Developing Sustainable Ecosystems that Support Women Transitioning from Incarceration into Technology Careers

发展可持续生态系统，支持女性从监禁过渡到技术职业

• 批准号: 2314275
• 负责人: Hyunjin Seo
• 金额: $ 165.81万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2314275&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developing; Sustainable; Ecosystems; Support; Women

Structural inequities contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of Black and African American women, as well as women from the working class. This project will work toward redressing these inequities through developing and researching an ecosystem designed to support formerly incarcerated women's transition into careers that require technology-based skills or computational thinking. This ecosystem will be comprised of partnerships among workforce agencies, libraries as informal learning institutions, community-based organizations, and universities in Kansas and Missouri. In the context of these partnerships, library practitioners, specialists in computer science education, and formerly incarcerated women will refine an existing hybrid program, which includes both digital platforms and in-person learning at libraries, and which teaches vital technology skills that support women's transition into the workforce. Justice-impacted women, who participated in previous iterations of this program, will act as peer mentors to new cohorts of women during the last few months of their incarceration, as well as through the first years of their workforce transition. Research will explore whether and how different elements of the ecosystem enhanced the capacity of participating organizations to provide sustainable supports that effectively fostered employment while reducing recidivism. Because many contemporary occupations require a range of technology skills, this project will advance knowledge and practice regarding institutionalized supports that benefit women and their dependent children through enhancing capacity to obtain secure employment. Formerly incarcerated women, employment navigators from workforce agencies, library practitioners, and university researchers will iteratively improve an existing program designed to foster the workforce re-entry of justice-impacted women. New features of this existing program include peer mentors and an ecosystem approach that considers local labor markets and provides corresponding employment resources. Research will explore whether and how the partnerships contributed to the organizations' net capacity to provide employment-focused technology education programs for women transitioning from incarceration, in addition to whether and how participation in the ecosystem shifted the practices of individual library practitioners, employment navigators, and peer mentors. Research will also identify the major components of a sustainable ecosystem that supports employment-focused technology education among justice-impacted women. To achieve these research purposes, the project team will generate data such as pre- and post-surveys of over 600 participating women, in addition to interviews with a sub-sample of women; pre- and post-interviews with library practitioners, employment navigators, and peer mentors; observations of in-person and digital educational sessions; and focus groups at co-design sessions. Longitudinal and constant comparative analyses of these data sources will generate empirically based and actionable insights regarding how relevant agencies can partner together to foster sustainable systems that effectively support formerly incarcerated women's transition into a technology-based workforce. Results will be shared widely through a project website, library association meetings, professional journals in technology education and research, and workforce services networks. This Integrating Research and Practice project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

结构性不平等导致黑人和非裔美国妇女以及工人阶级的妇女的监禁不成比例。该项目将通过开发和研究旨在支持以前被监禁的妇女过渡到需要基于技术的技能或计算思维的职业的生态系统来纠正这些不平等。该生态系统将由劳动力机构，图书馆作为非正式学习机构，基于社区的组织以及堪萨斯州和密苏里州的大学的合作伙伴关系。在这些合作伙伴关系的背景下，图书馆从业人员，计算机科学教育专家以及以前被监禁的女性将完善现有的混合计划，其中包括图书馆的数字平台和人工学习，并教授支持女性过渡到劳动力的重要技术。受到正义影响的妇女参加了该计划的先前迭代，在监禁的最后几个月以及劳动力过渡的头几年中，将担任新妇女的同伴导师。研究将探讨生态系统的不同要素以及如何增强参与组织提供可持续支持的能力，从而有效地培养就业，同时减少累犯。由于许多当代职业需要一系列技术技能，因此该项目将通过增强获得安全就业能力来使妇女及其受抚养子女受益的制度化支持的知识和实践。以前被监禁的妇女，劳动力机构，图书馆从业人员和大学研究人员的雇佣导航员将迭代地改善旨在促进劳动力重新进入正义妇女的现有计划。该现有计划的新功能包括同行导师和一种生态系统方法，该方法考虑了当地劳动力市场并提供相应的就业资源。研究将探讨伙伴关系是否以及如何为组织提供以就业为中心的技术教育计划的净能力做出贡献，以使妇女从监禁中过渡，以及对生态系统的参与是否以及如何改变了单个图书馆从业者，就业导航员和同伴导师的实践。研究还将确定可持续生态系统的主要组成部分，该系统支持以正义影响的妇女中以就业为中心的技术教育。为了实现这些研究目的，项目团队还将生成诸如600多名妇女的前后和后期和后的数据，除了接受妇女子样本的访谈；与图书馆从业人员，就业导航员和同伴导师的前和探视前和审视；观察面对面和数字教育会议；和共同设计会议上的焦点小组。这些数据源的纵向和持续比较分析将对相关机构如何共同合作以促进可持续性系统有效地支持以前被监禁的妇女过渡到基于技术的劳动力的可持续系统，从而产生基于经验和可行的见解。结果将通过项目网站，图书馆协会会议，技术教育和研究专业期刊以及劳动力服务网络进行广泛分享。该整合研究和实践项目由前进的非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划提供资金，该计划支持：（a）有助于研究和实践，这些研究和实践考虑了非正式的STEM学习在股权中的作用，并且属于STEM； （b）在STEM中促进个人和教育成功； （c）提高公众参与科学发现； （d）促进对STEM职业的兴趣； （e）为有效的非正式STEM学习创建和增强理论和经验基础； （f）改善社区活力；和/或（g）增强科学传播以及公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响来通过评估来支持的。