CAREER: An Asset-based Longitudinal and Intersectional Analysis of Black Women’s Experiences within Informal and Formal Engineering Education

截至2017年，黑人女性占大学适龄人口的7.2%，但仅占工程学位获得者的1%。这些令人担忧的百分比代表了教育趋势的逆转，这表明，在所有学科和种族群体中，就获得学士学位而言，黑人女性是受教育程度最高的群体。从基于资产的角度来看，坚持从事工程的黑人女性：(1)有导师和榜样的代表，(2)有机会接受包容性的正式和/或非正式STEM教育，(3)处于支持性的组织和制度环境中。虽然这些领域的研究有所增加，但主要是在正式背景下进行的。由于孩子们大约81.5%的醒着的时间都在接受正规教育之外，而少数族裔（urm）占这些学生的61%（其中24%是黑人），因此有必要进一步探索他们在这些环境中的经历，尤其是纵向的，特别是在非正式的工程教育环境中。鉴于不断增长的STEM劳动力需求，国家层面扩大参与的努力以及进一步了解黑人女性作为工程师形成的必要性，该项目将包括开发一个纵向数据库，其中包含已完成工程学位并参加非正式工程项目的黑人女性的资料。在这个为期五年的职业计划中，黑人女性参加由全国黑人工程师协会（NSBE）主办的暑期儿童工程体验（SEEK）计划，以及与她们的教育旅程相关的其他经历，将被研究。自2017年以来，已有超过5,000名导师和20,000名美国城市的学生参加了SEEK。与NSBE合作，将采取三个阶段的方法。第一阶段：利用纵向人口统计和调查数据结果，建立一个包含参与者概况的数据库。第二阶段：将进行定性访谈，并将结果添加到参与者档案中。第三阶段：通过外部专家的支持和指导，对前几阶段的数据进行审查和验证。结果将通过教育专业发展与K-12，高等教育和行业利益相关者分享。使用交叉性、社会和文化资本以及反赤字成就作为理论框架，将回答以下研究问题：（RQ1）随着时间的推移，非正式和正式工程教育的参与在多大程度上影响了黑人女性作为工程师完成学位的形成？（RQ2）在非正式和正式工程教育的交流中，个人、制度和文化因素是如何促成黑人女性成为工程师并坚持攻读工程学位的？这个项目具有变革性，因为它将承认黑人女性的非单一状态（即获得的特定工程学位，文化差异，完成学位的年龄，就读的机构类型等）以及她们在旅途中的经历。其次，就方法而言，利用来自男女同校和单性别、非正式工程网站的大型数据集，在单个数据库中开发参与者的个人资料，并对其进行纵向分析，这是一种尚未完成的策略。第三，以交叉性为基础，以资产为基础的社会和文化资本为基础的理论框架是新颖的和变革性的。通过教育专业发展，发现的最佳实践将推进研究工作，并为K-12、大学和行业利益相关者提供深入的工具知识，这些工具可以通过他们的项目努力实施。研究结果将影响提高对黑人妇女和女孩在工程教育领域的兴趣、招聘和支持的努力。四个传播研讨会将使基于资产的成果能够与更广泛、更多样化的受众分享，包括ASEE、SHPE、SWE、ACA、WEPAN、ACLU和专业工程学会等组织。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。

As of 2017, Black women made up 7.2% of the college-age population but only 1% of engineering degree recipients. These alarming percentages represent a reversal of educational trends, which indicate that, for bachelor’s degree attainment, across all disciplines and ethnic groups, Black women are the most educated group compared to their male counterparts. From an asset-based standpoint, Black women who persist in engineering: (1) had representation in the form of mentors and role models, (2) had access to inclusive formal and/or informal STEM education and, (3) were in supportive organizational and institutional climates. Although research in these areas has increased, it has primarily been within formal settings. With children spending about 81.5% of their waking hours outside of formal education and underrepresented minorities (URMs) representing 61% of those students (24% of whom are Black), it’s imperative to further explore their experiences in these settings, especially longitudinally and, specifically within informal engineering educational settings. Given growing STEM workforce demands, national-level broadening participation efforts and the need to further understand the formation of Black women as engineers, this project will consist of the development of a longitudinal database with profiles of Black women who have completed engineering degrees and participated within an informal engineering program. Throughout this five-year CAREER proposal, Black women’s participation within the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) program, hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and other experiences related to their educational journey, will be studied. Since 2017, over 5,000 mentor teachers and 20,000 students across the U.S. cities have participated in SEEK. In collaboration with NSBE, a three phased approach will be conducted. Phase I: development of a database with participant profiles using longitudinal demographic and survey data results. Phase II: qualitative interviews will be conducted with results added to participant profiles. Phase III: data from previous phases will be examined and validated through the support and guidance of external experts. Results will be shared with K-12, higher education and industry stakeholders through the education professional development. Using intersectionality, social and cultural capital, and anti-deficit achievement as theoretical frameworks, the following research questions will be answered: (RQ1) To what extent does participation within informal and formal engineering education develop over time to impact Black women’s formation as engineers towards degree completion? (RQ2) How do individual, institutional, and cultural factors within the interchange of informal and formal engineering education contribute to Black women’s formation as engineers and persistence in engineering degree programs? This project is transformative in that it will acknowledge the non-monolithic state of Black women (i.e. specific engineering degree obtained, cultural differences, age at degree completion, institution type attended, etc.) and experiences along their journeys. Second, in terms of the methods, leveraging large data sets from coeducational and single-sex, informal engineering sites to develop participant profiles within a single database and analyzing them longitudinally is a strategy that has not been done. Third, the theoretical framing with intersectionality as a base and with social and cultural capital through an asset-based approach is novel and transformative. Through the educational professional development, best practices found will advance research efforts and provide K-12, university and industry stakeholders with in-depth knowledge of tools that can be implemented through their programmatic efforts. Results will impact efforts to increase interest in, recruitment of and support for the persistence of Black women and girls in engineering education. Four dissemination workshops will allow asset-based results to be shared with an even broader, more diverse audience including organizations such as ASEE, SHPE, SWE, ACA, WEPAN, ACLU and professional engineering societies.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.