Working Toward Equitable Organizations: Building Capacity for Leadership of Color in Outdoor and Environmental Science Education

隐性偏见和不公平限制了户外和环境科学教育领域的质量、有效性和广泛接受。该领域继续努力寻找与有色人种社区最顽固的关切和挑战的共鸣，特别是在环境问题方面，这些问题对这些社区的健康和经济产生了不成比例的影响。在呼吁采取行动消除系统性种族主义和偏见的时代，人们对解决方案驱动的方法重新产生了兴趣，以解决教育和组织变革框架中的公平、包容和文化相关性问题。该发展创新项目将开发和测试一种模式，以建立个人和组织的能力，以创造和维持公平、包容、文化相关的工作场所和学习环境，并支持目前在户外科学项目中任职并可能有离开该领域风险的有色人种专业人员。通过对系统变更的能力建设支持，该模型将帮助组织在规划未来时以公平的方式领导。对这项工作的需要再及时不过了。如果成功，从“努力实现公平组织”模式中收集到的知识可以为未来通过制度变革来改变该领域的努力提供信息，从而在各级领导中形成更加多样化的STEM劳动力，以及支持STEM学习和参与户外和环境科学教育计划的包容性计划和实践。在为期三年的项目期间，该项目将集中在两个方面：(1)对组织系统的支持和(2)有色专业人员的参与。对于第一部分，两组户外科学项目的领导者将进行深入的反思、专业学习和发展。他们将从公平的角度考虑工作的各个方面，制定行动计划，并对课程、指导性文件和实践进行必要的调整。对于第二部分，将使用队列模型为户外科学项目中的有色人种专业人士创建专业学习和参与社区，帮助他们在白人占主导地位的领域中应对与少数族裔相关的挑战。此外，将进行一项严格的研究，以检查专业学习模式如何有助于组织变革，为有色人种专业人士创造更具包容性和公平的职业道路，并将描述在何种条件下户外科学项目能够做出制度变革。对文化作出反应的评价将为模式的设计和发展提供信息，并评估其有效性。评估和研究将共同确定工作中有希望的方面和未来扩展的方向。该项目将为项目负责人和有色人种专业人士开发并记录一个可扩展的模型，以建立组织促进公平、包容和文化相关性的能力。它将影响全国20个组织，60名有色人种专业人士，最终每年影响20万名学生。该发展创新项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Implicit bias and inequities limit the quality, effectiveness, and widespread acceptance of the outdoor and environmental science education field. The field continues to struggle to find resonance with the most tenacious concerns and challenges of communities of color, especially with regards to environmental issues that disproportionately impact the health and economies of these communities. In a time of calls to action to dismantle systemic racism and bias, there is a renewed interest in solution driven approaches to address matters of equity, inclusion, and cultural relevance in education and within organizational change frameworks. This Innovations in Development project will develop and test a model to build individual and organizational capacities to create and sustain equitable, inclusive, culturally relevant workplaces and learning environments, and support professionals of color currently in positions in outdoor science programs and may be at risk of leaving the field. With capacity building support for systems change, the model will help organizations to lead with equity as they plan for the future. The need for this work could not be timelier. If successful, the knowledge gleaned from the Working Toward Equitable Organizations model could inform future efforts to transform the field through institutional changes that result in a more diverse STEM workforce at all levels of leadership and inclusive programs and practices that support STEM learning and engagement in outdoor and environmental science education programs. Over the three-year project duration, the project will be centered on two strands: (1) Support for Organizational Systems and (2) Professionals of Color Engagement. For the first strand, two cohorts of outdoor science program leaders will engage in intensive reflection, professional learning, and development. They will consider all aspects of their work through an equity lens, develop action plans, and make necessary adjustments to curricula, guiding documents, and practices. For the second strand, a cohort model will be used to create professional learning and engagement communities for professionals of color in outdoor science programs as they navigate the challenges associated with being in the minority in a predominately white-dominated field. In addition, a rigorous research study will be conducted to examine how the professional learning model contributes to changes in organizations to create more inclusive and equitable career paths for professionals of color and will describe under what conditions outdoor science programs are able to make institutional change. A culturally responsive evaluation will inform the design and development of the model and assess its effectiveness. Together, the evaluation and research will identify promising aspects of the work and directions for future scaling. The project will develop and document a scalable model for program leaders and professionals of color that builds the capacity of organizations to promote equity, inclusion, and cultural relevance. It is poised to impact twenty organizations nationwide, 60 professionals of color and ultimately, 200,000 students annually.This Innovations in Development project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.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.