Visual Ethnographic Evaluation of Construction Programs at Public Universities: Who is Valued in Construction Education?

Abstract

The US construction management profession has failed to recruit and retain women and underrepresented racial-ethnic minorities (URMs) in the workforce, despite growing industry demand for college-educated graduates due to skilled-labor shortages. Women and URM students in four-year construction education programs are more likely to change majors or drop out when they are unable to develop a sense of belonging in their degree program, exacerbating the lack of diversity and labor shortages in the construction industry. Students’ physical learning environment on campus can convey nonverbal messages regarding belonging, and can therefore influence student retention and persistence. This study systematically evaluated 140 physical artifacts (art, signs, photographs, etc.) on display in three construction education programs at US land-grant universities. Utilizing an existing visual anthropological taxonomy designed to interpret equity messages communicated by artifacts, researchers explored nonverbal messages relating to the question of who is valued and who belongs’ in construction education. White men were regularly named and represented in positions of power and leadership in the evaluated artifacts. In contrast, women and URMs were typically underrepresented and unnamed, with people of color overly portrayed in construction manual labor roles. Results suggest that construction education programs can foster more inclusive student learning environments by diversifying and updating physical artifacts on display within department public spaces and classrooms.