The Influence of Climate, Social Networks, and Cultural Models on the Retention of Women and Racially/Ethnically Marginalized Engineers in Graduate School and the Workforce

气候、社交网络和文化模式对研究生院和劳动力中女性和种族/民族边缘化工程师保留的影响

• 批准号: 2301217
• 负责人: Rebecca Campbell-Montalvo
• 金额: $ 91.12万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 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 2027-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2301217&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Influence; Climate; Social; Networks; Cultural

This project follows engineering graduate students, professors, and those in industry to learn about their experiences when it comes to the climate they face in engineering and the factors that relate to their persistence. Specially, this research involves multiple explanatory angles to understand persistence, including the knowledge and beliefs engineers have, the people whom they go to for advice and resources, and the climate they experience in engineering. This advances scientific knowledge about the multiple intersecting phenomena that shape social trends when it comes to how the engineering workforce (industry and academia) does not represent the broader U.S. population demographically. This knowledge can help craft more inclusive engineering environments and broaden participation in the field. A more representative engineering workforce can improve society in multiple ways, such as by supporting advancements in engineering practice and education made possible by diverse perspectives therefore making peoples’ lives better both inside and outside of the academy.This study builds upon an existing dataset, following a previous cohort. The project revisits approximately 2,100 participants from 11 universities who were enrolled in their first year in an engineering degree program in 2014. The previous project followed them for five years through annual surveys and two rounds of interviews with a subsample of 55 women and underrepresented students. In the new project, we follow the large cohort again using two more surveys, and also conduct interviews this time expanded to a total of 120 interviewees. Altogether, the new project expands the dataset into what will become a 12-year longitudinal project that began with students reflecting on their last year of high school to then following them into their first few years of graduate school or engineering occupations. The new project additionally provides outcome information for many respondents from the first study who were still enrolled in their engineering program at their fifth year. Further, the new project introduces added dimensions of identity measures (beyond binary gender as well as sexuality) to further capture how diversity is likely subsequently tied to climate and persistence. Using Ego Network Analysis, Logistic Regression, and Reflective Thematic Analysis, findings from this work can show how institutional climate intersects with cultural models and social networks to impact persistence in ways that likely vary for engineers with a range of identities, including those of race/ethnicity, binary gender, gender diverse, and sexuality.This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.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.

该项目跟踪工程研究生、教授和业界人士，了解他们在工程领域面临的环境以及与他们的坚持相关的因素的经历。特别是，这项研究涉及多个解释角度来理解持久性，包括。工程师所拥有的知识和信念、他们向哪些人寻求建议和资源，以及他们在工程领域所经历的氛围，这些都促进了关于多种交叉现象的科学知识，这些现象在工程劳动力（行业和技术）方面塑造了社会趋势。学术界）不代表从人口角度来看，这些知识可以帮助打造更具包容性的工程环境并扩大该领域的参与度，从而以多种方式改善社会，例如支持工程实践和教育的进步，从而使不同的观点成为可能。人们在学院内外的生活都变得更好。这项研究以现有数据集为基础，继之前的一项研究之后，该项目重新访问了来自 11 所大学的约 2,100 名参与者，他们是 2014 年就读工程学位课程第一年的学生。之前的项目通过年度调查和对 55 名女性和代表性不足的学生的子样本进行两轮访谈，对她们进行了五年的跟踪。在新项目中，我们再次使用另外两项调查来跟踪这一大群体，这次采访范围也扩大到了 55 名女性和代表性不足的学生。新项目总共有 120 名受访者，将数据集扩展为一个为期 12 年的纵向项目，从学生回顾高中的最后一年开始，然后跟踪他们进入研究生院或工程学院的头几年。职业。新项目还为第一项研究中第五年仍在参加工程项目的许多受访者提供了结果信息。此外，新项目引入了身份测量的附加维度（超越二元性别和性取向）以进一步捕获。使用自我网络分析、逻辑回归和反思主题分析，多样性可能如何与气候和持久性联系起来，这项工作的结果可以显示制度氛围如何与文化模式和社交网络相交叉，以可能因工程师而异的方式影响持久性。拥有一系列的身份，该项目由 NSF 的 EDU 核心研究 (ECR) 计划支持，该计划强调基础 STEM 教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM 学习和 STEM 学习环境、扩大 STEM 参与以及 STEM 劳动力发展。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的评估进行评估，认为值得支持。智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。