METHODOLOGY
This s udy adop ed a desc ip i e quali a i e app oach. G ounded in cons uc i ism, a
desc ip i e quali a i e s udy seeks o unde s and he meanings o indi iduals’
expe iences, and o desc ibe he meanings o he eade s by making use o quo es
om pa icipan s o o he o ms o da a (Tisdell e al., 2025). The esea ch design
has been app o ed by he Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d (IRB) a he esea che s’
ins i u ion.
2.1 Pa icipan s
Pa icipan s o his s udy we e unde g adua e enginee ing s uden s a he end o he
hi d yea in a esea ch-o ien ed uni e si y in China. We chose junio s because in
unde g adua e enginee ing p og ams in China, he hi d yea o he cu iculum bes
ep esen s he majo cou ses in he enginee ing disciplines, and s uden s in he hi d
yea a e aced wi h he choices o whe he o pu sue g adua e s udies o en e he
wo k o ce, and whe he o s ay in he cu en ield o swi ch o a di e en ield,
choices ha a e indica i e o hei enginee ing iden i ies. The de elopmen o
enginee ing iden i ies di e s signi ican ly be ween s uden s who plan o pe sis in
enginee ing and hose who plan o swi ch o o he ields. To cap u e he key
expe iences ha shape s uden choices a his pi o al momen , we adop ed he
concep “pe sis e /swi che ” (Pie akos e al., 2009) as ano he ca ego y in ou
sample ec ui men , in addi ion o he “male/ emale” ca ego iza ion. We en isioned
ha his quali a i e s udy ocuses on explo ing indi idual expe iences a he han
es ablishing uni e sally applicable heo ies, and he cu en s udy was designed as a
pilo o iden i y key esea ch ques ions and c i ical hemes o subsequen inqui y.
Due o hese conside a ions, we in en ionally chose a limi ed numbe o pa icipan s
who we e able o p o ide ich in o ma ion on hei educa ional expe iences and
u u e plans. Th ough iend ecommenda ions and pu posi e sea ches on social
media (WeCha g oups), we selec ed ou pa icipan s wi h whom we had no p io
acquain ance, bu whom we belie ed migh ha e in e es ing s o ies ela ed o ou
esea ch opic (Table 1). The in e iewe , he i s au ho , in en ionally began by
in e iewing male pa icipan s, a emp ing o minimize he in luence o he own
gende ed expe iences and po en ial biases.
Table 1. Pa icipan s (pseudonyms) and hei majo s
Male
Female
Pe sis e
Heng (compu e )
Ren (chemical enginee ing)
Swi che
Quan (chemical enginee ing)
Xiu (mic oelec onics)
2.2 Da a Collec ion and Analysis
Da a o his s udy we e collec ed in May 2024 h ough in-pe son semi-s uc u ed
in e iews. The li e s o y in e iew (A kinson, 1998), which is well-sui ed o esea ch
on educa ion, gende , and iden i y de elopmen , was employed o explo e he
in e iewees’ expe iences, eelings, and meanings, as well as hei commonali ies
and di e ences. In e iews we e conduc ed in Manda in Chinese and each las ed
one o wo hou s. All sessions we e audio- eco ded wi h consen and supplemen ed
by he esea che ’s ield no es. The in e iew p o ocol was p ima ily s uc u ed in
ch onological o de , co e ing six opics: pe sonal cha ac e is ics, p e-college
ela ions o enginee ing, majo selec ion, college expe iences, ca ee plans, and
enginee ing iden i y. We placed pa icula emphasis on he key u ning poin s in
enginee ing iden i y de elopmen . The s o y elling ques ions we e amed using he
“5W1H” model: when, whe e, wha , who, why, and how i el . The ques ions we e
in o med by p io s udies and e ined based on ea lie in e iews (see Appendix)
(Ross e al., 2021; Ndodana e al., 2020; Pe e s & Pea s, 2013; Ha make , 2012).
Immedia ely a e he in e iews, he eco dings we e ansc ibed and edi ed o
ensu e accu acy, ollowed by w i en case summa ies and memos. Guided by he
esea ch ques ions, we i s a emp ed o delinea e he key ac o s impac ing male
and emale s uden s’ enginee ing iden i y de elopmen , espec i ely, using coding
echniques: open coding by concep ualiza ion, axial coding ia ca ego iza ion, and
selec i e coding h ough compa ison (S auss & Co bin, 1998). We hen compa ed
he esul s o ind he commonali ies and di e ences be ween he gende g oups.
