Collaborative Research: Standard: Institutional Cultures of Ethical Practice in University-Based Engineering-for-Development Programs

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SES 1636349Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: Institutional Cultures of Ethical Practice in University-Based Engineering-for-Development ProgramsInstitution: University of Colorado Boulder and University of WashingtonPI: Shawhin Roudbari, University of Colorado Boulder, shawhin@colorado.eduCo-PI: Jessica Kaminsky, University of Washington, jkaminsk@uw.eduCo-PI: Jill Harrison, University of Colorado Boulder, jill.harrison@colorado.eduEngineering programs in US universities are building Engineering-for-Development (EfD) programs that send students to developing communities at a rapid rate. Students in EfD programs develop perspectives and attitudes on ethical community engagement that come to define cultures of ethical practices in these programs. These perspectives not only inform the work students do in developing communities, but also shape ways a growing population of engineering students understand the nature, merits, and limits of development work. Such institutional cultures of ethics have a profound influence on the work that EfD organizations conduct and the social change they contribute to. EfD programs have tremendous power in shaping the ethical outlook of a growing segment of the emerging STEM workforce as well as the livelihoods of the many communities they engage. This project is a study of the mechanisms through which cultures of ethical community engagement are cultivated in EfD programs. Through an analysis of program documents, in-depth interviews, and observations of program events, the investigators will identify ways cultures of ethics are shaped and interpreted by program leadership, faculty, students, and community partners.This research will identify the mechanisms through which cultures of ethical community engagement are shaped in university-based EfD programs. This investigation builds on methods of studying discursive and performative mechanisms through which institutional cultures of ethics are shaped. Marketing material, curricular structures, and program events are examples of sites where those mechanisms are at work. The investigators will apply cultural-institutional approaches grounded in social movement and organizational theory research to trace the institutional forces that shape ways engineering students work for and with developing communities. The cultural-institutional approach to investigating cultures of ethics in university-based programs is anticipated to have broad and transformational impact on designing service-learning programs across STEM fields.