Collaborative Research: Overcoming Isolation and Scholarly Devaluation by Bolstering the Collective Agency of Black Discipline-Based Education Researchers

由于 STEM 在培养技术劳动力和培养具有科学素养的公民方面的重要性，对专门从事基于学科的教育研究 (DBER) 的学者的需求不断增长。 DBER 被定义为相关研究领域（例如物理、生物学、工程、计算机科学）的集合，以特定研究领域背景下的教育研究问题为中心开展基础和应用研究。拟议的项目旨在促进理解并减轻系统性种族主义对从事 DBER 专注于工程和计算机科学的黑人学者集体机构的影响。该项目团队将系统性种族主义概念化为一系列复杂的做法、政策和评估体系，这些做法、政策和评估体系导致了事实上的种族隔离和对黑人学者的学术贬低。这些挑战的结合为学者们努力发挥其作为学科变革推动者的潜在影响力带来了障碍。该项目旨在研究系统性种族主义如何限制学者的影响并塑造他们的个人和集体机构。该项目的长期目标是促进分布在全国各地的 STEM 教育研究人员之间的合作；建设具有文化能力的 STEM 教育研究和传播能力；提高黑人学者所做工作的知名度；并倡导对强化系统性种族主义的做法和政策进行实地变革。该项目的主要目标是加深对系统性种族主义对参与 DBER 的黑人学者个人和集体机构的影响的理解。研究团队将采用基于资产、创伤知情、面向社区的方法。首先，项目团队将收集、编译、分析和可视化有关黑人 DBER 学者群体的数据。其次，该项目将采访一批跨代的职业生涯晚期、中期和早期的黑人学者，了解他们在职业生涯中遇到的工作场所挑战以及克服这些挑战的策略。最后，该项目将通过专注于形成和维持富有成效的研究合作的研讨会，在学科教育研究人员之间建立新的合作。该项目旨在扩展有关基于学科的教育研究的先前文献，以包括对种族或种族主义的实质性考虑。指导本研究的研究设计将利用和促进参与 DBER 的黑人学者之间真正的伙伴关系。本研究设计也可以作为后续集体代理研究的模型。该合作项目由 STEM 教育中的种族平等活动 (EDU Racial Equity) 资助。该活动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。获奖项目力求集中受 STEM 企业内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。这项活动符合 NSF 的核心价值观，即支持来自全国不同人口群体、地区和组织类型的杰出研究人员和创新思想家。 EDU 的项目为种族平等活动提供资金，以表彰其项目与该理事会四个部门的集体研究和开发主旨的一致性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There is a growing need for scholars specializing in discipline-based education research (DBER) due to the importance of STEM in preparing the technical workforce and a science-literate citizenry. DBER is defined as a collection of related research fields (e.g., physics, biology, engineering, computer science) executing basic and applied research centered on education research questions anchored in the context of their specific field of study. The proposed project aims to advance understanding and mitigate the impact of systemic racism on the collective agency of Black scholars engaged in DBER focused on engineering and computer science. The project team conceptualizes systemic racism as the complex array of practices, policies, and systems of evaluation that contribute to the de facto segregation and scholarly devaluation of Black scholars. This combination of challenges presents obstacles for scholars working to maximize their potential impact as change agents within their disciplines. This project aims to examine how systemic racism restricts scholars' impact and shapes their individual and collective agency. The long-term goals of the project are to foster collaboration among STEM education researchers who are geographically dispersed across the country; build capacity for culturally-competent STEM education research and dissemination; enhance the visibility of the work done by Black scholars; and advocate for field-level changes to practices and policies that reinforce systemic racism.The main goal of this project is to advance understanding of the impact systematic racism has on the individual and collective agency of Black scholars engaged in DBER. The research team will use an asset-based, trauma-informed, community-oriented approach. First, the project team will collect, compile, analyze, and visualize data about the population of Black DBER scholars. Second, the project will interview a cross-generational subset of late-, mid-, and early-career Black scholars about the workplace challenges encountered during their professional journey and the tactics used to overcome them. Finally, the project will scaffold new collaborations between discipline-based education researchers through workshops focused on forming and sustaining productive research collaborations. This project is designed to expand prior literature about discipline-based education research to include substantial considerations of race or racism. The research design guiding this study will leverage and foster authentic partnerships among Black scholars engaged in DBER. This study design may also serve as a model for subsequent studies on collective agency. This collaborative project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education activity (EDU Racial Equity). The activity 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 activity 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. Programs across EDU contribute funds to the Racial Equity activity 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.