3 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
As illus a ed in Fig. 1, while he ac o s in luencing he de elopmen o Chinese
s uden s’ enginee ing iden i ies, such as engagemen in enginee ing p ac ices, a e
sha ed, se e al ac o s exhibi g ea e impac s on speci ic gende . This sec ion
epo s hese gende -speci ic a ia ions iden i ied in his pilo s udy.
Fig. 1. Fac o s In luencing he De elopmen o Unde g adua e S uden s' Enginee ing
Iden i ies in he Chinese Educa ional Con ex s
3.1 Fac o s Wi h Mo e P onounced Impac s on Male S uden s
Posi i e p e-college expe iences, including enginee ing- ela ed exposu e and
excellence in STEM subjec s, con ibu ed o he ela i ely high le els o enginee ing
iden i y o bo h male in e iewees ea ly in hei unde g adua e s udies, pa icula ly in
e ms o hei mo i a ion and con idence in choosing enginee ing majo s. Heng
“de eloped an in e es in p og amming when p ac icing o in o ma ion echnology
compe i ions in junio high school, and hen na u ally chose compu e as he majo in
college.” Quan showed pa icula s eng h in chemis y and “won p izes in chemis y
academic compe i ions a a na ional le el in senio high school,” which is he
undamen al eason o him o majo in chemical enginee ing. Howe e , bo h emale
in e iewees lacked such exposu e. Despi e he p esence o STEM academic
compe i ions in Chinese high schools, nei he o he emale in e iewees
pa icipa ed, e en hough hey we e excellen in STEM subjec s. Hence, he emale
s uden s “knew li le abou enginee ing in senio high school,” (Ren) which delayed
he o ma ion o hei enginee ing in e es s and iden i ies. As many in e iewees
obse ed, gende s e eo ypes—en enched belie s abou gende -speci ic
cha ac e is ics, compe encies, and sui able oles—ha e signi ican ly in luenced
s uden s’ expe iences since childhood. Quan acknowledged ha “pa en s design
di e en upb inging me hods o sons and daugh e s.” Xiu u he explained: “Gi ls
ha e much less access o esou ces like compe i ions and in ellec -de eloping
ac i i ies om an ea ly age. Pa en s sign daugh e s up o a ins ead o Lego and
obo ics which a e o sons. This is due o an ine ia mindse and s e eo ypes.”
In e es s in enginee ing play an impo an pa in male in e iewees’ enginee ing
iden i y de elopmen , pa icula ly in hei decisions o whe he o s udy enginee ing,
and la e , whe he o pe sis in enginee ing. As we no e in he p e ious pa ag aph,
bo h male in e iewees had de eloped some in e es s in hei espec i e disciplines
o s udy p io o college. Howe e , a e spending mo e han wo yea s s udying
enginee ing, hei in e es s changed in dis inc ways, leading o hei changed
pe cep ions o enginee ing iden i ies and dispa a e plans o he u u e. A clea and
s ong in e es in compu e , hough “diminished sligh ly compa ed o he s a o
college,” was su icien o con ince Heng o con inue in he ield. Heng s a ed: “I
enjoy his majo , e en hough i is highly compe i i e in GPA and exhaus ing...I I had
o choose a majo again, I’d s ill make he same decision.” In con as , Quan
disco e ed his “in e es in chemical enginee ing s ems om a passion o chemis y
a he han enginee ing i sel .” As a esul , his “s ong in e es in chemis y- ocused
cou ses in he i s wo yea s o college” encoun e ed a apid decline once
“enginee ing-o ien ed co e cou ses we e o e ed in he junio yea cu iculum.” In
con as , nei he o he emale in e iewees ci ed a s ong in e es as a key ac o in
hei enginee ing iden i y de elopmen . Bo h emale s uden s p io i ized uni e si y
p es ige when selec ing majo s, despi e in e es s in o he ields. Xiu e lec ed: “I was
in e es ed in pain ing and conside ed majo ing in a chi ec u e, bu I couldn’ ind an
a chi ec u e p og am ha ma ched my Gaokao sco e, and I didn’ wan o ‘was e’ i .”
