ECR Core Research: Investigating Computer Science Departmental Diversity Efforts to Identify Levers for Change

ECR 核心研究：调查计算机科学部门的多元化努力，以确定变革的杠杆

• 批准号: 2200706
• 负责人: Wendy DuBow
• 金额: $ 49.99万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2200706&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ECR; Core; Research; Investigating; Computer

This study addresses the longstanding problem of the lack of diversity among persons studying and working in the field of computer science (CS). The statistics describing the gender and race/ethnicity of those who earn CS degrees tell a story of a discipline that has been slow to change. The percentage of CS undergraduate degrees that have been earned by women has barely risen in nearly two decades. The lack of representation of Hispanic, African American, and Native American students in computing over the past few decades is even direr. And yet many CS departments have undertaken a wide variety of efforts to broaden participation in computing (BPC). While BPC efforts have been studied, the research until now has not examined a key lever that helps or hinders progress: faculty members’ attitudes toward diversity and their department’s BPC efforts. This project will seek to understand more about these faculty attitudes, supports, and obstacles to provide research-based recommendations to those who wish to diversify the students graduating with computing degrees. This diversification is important because today’s students are society’s future technologists, so they should reflect the society they will soon serve.This research study will take a phenomenological qualitative approach to explore faculty attitudes, conceptions, and beliefs about broadening participation in computing (BPC) initiatives. The researchers will collect interview data from faculty and administrators in three different computer science departments chosen from among the top 25 undergraduate CS degree producers in the US. Each institution in the sample has been significantly involved in diversity efforts at the departmental level, with some successes, but with a notable lack of success in certain areas. The study’s main research question will be: What organizational conditions support or hinder faculty uptake of BPC efforts in high undergraduate-degree producing computing departments? Because faculty work within organizational systems that help or hinder their ability to produce and sustain change in their departments, the study draws upon neo-institutional theory. This theory helps clarify the role that faculty beliefs and actions play in responding to and co-creating departmental culture, including fostering inclusive departmental climates for non-majority populations. The study’s goal is to build a knowledge base of what supports and hinders departmental diversity efforts, and what organizational conditions are necessary for change to take hold. This knowledge base can lead to new interventions relative to BPC and CS faculty, as well as related research in other disciplines or other higher education institution types.This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad, and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest interventions and innovations to address persistence.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.

本研究解决了在计算机科学（CS）领域学习和工作的人员缺乏多样性的长期问题。有关获得计算机科学学位的人的性别和种族的统计数据表明，计算机科学这门学科的变化一直很缓慢。近20年来，女性获得计算机科学本科学位的比例几乎没有上升。在过去的几十年里，西班牙裔、非裔美国人和美国原住民学生在计算机领域的代表性不足，这一点更加严重。然而，许多计算机科学部门已经采取了各种各样的努力来扩大计算机（BPC）的参与。虽然对BPC的努力进行了研究，但到目前为止，这项研究还没有研究一个有助于或阻碍进步的关键杠杆：教师对多样性的态度和他们部门的BPC努力。这个项目将寻求更多地了解这些教师的态度、支持和障碍，为那些希望多样化计算机学位毕业生的人提供基于研究的建议。这种多样化很重要，因为今天的学生是社会未来的技术专家，所以他们应该反映出他们即将服务的社会。本研究将采用现象学定性方法来探讨教师对扩大参与计算（BPC）计划的态度、概念和信念。研究人员将从三个不同的计算机科学院系的教师和管理人员中收集访谈数据，这些院系是从美国排名前25位的计算机科学本科学位获得者中挑选出来的。样本中的每个机构都积极参与了部门一级的多样化努力，取得了一些成功，但在某些领域明显缺乏成功。该研究的主要研究问题将是：什么样的组织条件支持或阻碍了高本科学位计算机部门的教师采用BPC的努力？由于教师在组织系统内工作，这有助于或阻碍他们产生和维持部门变革的能力，因此该研究借鉴了新制度理论。这一理论有助于澄清教师信仰和行动在响应和共同创造部门文化方面所起的作用，包括为非多数人群培养包容性的部门氛围。该研究的目标是建立一个知识库，了解是什么支持和阻碍了部门多样性的努力，以及什么样的组织条件是改变所必需的。这个知识库可以导致与BPC和CS教师相关的新干预措施，以及其他学科或其他高等教育机构类型的相关研究。本项目由美国国家科学基金会EHR核心研究（ECR）项目支持。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。投资在至关重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该项目支持积累有力的证据，为理解、建立理论解释、提出干预措施和创新建议提供依据。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。