Collaborative Research: Using Complex Systems Theory and Methods to Gauge the Gains and Persisting Challenges of Broadening Participation Initiatives

在过去的几十年里，在扩大参与倡议（BPIs）方面进行了大量投资，旨在增加边缘化群体对工程的参与。然而，影响bpm成功的因素过多，以及bpm面临的持续挑战，使得对其影响的把握变得更加复杂。不了解使bpm有效的方面，限制了它们对制度变革的潜力。bpi通常在高等教育机构中实现，这是一个复杂的系统，具有多个人和多个因素之间复杂的动态交互。因此，为了评估bpi的影响，有必要采用承认这种动态复杂性的系统方法。本项目采用两种成熟的复杂系统方法，为利用BPI对高等院校的影响带来理论和实践价值：(1)定性比较分析（QCA），建立了导致BPI目标结果的复杂动态和不同配置因素的综合理论模型；(2)系统动力学建模（SDM），以完善BPI目标的驱动因素和障碍理论。该项目的研究成果包括完善制度变革理论，促进工程领域的女性教师，并确定可用于促进女性成功的障碍和领域。这个两阶段项目的目标是：(1)测试QCA和SDM在完善制度变革理论方面的能力，以及(2)在将定性证据转化为定量绩效指标方面进行创新，以支持bpi影响的复杂系统建模。本项目侧重于一个典型的、成熟的BPI案例：ADVANCE倡议，以影响工程领域女性教师的成功。在第一阶段，将使用Acker的不平等制度作为理论框架，并从15个早期获得ADVANCE资助的研究机构（R1）和15个未获得ADVANCE资助的可比机构收集公开可用的数据。通过内容分析和话语分析，将定性数据转化为定量指标。QCA模型可以识别出不同的理论路径，从而导致与女性（尤其是有色人种女性）招聘和保留相关的结果。在第二阶段，将通过SDM进一步完善ADVANCE影响理论。首先，通过从第一阶段选定机构的一部分女性教师和管理人员的访谈中收集的定性数据，确定因果循环图（CLDs）中所示的系统动态；第二，通过在焦点小组中进行基于小组的建模来丰富和加强开发的cld。该项目的研究成果将包括：(1)完善的制度变革理论，以提高工程领域女性教师的地位，包括潜在的新的和已证实的因果关系，以及确定女性成功的持续障碍和杠杆点；(2)将定性数据转化为定量绩效衡量的方法创新，以及使用复杂系统方法研究制度变革。项目成果将通过网络研讨会、虚拟研讨会以及参加相关峰会和会议的方式与从业人员分享，特别是那些吸引ADVANCE社区（如AIM和ARC）以及工程网络（如WEPAN）中的女性的峰会和会议。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的EDUCore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。

During the last decades, there have been significant investments in Broadening Participation Initiatives (BPIs) aimed to increase the participation of marginalized groups in engineering. Yet the plethora of factors that influence the success of BPIs and persistent challenges faced by BPIs complicate a strong grasp of their impact. Not understanding the aspects that make BPIs effective, limits their potential for institutional change. BPIs are often implemented within higher education institutions, which are complex systems with intricate dynamic interactions among multiple people and factors. Therefore, to gauge the impact of BPIs it is necessary to adopt systems approaches that acknowledge such dynamic complexity. This project adopts two well-established complex systems methods to bring theoretical and practical value to harness the impact of BPIs in higher education institutions: (1) Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to create a comprehensive theoretical model of the complex dynamics and distinct configurations of factors that lead to the outcomes targeted by a BPI; and (2) Systems Dynamics Modeling (SDM) to refine the theory of drivers and barriers to the BPI goals. The research outcomes of this project include the refinement of institutional change theories that advance women faculty in engineering and identify barriers and areas that can be leveraged for women’s success.The goals of this two-phase project are to (1) test the capabilities of QCA and SDM in refining theories for institutional change, and (2) innovate in the translation of qualitative evidence into quantitative performance measures that could support the complex system modeling of BPIs impact. This project focuses on an exemplary, well-established BPI case: the ADVANCE initiatives to influence the success of women faculty in engineering. In phase 1, Acker’s Inequality Regimes will be used as a theoretical framework, and publicly available data will be collected from 15 research one (R1) institutions that were early ADVANCE grantees and 15 comparable institutions that were not. Qualitative data will be transformed into quantitative measures through content analysis and discourse analysis. QCA models could identify the different theoretical paths leading to outcomes related to the recruitment and retention of women, particularly women of color. In phase 2, the theory of ADVANCE impact will be further refined through SDM. First, by identifying dynamics in the system illustrated in Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) through qualitative data collected from interviews with women faculty and administrators from a subset of the selected institutions in phase 1; and second, by enriching and strengthening the developed CLDs through Group Based Modeling performed in focus groups. The research outcomes of this project will include (1) refined theories of institutional change for the advancement of women faculty in engineering, including potentially new and confirmed causal relationships, as well as identification of persisting barriers and points of leverage for women’s success, (2) methodological innovations in translating qualitative data to quantitative performance measures, and the use of complex systems methods to study institutional change. The project results will be shared with practitioners through webinars, virtual workshops, and participation in relevant summits and conferences, in particular those appealing to the ADVANCE community, such as AIM and ARC, as well as women in engineering networks, such as WEPAN.This project is supported by NSF's EDUCore 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.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.