Ma ke demands signi ican ly in luence enginee ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o he
alue o enginee ing and hei mo i a ion o en e and s ay in he ield. While all he
in e iewees acknowledged conside ing job a ailabili y, sala y p ospec s, and social
p es ige in majo selec ion, hese ac o s appea ed o exe a g ea e impac on male
s uden s’ ca ee planning. The desi abili y o enginee ing ca ee s is widely
ecognized in China. As Quan no ed: “Al hough I don' plan o con inue in chemical
enginee ing, I s ill app ecia e ha enginee ing o e s mo e job oppo uni ies.”
Meanwhile, ma ke equi emen s on g adua es, such as educa ional backg ound
(e.g., ins i u ional p es ige, deg ee le el), p o essional compe encies, and ca ee
commi men , se e as ex e nal mo i a o s, d i ing s uden s o ad ance in hei
academic and p o essional pu sui s while p e en ing hem om explo ing o he ields
o s agna ing in hei enginee ing iden i y de elopmen . Fo example, hough al eady
in a majo whose g adua es “can ea n a high sala y,” Heng planned o pu sue a
g adua e s udy in he same majo igh a e g adua ion since “a bachelo ’s deg ee is
insu icien in his ield.” Heng esignedly said: “I ha e e e conside ed a gap yea o
explo e wha speci ic a ea I wan o pu sue, bu o he s old me i is a ield e ol ing so
quickly ha a gap yea in a esume will b ing many conce ns.” Xiu, a emale
in e iewee, also no iced ha “Men a e gene ally expec ed o ea n mo e money and
possess a g ea e inancial capaci y.”
3.2 Fac o s Wi h Mo e P onounced Impac s on Female S uden s
While all he in e iewees we e in luenced by hei academic pe o mance in majo
cou ses, i s impac appea ed o be mo e p onounced o emale s uden s. Posi i e
expe iences in academic pe o mance enhance sel -e icacy and con idence in
enginee ing s udies, while poo pe o mance o en leads o “lea ned helplessness”
(Xiu) ha unde mines emale s uden s’ con idence in enginee ing. Ren’s case
exempli ies he posi i e e ec . She equen ly men ioned he academic
achie emen s: “The sa is ying academic achie emen s make me eel con iden ...
e en hough i migh no ha e been he mos sui able majo a he beginning, i is s ill
good i I can pe sis .” In con as , Xiu expe ienced he nega i e e ec s. S uggling
academically in a small coho o s uden s, she held a ixed anking posi ion o i e
semes e s, leading o he “expe iencing a seemingly unchanging anking and an
absence o posi i e academic eedback.” This challenging en i onmen esul ed in
he “ex emely low sel -e icacy and a daily expe ience o lea ned helplessness.”
A pe cei ed ma ch be ween enginee ing and pe sonal cha ac e is ics can boos
con idence and a sense o i ing in enginee ing, while pe cep ions o misma ch can
unde mine enginee ing iden i y, pa icula ly o emale s uden s. Xiu’s expe iences
e ealed a p onounced misma ch. Due o emale s uden s’ ad an ages o “ ocus,
ca e ulness, and hands-on compe encies”, Xiu el i o enginee ing a he s a o
college. Howe e , upon en e ing majo s udies, she obse ed: “Those eache s and
s uden s who a e excellen in his ield o en emphasize economic e iciency, ea
people as ools, and mis ake apa hy o a ionali y. Thei pe sonali ies and alues
s ongly con lic wi h mine. Gi en hese condi ions o excellence, i ’s be e o me o
lea e as soon as possible.” This undamen al misma ch became he p ima y eason
o he dec eased en husiasm and he decision o lea e. Wha is mo e, he
s e eo ypical image o enginee ing, associa ed wi h masculini y, ein o ces i s male-
domina ed s a us. Fo his eason, men na u ally eel i o enginee ing while women
we e pushed o adop he masculine no ms o be e in eg a ion, as Xiu ema ked:
“Female p o esso s in his ield a e becoming mo e masculine.”
