Leveraging communal experiences in the curriculum: Increasing interest in pursuing engineering by changing stereotypic expectations

The goal congruity perspective suggests that students may not enter engineering, in part, because they believe engineering is unlikely to fulfill communal, other-oriented goals. Increasing beliefs that engineering fulfills communal goals can increase engineering interest. We examine how actual and expected communal experiences in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) shape engineering interest. Study 1 demonstrates that past communal STEM experiences predict greater beliefs that engineering fulfills communal goals and positive engineering attitudes. Using experimental methods, studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that including a service-learning project in an engineering course description increases beliefs that the course fulfills communal goals and course interest. These findings suggest that communal STEM experiences, and service learning in particular, can increase interest and participation in engineering.