Collaborative Research: A Study of Interactional, Organizational and Professional Mechanisms of Disadvantage in the Underrepresented and Marginalized STEM Workforce

该奖项由EHR核心研究(ECR)计划支持。ECR强调能够产生该领域基础知识的STEM基础教育研究。这一研究项目在科技教育领域劳动力发展和扩大科技教育领域的参与方面做出了贡献。拟议的工作正在促进对STEM中代表不足的群体在人际、组织和专业层面上的劣势的交叉机制的基本了解。迫切需要确保拥有多样化的STEM劳动力，以推动我们国家在科学、工程和教育方面的进步，通过STEM研究和教育满足国家社会需求，并为21世纪的美国劳动力做出贡献。通过更好地了解导致STEM专业人员处于不利地位、被边缘化和代表性不足的机制的专业、工作场所和相互作用的变量，我们的国家可以更好地解决成功的障碍，能够更有力地促进STEM教育和研究的整合，并能够加强我们对21世纪多样化劳动力的参与。密歇根大学和坦普尔大学的项目负责人正在合作，从STEM专业人员那里收集调查和采访数据，了解在人际、组织和专业层面上发现的导致工作场所劣势和边缘化的社会和文化变量。他们正在研究人口统计变量，如种族、民族、年龄、性别、性取向和残疾，研究人员正在对工作场所政策和做法、工作中的互动气氛和职业文化进行大量测量。研究人员正在使用这些数据来更好地了解这些数据之间的相互作用，以促进对美国代表性不足的STEM专业人员不利条件的了解。在这项探索性研究完成后，预计结果将为未来的基础和应用提供信息，扩大对我国代表性不足的STEM劳动力的STEM研究的参与。这项工作的结果预计将在专业出版物中与教育和STEM研究人员分享，并在研究简报中与STEM专业组织、雇主和公众分享。

This award is supported the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. ECR emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. This research project is making contributions to the field in the areas of STEM workforce development and broadening participation in STEM. The proposed work is advancing basic understanding about the intersectional mechanisms of disadvantage, at the interpersonal, organizational and professional levels, for underrepresented groups in STEM. There is a pressing need to ensure that a diverse STEM workforce is engaged to advance our nation's progress in science, engineering and education, to address national societal needs through STEM research and education, and to contribute to the 21st century U.S. workforce. By better understanding the professional, workplace and interactional variables that contribute to mechanisms of disadvantage, marginalization and underrepresentation of STEM professionals, our nation can better address barriers to success, can more strongly facilitate the integration of STEM education and research, and can enhance our engagement of a diverse 21st century workforce. Project leaders at the University of Michigan and Temple University are collaborating to collect survey and interview data from STEM professionals about social and cultural variables found at the interpersonal, organizational and professional levels that produce disadvantage and marginalization in the workplace. They are examining demographic variables, such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, and disability, and the researchers are conducting numerous measures of workplace policies and practices, of interactional climates on the job, and of professional cultures. The data is being used by the researchers to better understand the interactions among these data to advance knowledge about disadvantage for underrepresented STEM professionals in the U.S. At the completion of this exploratory study, it is anticipated that results will inform future basic and applied broadening participation in STEM research about our nation's underrepresented STEM workforce. The results of this work are expected to be shared with education and STEM researchers in professional publications and shared with STEM professional organizations, employers and the public in study briefings.