Collaborative Research: Increasing Inclusion and Equity of Minoritized STEM Faculty: Examining the Role of Epistemic Exclusion in Scholar(ly) Evaluation Practices

拟议的项目研究了认知排斥（一种学术贬值形式）是否以及如何成为STEM中女性教师和有色人种教师充分融入和参与的障碍。当定义STEM奖学金价值的学科偏见与基于其社会身份的个人生产力和承诺的负面刻板印象相结合，从而产生不公平的评估过程时，就会发生认知排斥。由于许多教师的职业成果（如聘用、任期、晋升和领导机会）是由研究生产力指标决定的，因此研究评估偏见会影响STEM研究职业的兴趣、留任和成功。对学术工作作为贬值场所的关注扩展了先前在STEM教育和研究背景下对人际形式的排斥（例如社会排斥）的研究。这些知识对于为个人和系统层面的干预措施的发展提供信息，以扩大STEM的参与是重要的。本研究将：1)考察STEM教师的认知排斥水平是否因学者身份和职业阶段的不同而不同；2)确定认知排斥的经历如何影响STEM教师的职业生涯；3)研究认知排斥的后果如何随STEM学者的身份和职业阶段而变化。该项目将对美国R1和R2大学的1800名STEM终身教职教师进行调查，并对调查的子样本进行焦点小组调查。焦点小组将探讨认知排斥是如何被职业阶段（早期、中期、高级）独特地体验、理解和影响的。这项工作建立在研究团队开发和验证教师认知排斥（FEE）量表的先前工作的基础上。这项研究将做出重大的智力贡献，包括为对STEM教育和研究环境中的公平和包容问题感兴趣的研究人员探索一个新的研究领域。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、构建理论进行解释提供依据，并提出干预和创新建议，以应对教育中持续存在的挑战。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 proposed project examines whether and how epistemic exclusion, a form of scholarly devaluation, is a barrier to the full inclusion and participation of women faculty and faculty of color in STEM. Epistemic exclusion occurs when disciplinary biases defining what STEM scholarship is valued are coupled with negative stereotypes about productivity and commitment of individuals based on their social identities to produce unfair evaluation processes. Because many faculty career outcomes (such as hiring, tenure, promotion, and leadership opportunities) are determined by research productivity metrics, research evaluation biases can impact interest, retention, and success in STEM research careers. The focus on scholarly work as a site of devaluation extends prior work on interpersonal forms of exclusion (e.g., social exclusion) in STEM education and research contexts. This knowledge is important for informing the development of individual and systemic level interventions to broaden participation in STEM.The study will: 1) examine whether the level of epistemic exclusion among STEM faculty varies depending on scholars’ identities and career stage; 2) determine how experiences of epistemic exclusion affect STEM faculty careers; and 3) examine how consequences of epistemic exclusion vary depending on STEM scholars’ identities and career stage. This project will survey of 1800 tenure track STEM faculty at U.S. R1 and R2 universities nationally and hold focus groups of a subsample surveyed. The focus groups will explore how epistemic exclusion is uniquely experienced, understood, and impactful by career stage (early, mid, senior). This work builds on prior work by the research team that developed and validated the Faculty Epistemic Exclusion (FEE) Scale. This research will make significant intellectual contributions including the exploration of a new area of study for researchers interested in issues of fairness and inclusion in STEM education and research environments. 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 intervention and innovations to address persistent challenges in education.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.