Critical Conversations: Systemic and Agentic Empowerment of Black Ph.D. Students and their Faculty Advisors in Engineering

该项目的主要目标是了解黑人工程博士生和他们的导师（学术合作伙伴）如何发展代理意识（感知和实施环境变化的能力），以及他们的代理如何随着时间的推移而变化，从而形成职业身份。在这个项目中，学术合作伙伴将帮助改进和共同开发材料、程序和政策，以减轻各自工程学科中的种族不平等。这项工作的重点之一将是探索机构，并调查和揭示工程中的应对和倡导策略。此外，还将讨论在工程和工程教育中建立变革和赋权的关键沟通策略和政策策略。这个项目的一个主要的更广泛的影响将是扩大黑人学生的声音和他们在工程和STEM领域实现公平代表权的持续工作中的实际行动。该项目将支持研究人员、管理人员和教育工作者的努力，帮助有色人种学生扩大他们在工程劳动力中的参与。本研究项目将通过以下方式为工程和STEM教育提供早期和探索性的见解：(1)有助于对工程、STEM和高等教育中的结构和文化支持以及系统性障碍的实证理解；(2)对工程教育中的黑人研究生代理如何有助于消除其工程领域内的系统性不公平现象进行循证检验；(c)定位学生学习的课程、价值观和习惯，这些课程不是通过正规课程明确教授的，通常会阻止在行政层面发生系统性变化。这项工作分为四个阶段，历时4年：(1)反思；(2)行动与反思；(3)影响;(4)行动与应用。这些阶段旨在为学术合作伙伴和关键学术领导者以及工程部门的利益相关者之间的关键对话创造机会。过程评估将解决有关项目实施和影响的问题。除了学术手稿和演讲，面向公众的文章和主流媒体的专栏，专业发展文件和课程将被分发。本项目由STEM教育中的种族平等项目（EHR种族平等）资助。该计划支持通过研究和实践促进科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育和劳动力发展方面的种族平等的项目。获奖项目集中了受STEM领域系统性种族主义造成的不平等影响最大的个人、社区和机构的声音、知识和经验。该项目符合美国国家科学基金会的核心价值，即支持来自全国不同人口群体、地区和组织类型的杰出研究人员和创新思想家。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。

The main goal of this project is to understand how Black engineering doctoral students and their faculty advisors (academic partners) develop a sense of agency (the ability to perceive and enact change within one’s environment) and how their agency changes over time to form a professional identity. In this project, academic partners will help refine and co-develop materials, procedures, and policies to mitigate racial inequities in their respective disciplines in engineering. One of the focal points of this work will be to explore agency and to investigate and uncover coping and advocacy strategies in engineering. Additionally critical communication strategies and policy strategies for instituting change and empowerment within engineering and engineering education will also be addressed. A primary broader impact of this project will be the amplification of Black student voices and agentic actions in their continuing work to achieve equitable representation in engineering and STEM fields. The project will support efforts by researchers, administrators, and educators to help students of color broaden their participation in the engineering workforce. This research project will provide early stage and exploratory insights into engineering and STEM education by: (1) contributing to an empirical understanding of structural and cultural supports and systemic barriers in engineering, STEM, and higher education; (2) conducting an evidence-based examination of the ways Black graduate student agency in engineering education contributes to the dismantling of systemic inequities within the enterprise of their fields of engineering; and (c) situating the lessons, values, and habits students learn that are not explicitly taught through the formal curriculum that oftentimes deters systemic changes from occurring at the administrative level. This work is split into four phases distributed throughout 4 years: (1) Reflection; (2) Action and Reflection; (3) Impact; and (4) Action and Application. These phases are intended to create opportunities for critical conversations to happen between the academic partners and key academic leaders and stakeholders in engineering departments. Process evaluation will address questions regarding project implementation and impact. Along with scholarly manuscripts and presentations, public facing articles and op-eds for mainstream press, professional development documents and curriculum will be disseminated.This project is funded by the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EHR Racial Equity). The program supports projects that promote racial equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development through research and practice. Awarded projects center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by the inequities caused by systemic racism in STEM fields. This program aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations.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.