A Synthesis of Approaches to Equity, Belonging, and Broadening Participation in Museums and Makerspaces

尽管长期以来一直在考虑和尝试解决多样性、公平性、可及性和包容性问题，但博物馆、植物园和动物园等游客服务组织往往为白人、身体健全和高收入观众提供服务。传统上，应对这一挑战的努力主要集中在减少障碍（成本、交通等），以便让更多的人参与非正式的科学学习体验。近年来，该领域开始呼吁采取以公平为导向的反压迫方法，这些方法不仅质疑谁参与，还质疑如何重新设计非正式科学学习，以关注那些在 STEM 领域经验被边缘化的人们的需求和利益。虽然这种转变很有希望，但学习往往被孤立在以身份为中心的孤岛中。例如，解决种族不平等问题的人们并不经常参与让残疾人更容易接触到非正式科学的研究。在这个项目中，匹兹堡儿童博物馆与 EdTogether、斯佩尔曼学院和罗切斯特大学华纳教育学院合作，将通过与青少年和从业者合作，对这些不同的学习领域进行整合，对非正式科学学习中的公平性和归属感工作进行系统审查。该审查将深入了解项目团队如何在工作中谈论和实施公平和归属感，该项目将产生资源，支持未来的项目超越简单化的身份定义，从而全面满足学习者的需求。该项目将使用六步综合过程来审查大约 7,000 个关于博物馆、创客空间、植物园、动物园和其他游客服务机构中以公平和归属感为重点的非正式科学工作的经验来源。研究问题将调查该领域隐性和显性的公平和归属感哲学；该领域制定反压迫做法的程度；项目融合多种反压迫实践的方式；以及以公平和归属感为中心的工作如何随着时间和环境的变化而变化。该项目将是成熟的专业研究人员和联合研究奖学金计划参与者之间的合作，通过该计划，青年和成人从业者将告知并参与研究的各个阶段。联合研究员还将成为该项目的共同发起人，致力于发起变革，以深化非正式科学整合反压迫镜头的方式。这包括一个研讨会，非正式科学专业人士将通过该研讨会考虑如何将项目学习融入持续的变革结构中；期刊文章；会议会议；一本面向从业者的迷你书，将分享在非正式科学领域开展综合反压迫工作的见解和工具。该项目的评估将为共同研究如何挑战谁可以进行研究的观念提供指导；扩大参观者和从业者对现有非正式科学学习研究的接触；通过参与研究并做出决策，扩展共同研究人员的 STEM 和宣传技能；通过与从业者和访客的需求保持一致，增强研究过程和研究结果的相关性和有效性。该综合项目由推进非正式 STEM 学习 (AISL) 计划资助，该计划支持以下项目：(a) 促进考虑非正式 STEM 学习在 STEM 公平和归属感中的作用的研究和实践； (b) 促进 STEM 方面的个人和教育成功； (c) 促进公众参与科学发现； (d) 培养对 STEM 职业的兴趣； (e) 为有效的非正式 STEM 学习创造和加强理论和实证基础； (f) 提高社区活力； (g) 加强科学传播以及公众对 STEM 和 STEM 流程的参与和理解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Despite a long history of considering and attempting to address issues of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, visitor-serving organizations such as museums, botanical gardens, and zoos tend to serve disproportionately white, able-bodied, and high-income audiences. Traditionally, efforts to address this challenge have focused on reducing barriers (cost, transportation, etc.) in order to get more people to participate in informal science learning experiences. In recent years, the field has begun to call for equity-oriented and anti-oppressive approaches that question not only who participates but how informal science learning can be re-designed to center the needs and interests of people whose experiences are marginalized in STEM fields. While this shift is promising, the learning tends to be isolated in identity-focused silos. For example, people addressing racial inequities are not often engaged with research about making informal science more accessible for people with disabilities. In this project, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh in partnership with EdTogether, Spelman College, and the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester will bring together these distinct domains of learning by working with youth and practitioners to conduct a systematic review of equity and belonging work in informal science learning. The review will generate insights about how project teams talk about and enact equity and belonging in their work and the project will produce resources that will support future projects to move beyond simplistic definitions of identity in order to holistically embrace learners' needs.This project will use a six-step synthesis process to review approximately 7,000 empirical sources about equity and belonging-focused informal science efforts in museums, makerspaces, botanical gardens, zoos, and other visitor-serving institutions. The research questions will investigate the implicit and explicit philosophies of equity and belonging in the field; the extent to which the field enacts anti-oppressive practices; the ways in which projects blend multiple anti-oppressive practices; and how equity and belonging-focused work has varied over time and context. This project will be a collaboration among established, professional researchers and participants in a Co-Research Fellowship program through which youth and adult practitioners will inform and engage in all stages of the research. Co-Research Fellows will also be co-producers of the project's efforts to initiate change to deepen the ways informal science integrates anti-oppressive lenses. This includes a charrette through which informal science professionals will consider the ways they can integrate the project learnings into ongoing structures for change; a journal article; conference sessions; and a practitioner-oriented mini-book that will share insights and tools for conducting integrative anti-oppressive work in the informal science field. The project's evaluation will offer guidance about how co-research can challenge notions of who can do research; extend visitors' and practitioners' exposure to existing informal science learning research; expand co-researchers' STEM and advocacy skills through participation in and decision-making about research; and enhance the relevance and validity of the research process and findings through alignment with practitioner and visitor needs.This Synthesis project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.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.