Ren emained ambi alen abou he “ i ness” in enginee ing. On he one hand, Ren
has de eloped “a mindse sui able o s udying enginee ing and a compe ency
p e e ence o sol e p ac ical p oblems o applica ion a he han o del e in o
uncha ed heo e ical inqui ies,” which aligned well wi h “ he hands-on ea u e o
enginee ing.” Ne e heless, as a emale s uden , Ren pe cei ed he na u e o
enginee ing mo e male- iendly as “i seems emale s uden s ha e li le ad an age in
s udying enginee ing... males may be be e a logical hinking... mo e cou ageous o
inno a e... mo e sui able o conduc expe imen s, especially hose equi e physical
s eng hs... and hey a e always con iden .” Fu he mo e, a sel -desc ibed “impa ien ”
pe sonali y ai and he high ole ance o ailu e equi ed in enginee ing p ac ice
made Ren eel challenged o main ain ocus in p olonged and mono onous asks,
which led he o ques ion he meaning and he alue o s udying enginee ing. Ren
na a ed he occasions when she el dissa is ied wi h he s udies and wan ed o
lea e he ield: “I was disappoin ed when I me obs acles in he lab. I el
meaningless when conduc ing expe imen s wi h epe i i e asks, and doub ed
whe he I was sui able o s udying enginee ing... I’ e hea d om he g adua e
s uden s in he same lab ha hey epea edly spend en i e days in he lab— om 9
a.m. o 11 p.m. Such a ou ine is oo bo ing and exhaus ing. Wha ’s mo e, he
expe imen s equen ly ail, which is inc edibly us a ing when you don’ know how
o p oceed. I I we e o pu sue such a g adua e s udy, I doub I could endu e i .”
Mo eo e , Ren encoun e ed a con lic be ween he wo k cul u e in he esea ch eam
and he own p e e ence o wo k-li e balance. Despi e hese complica ions, Ren had
no been pu o om pu suing an ad anced deg ee in enginee ing. She s a ed o
“sea ch o an in e na ional esea ch eam o a mo e sui able en i onmen .”
Adequa e academic suppo om signi ican o he s, especially om men o s and
pee s, could imp o e emale s uden s’ con idence and mo i a ion, whe eas he lack
o suppo may ad e sely a ec hei engagemen . Ren bene i ed om pee
in e ac ions acili a ed by a oman ic ela ionship wi h a classma e, and om e ec i e
men o ship. When she el diso ien ed by he ailu es in enginee ing p ac ice, she
u ned o he men o whe e she ecei ed ecogni ion, egained con idence, and
e lec ed on he ca ee i ness. Ren ecoun ed: “My men o old me ha ailu e is
e y common, so I jus need o ge used o i . E e y ime a e alking wi h my
men o , I el mo e con iden because my men o sha ed simila expe iences... When
I was unce ain abou my u u e and doub ed whe he I was i o enginee ing, I
sough ad ice om my men o . Those con e sa ions p omp ed me o conside wha I
am pa icula ly well-sui ed o do in his ield. So, I hink alking o my men o is qui e
help ul.” These posi i e expe iences and eelings hen s eng hened Ren’s sel -
e icacy and deepened he commi men o he ield.
Con e sely, Xiu unde wen many nega i e expe iences ha weakened he
enginee ing iden i y. When she sha ed he p ide in independen ly comple ing a ask
wi h excep ional quali y—a ask ha , despi e aking mo e hou s han expec ed, had
spa ked he cu iosi y and passion—he men o c i icized he app oach as
“ine icien .” Xiu asse ed: “This expe ience made me mo e con inced I was no i o
his ield. Bu I don' a ibu e his si ua ion solely o he indi idual men o who has
gene ally been suppo i e as an academic men o . Ra he , i e lec ed a undamen al
di e ence in he alues be ween he ield and mysel .” Mo eo e , gende s e eo ypes
unconsciously in luence he ways educa o s ea male and emale s uden s,
p o iding less suppo o emale s uden s. Xiu indignan ly old ano he s o y: “When a
male classma e and I bo h wi hd ew om he same cou se, he eache blamed him
bu encou aged me, saying, ‘Don’ be oo s essed. You can do be e nex ime’. I
belie e he eache ’s unde lying assump ion was ha he male s uden ’s s uggle
esul ed om insu icien e o — e lec ing he s e eo ype ha males a e sma e .”
