GSE/RES: Investigating the Gender Component: Cultures that Promote Equity in Undergraduate Engineering

GSE/RES：调查性别成分：促进本科工程学公平的文化

• 批准号: 0522767
• 负责人: Elizabeth Creamer
• 金额: $ 44.9万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-10-01 至 2010-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0522767&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GSE; RES; Investigating; Gender; Component

A team of researchers at Virginia Tech is conducting an empirical (both quantitative and qualitative) comparison of the cultures of engineering departments and colleges with female undergraduate completion rates above and below the national average. Culture is defined as the attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices of institutional leaders, faculty, and students. Practices include pedagogy, curriculum, and informal and formal polices.Intellectual MeritPrograms initiated over the past two decades to recruit and retain women and girls in science, engineering, and technology (SET) fields have, on the whole, been successful. What has been lacking is the institutionalization of these successful programs so that large-scale change could be sustained. The body of literature about the need for institutional transformation, in both the business and academic worlds, is extensive but is, almost without exception, lacking in an analysis of gender-focused initiatives.The team hypothesizes that there are subtle but significant differences in the cultures of engineering departments, both within engineering colleges and across engineering colleges at different institutions, and that these differences are influenced by institutional leadership and history. The team further hypothesizes that engineering departments with the strongest record of graduating undergraduate women engineers will operate within colleges and universities that have activities intentionally targeted to improving the cultural climate for women and that these initiatives are located within colleges and universities that have multiple gender-focused initiatives and related supportive structures, like women and science programs. Knowledge resulting from this study will improve our understanding about strategies faculty and administrators can use to effectively improve the educational climate for women in engineering fields. The study will inform policy and practice through the following project outcomes:1. Identification of the elements of departmental and institutional cultures that distinguish departments with graduation rates of women in engineering that are above and below the national average. 2. A self-assessment guide and questionnaire to assess critical elements of departmental and institutional culture. 3. Case studies that illustrate best practices or effective strategies that promote a female friendly climate in engineering and which will be accessible in printed form and online.4. A student questionnaire and a statistical model that includes individual, environmental, and structural factors that predict women's interest and choice of SET majors. Broader ImpactsAs an incentive to the universities participating in the study, the team will provide a two-hour training workshops and faculty development modules that will be accessible online. The modules include case studies and resources related to how faculty can operate as change agents. Study findings will yield concrete suggestions for how college and departmental leaders in engineering can design and implement programs that improve the climate for women in undergraduate engineering.

弗吉尼亚理工大学（Virginia Tech）的一组研究人员正在进行一项实证（定量和定性）比较，比较工程系和学院的女性本科完成率高于和低于全国平均水平。文化被定义为机构领导、教师和学生的态度、价值观、信仰和实践。实践包括教学法、课程、非正式政策和正式政策。总体而言，过去二十年来为在科学、工程和技术（SET）领域招募和留住女性和女孩而启动的智力精英项目取得了成功。一直缺乏的是这些成功项目的制度化，这样大规模的变革才能持续下去。关于商业和学术界需要进行体制改革的文献大量，但几乎无一例外地缺乏对以性别为重点的倡议的分析。该团队假设，在工程学院内部和不同机构的工程学院之间，工程系的文化存在微妙但显著的差异，这些差异受到机构领导和历史的影响。该团队进一步假设，拥有最优秀本科女工程师毕业记录的工程院系将在那些有意为女性改善文化氛围的学院和大学中运作，这些举措位于那些有多个以性别为重点的举措和相关支持结构的学院和大学中，比如女性和科学项目。从这项研究中得到的知识将提高我们对教师和管理者可以用来有效改善工程领域女性教育环境的策略的理解。该研究将通过以下项目成果为政策和实践提供信息：识别部门和机构文化的要素，这些要素区分了女性工程毕业率高于和低于全国平均水平的部门。2. 一份自我评估指引及问卷，用以评估部门及机构文化的重要元素。3. 3 .说明在工程领域促进女性友好氛围的最佳做法或有效策略的案例研究，并将以印刷形式和在线形式提供。一份学生问卷和统计模型，其中包括预测女性对SET专业的兴趣和选择的个人、环境和结构因素。更广泛的影响作为对参与研究的大学的激励，该团队将提供一个两小时的培训研讨会和教师发展模块，这些模块将在网上提供。这些模块包括与教师如何作为变革推动者运作相关的案例研究和资源。研究结果将为工程学院和部门的领导者如何设计和实施改善女性本科工程环境的项目提供具体建议。