STEM Microclimates of Intersectional Inclusivity: Modeling Interrelated Programmatic Features and their Relationships to Racial Academic Disparities

交叉包容性的 STEM 小气候：对相互关联的项目特征及其与种族学术差异的关系进行建模

• 批准号: 2201466
• 负责人: Tabbye Chavous
• 金额: $ 64.17万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2201466&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STEM; Microclimates; Intersectional; Inclusivity; Modeling

Persistent racial disparities are notable across STEM fields from who receives undergraduate degrees to the unequal opportunities and outcomes that hamper scientists’ careers later in life. Past research shows that contact with faculty, advising, and undergraduate research can reduce racial inequities, but it is not clear whether and how these work in all STEM fields. This project will explore how experiences like these create “STEM microclimates” for undergraduates with intersecting identities including race, gender, income, and first generation status. This research will develop models to assist universities with creating and fine-tuning programs to better support underrepresented and marginalized groups in STEM fields. This project will provide an approach for universities to more effectively use data to examine and adjust policies and practices that affect STEM racial inequities. The project will also provide a model for how universities can do this work in close collaboration with racially marginalized and minoritized communities who are most affected by racial disparities.This project uses an innovative approach to quantitatively model intersectionality with institutional, transcript, and survey data spanning over a decade. The research project examines STEM microclimates centered on student experiences and outcomes related to intersectional inclusivity, or the extent to which academic programs support students from varied intersectional social locations in relation to the resources and opportunities to pursue their academic degrees and future careers. Project goals include (1) modeling and disaggregating longitudinal patterns of ethnoracial disparities and their relationship to interrelated gender and socioeconomic disparities in STEM fields that are connected to the everyday interactions and academic engagement of racially marginalized and minoritized students, (2) strengthening the conceptualization of intersectional inclusivity as an organizationally-embedded feature identifiable in the academic structures of STEM microclimates differentially experienced by students, and (3) addressing past limitations of quantitative applications of intersectionality theory through modeling of STEM microclimates with longitudinal data and latent variables. Beyond advancing the use of critical theories and melding them with quantitative modeling strategies to examine STEM inequities, the emphasis on intersectional social locations of students embedded within organizational contexts contributes to knowledge about leveraging student voices through quantitative data that speak to the nuances of intersectionality. Research and programmatic components of the project ensure that analyses, sense-making of findings, and the implications are made in collaboration and partnership with those most affected by systemic inequities in STEM fields such that scientific and policy-relevant knowledge are generated in conjunction with institutional transformation promoting targeted and effective strategies to make STEM fields more racially equitable. This project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education program (EHR Racial Equity). The program supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise. 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. Funds for EHR Racial Equity are pooled from programs across EHR in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate.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.

在STEM领域，持续存在的种族差异是值得注意的，从获得本科学位的人到阻碍科学家以后职业生涯的不平等机会和结果。过去的研究表明，与教师，咨询和本科生研究的接触可以减少种族不平等，但目前尚不清楚这些是否以及如何在所有STEM领域工作。该项目将探索此类体验如何为具有交叉身份（包括种族、性别、收入和第一代身份）的本科生创造“STEM小气候”。这项研究将开发模型，以帮助大学创建和微调计划，以更好地支持STEM领域代表性不足和边缘化的群体。该项目将为大学提供一种方法，更有效地利用数据来检查和调整影响STEM种族不平等的政策和做法。该项目还将为大学如何与受种族差异影响最严重的种族边缘化和少数群体社区密切合作开展这项工作提供一个模型。该项目采用创新方法，利用跨越十年的机构，成绩单和调查数据对交叉性进行定量建模。该研究项目考察了STEM小气候，重点是学生的经验和与交叉包容性相关的成果，或者学术课程在多大程度上支持来自不同交叉社会位置的学生，这些学生与攻读学位和未来职业的资源和机会有关。项目目标包括（1）建模和分解民族差异的纵向模式及其与STEM领域中相互关联的性别和社会经济差异的关系，这些差异与种族边缘化和少数民族学生的日常互动和学术参与有关，（2）加强部门间包容性的概念化，作为一种组织上的-嵌入式功能可识别的学术结构的STEM小气候的学生的差异经验，和（3）解决过去的限制，定量应用的交叉性理论，通过建模的STEM小气候与纵向数据和潜变量。除了推进批判性理论的使用，并将其与定量建模策略相结合，以研究STEM不平等现象，强调学生嵌入组织环境中的交叉社会位置，有助于了解如何通过定量数据来利用学生的声音，这些数据反映了交叉性的细微差别。该项目的研究和方案组成部分确保与那些受STEM领域系统性不平等影响最严重的人合作和建立伙伴关系，进行分析，对调查结果进行理解，并产生影响，以便在促进有针对性和有效战略的体制转型的同时产生科学和政策相关知识，使STEM领域更加种族平等。该项目由STEM教育计划中的种族平等（EHR种族平等）资助。该计划支持研究和实践项目，调查种族平等因素如何影响科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）教育和劳动力的改善。获奖项目旨在集中STEM企业内受系统性不平等影响最大的个人，社区和机构的声音，知识和经验。该计划符合NSF的核心价值观，即支持来自全国人口群体，地区和组织类型多样性的优秀研究人员和创新思想家。EHR种族平等基金来自EHR各项目，以表彰其项目与董事会四个部门的集体研究和开发目标的一致性。该奖项反映了NSF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。