The gender effect on academic success among first-generation engineering undergraduate (FGEU) students

Abstract

Most existing research on first-generation college students focuses on their overall college experience and challenges. Research on first-generation engineering undergraduate (FGEU) students is lacking, especially comparing academic success between male and female FGEU students. Research on this latter topic is critical as it directly addresses engineering retention and graduation. To fill this important research gap, the present study conducts a quantitative analysis to investigate the effect of gender on academic success among FGEU students. Data regarding students’ college grade point average (GPA) and American College Testing (ACT) scores in three academic years were collected, involving 977 FGEU students (848 males and 129 females) at a public research institution in the U.S. The ACT is a standardised, highstakes examination for college admission in the U.S., and includes ACT composite, English, mathematics, reading and science scores. A statistical analysis was performed on the collected data. The results show that the correlation between college GPA and ACT scores is statistically significant for male FGEU students but not statistically significant for female FGEU students. This new research finding has a practical significance when analysing the college performance of FGEU students or developing a mathematical model to predict their college academic performance