Landscape of Student Parents Studying Engineering

This full research paper explores ways in which student parents who are studying engineering do and do not differ from other students who study engineering. INTRODUCTION: About one-fifth of undergraduate students are parents, and these students are likely to differ somewhat from other students. However, little research has been conducted on student parents, particularly those who are studying engineering. Further, engineering continues to suffer from disproportionate representation of students from historically marginalized gender and/or racial/ethnic backgrounds, and the equity implications of parental status are currently poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question, How do engineering students who are parents differ from other engineering students? METHODS: We analyzed data from the U.S. 2020 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study for undergraduate students, which indicates which students have dependent children. In this exploratory data analysis, we compared engineering students who are parents to those who are not across a variety of demographic, financial, and academic characteristics. RESULTS: We found that engineering students are far less likely than other students to be parents (6% v. 18%). Engineering students who are parents differ from other engineering students in that they are more likely to be older, to be men, to be Black or African American, to have a job, to attend school part-time, and to attend a nonselective college or a two-year college. They are also more likely to have no funding for tuition other than a credit card and to experience food insecurity. They are, surprisingly, less likely to attend a school that offers child care. However, engineering students do not significantly differ with respect to their status as parents with regard to disability status or in their likelihood of having a high or low GPA. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that engineering students who are parents face a distinct set of challenges (e.g., financial insecurity) but also show some strengths (e.g., similar GPAs) despite the many demands on their time. Further, the preponderance of Black engineering students who are parents suggests that better meeting the needs of student parents may be one vector for improving representation in engineering education.