Collaborative Research: Pushing Students Away: Developing a Research Agenda for Broadening Participation of African Americans in Engineering and Computer Science

虽然已经出台了旨在扩大代表性不足群体参与的实质性举措，但如果国家在教育到劳动力途径的每个主要节点（K-12教育、本科教育、研究生教育和劳动力）上继续失去他们，就不可能产生多样化的劳动力。虽然研究人员在过去四十年中发表了大量关于代表性不足群体的研究，但趋势并没有显著改善，这表明研究与实践之间存在脱节，更需要调查在整个教育到劳动力途径的每个主要环节扩大参与的问题。因此，研究人员建议开展一项研究项目，严格检查教育实践和研究的创新周期，因为它与扩大工程和计算机科学的参与有关。这项研究将促进我们对研究与实践之间脱节的理解，确定进步的障碍，并为扩大非裔美国人在工程和计算机科学领域的参与制定国家议程。议程将统一当前关于该主题的文献，框架关键问题，并围绕多样化工程劳动力的发展提出重要问题。与当前美国国家科学基金会扩大参与兴趣和优先事项相一致，该议程将提供：(1)研究人员为确定可以进行实证调查的问题提供背景；(2)具有解决当地环境中存在的障碍的实用策略的从业者。指导本研究的研究设计将使我们能够综合现有的大量建议，同时从研究人员、从业者和其他利益相关者那里获得反馈。该研究设计也将作为扩大其他代表性不足群体参与STEM的后续研究的模型。此外，为了重新调整当前的做法，以解决这一持续存在的问题，并找出是什么让学生离开，该项目包括系统地回顾有关参与障碍的理论和科学文献，并为教育到劳动力路径的每个节点提出新的解决方案；采访主题专家（n=60），讨论他们在扩大非裔美国人参与方面的专业经验，以及如何使非裔美国人参与工程；并进行德尔菲研究（n=20），以就我们理解中的关键问题和差距、重大问题以及教育实践和研究创新周期中的故障达成共识。本项目将产生以下成果：(1)一篇文献综述，综合并突出关于扩大非裔美国人参与的研究和实践现状以及扩大参与的创新周期；(2)描述这一背景下研究与实践之间当前关系的概念模型；(3)国家议程大纲，以协调致力于扩大非裔美国人在工程和计算机科学领域参与的利益相关者的努力。

While there have been substantial initiatives designed to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups, producing a diverse workforce is unlikely if the country continues to lose them at each of the major junctures along the education-to-workforce pathway: K-12 education, undergraduate education, graduate education, and workforce. While researchers have published numerous studies on underrepresented groups over the past four decades, trends have not significantly improved, suggesting a disconnection between research and practice and a greater need to investigate the issue of broadening participation at every major segment throughout the education-to-workforce pathway. As a result, the investigators propose to conduct a research project that critically examines the Innovation Cycle of Educational Practice and Research as it relates to broadening participation in engineering and computer science. This study will advance our understanding of the disconnect between research and practice, identify barriers to progress, and set a national agenda for broadening the participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science. The agenda will unify the current literature on this topic, frame key issues, and pose significant questions around the development of a diverse engineering workforce. Aligned with current NSF broaden participation interests and priorities, this agenda will provide: (1) researchers with a backdrop for identifying problems that can be investigated empirically; and (2) practitioners with practical strategies for addressing barriers present in their local context. The research design, guiding this study, will enable us to synthesize the plethora of existing recommendations, while obtaining feedback from researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders alike. The research design will also serve as a model for subsequent studies on broadening the participation of other underrepresented groups in STEM. Further, to readjust current practices for addressing this persistent problem and figure out what is pushing students away, this project involves systematically reviewing the theoretical and scientific literature on barriers to participating and proposing new solutions for each juncture of the education-to-workforce pathway; interviewing subject-matter experts (n=60) to discuss their professional experiences regarding broadening the participation of African Americans and what can be done to gain momentum in African Americans participation in engineering; and conducting a Delphi study (n=20) to reach consensus on the key issues and gaps in our understanding, significant questions, and breakdowns in the Innovation Cycle of Educational Practice and Research. This project will produce the following outcomes: (1) a literature review synthesizing and highlighting the current state of research and practice on broadening the participation of African Americans and an Innovation Cycle of Broadening Participation; (2) a conceptual model that depicts the current relationship between research and practice in this context; and (3) an outline of a national agenda for coordinating the efforts of stakeholders committed to broadening participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science.