Addressing the gender gap in engineering necessitates a thorough understanding of self-efficacy, and this study specifically focused on engineering self-efficacy of adolescent girls in secondary school. It identifies patterns linking rural students’ engineering self-efficacy to other areas of their lives to unearth trends for students with high engineering self-efficacy that could be used to help overcome this gender gap. The study used a mixed-methods instrumental case study approach and clarified the relationships between high engineering self-efficacy and various aspects of life for rural students, such as academic performance, extracurricular activities, and implicit gender beliefs, thus offering critical insights for educational improvements and future research directives. The analysis of survey data from students undertaking engineering electives in a rural Ohio school district led to the identification of key factors for curriculum development, including the need for project optimization to create a balance between challenge and success, the provision of targeted support and feedback, ensuring content relevance for a diverse student population, and establishing a robust foundation of technology skills. Notably, the study unearthed a significant relationship between adolescent girls showcasing high engineering self-efficacy and their readiness to engage in rigorous efforts to attain their goals. Conclusively, the findings suggest that rural educators need to be cognizant of their curriculum and interactions to nurture students’ self-efficacy, with a call for more research into the association between perseverance and high engineering self-efficacy among adolescent girls in rural contexts.
Schrewe et al. (Wed,) studied this question.