Wha is mo e, Xiu c i ically ema ked: “The e is a deep gende disc imina ion in
enginee ing. Some imes, he p o ec ion o emale s uden s is because emales a e
unde ep esen ed... and is d i en by he sympa hy o he so-called ‘weak’ om
hose who a e p i ileged, pa icula ly men, a he han genuine e o s o equi y.”
This obse a ion exempli ies how emale s uden s a e o en ea ed as a e
specimens in enginee ing. In addi ion, he sca ci y o emale pee s and he lack o
pee in e ac ion led Xiu o eel “isola ed and helpless” and a si ua ion she desc ibed
as “in o ma ion isola ion”. She explici ly linked hese eelings o he gende
imbalance, s a ing: “I I had mo e emale pee s, I could mee mo e gi ls wi h di e se
cha ac e is ics, de elop iendships, and engage in academic discussions.”
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
This pilo s udy in es iga es how unde g adua e s uden s de elop o ail o de elop
enginee ing iden i ies in a Chinese uni e si y, wi h a pa icula ocus on gende
di e ences. P elimina y indings indica e ha emale s uden s’ enginee ing iden i ies
a e s ongly impac ed by in e pe sonal and ield-based en i onmen s, whe eas male
s uden s a e mo e in luenced by hei own s eng hs and p o i s. Consis en wi h
p e ious s udies, emale s uden s appea o ha e limi ed p e-college exposu e o
enginee ing (Du, 2006), place high alue on in e pe sonal ecogni ion (A wood e al.,
2022; Hughes e al., 2021), and expe ience unequal ea men due o hei
unde ep esen a ion (Chach a e al., 2008). Meanwhile, male s uden s emphasize
job secu i y and bene i om g ea e “enginee ing capi al” (Pie akos e al., 2010;
Cannae s e al., 2023). No ably, he in e iewees ecognized emale s uden s’
s eng hs in hands-on enginee ing p ac ices, a compe ency p e iously pe cei ed as
masculine (Faulkne , 2007). This dis inc ion unde lines he need o u he esea ch
ac oss a ious enginee ing disciplines, ask ypes, and cul u al con ex s.
Gende s e eo ypes and ins i u ional condi ions in he Chinese con ex help in e p e
ou indings. The gende ed socializa ion p oduces dis inc pa e ns o cogni ion,
compe encies, and expe iences. Be o e college, male s uden s o en ecei e g ea e
STEM exposu e, nu u ing hei in e es s in enginee ing. Thus, China’s sco e-d i en
Gaokao policy, which limi s ea ly enginee ing exposu e, seems o p ima ily delay
enginee ing iden i y o ma ion among emale s uden s. The policy, along wi h China’s
hie a chical highe educa ion sys em, incen i izes s uden s and pa en s o p io i ize
ins i u ional p es ige o e majo i , exace ba ing s uden s’ majo misma ches in
college. Mo eo e , he masculine cul u e o enginee ing c ea es a be e i o men
han o women. The e o e, women end o exhibi s onge emo ional esponses o
he ma ch o misma ch wi h he chosen ield, o he suppo o discou agemen om
o he s, and o academic success o ailu e. Meanwhile, p og am es ic ions on
mino ing o majo changing, coupled wi h Chinese social p essu es agains lea ing
highe educa ion, con ibu e o s uden s’ pe sis ence, despi e academic s uggles,
inad e en ly ein o cing hei enginee ing iden i ies. Fu he mo e, he socie al
expec a ions o men’s inancial and social powe d i e male s uden s o ocus on
ma ke demands and s ick o enginee ing, a ield wi h s ong ca ee p ospec s.
While limi ed by i s explo a o y scope and a small sample size, his pilo s udy
iden i ies c i ical hemes o u he inqui y. Fu u e wo k will expand he pa icipan
pool and del e in o gende ed key expe iences and emo ions in hei enginee ing
iden i y de elopmen , and subsequen changes in hei pe cep ions, lea ning
beha iou s, and u u e plans, o be e unde s and gende e ec s on unde g adua e
s uden s’ enginee ing iden i y de elopmen in he Chinese con ex .
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Gene a i e AI ools we e used in language e inemen o pa s o his manusc ip .
The inal ex s ha e been ho oughly edi ed by he au ho s be o e submission.
