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有科学素养的公民方面的重要性，对专门从事以学科为基础的教育研究的学者的需求越来越大。DBER被定义为以特定研究领域的教育研究问题为中心进行基础和应用研究的相关研究领域(如物理学、生物学、工程学、计算机科学)的集合。拟议的项目旨在增进了解并减轻系统性种族主义对从事DBER的黑人学者集体机构的影响，这些学者侧重于工程和计算机科学。该项目团队将系统性种族主义概念化为导致黑人学者事实上的隔离和学术贬值的一系列复杂的做法、政策和评估制度。这种挑战的组合给学者们带来了障碍，他们努力最大限度地发挥其作为各自学科内变革推动者的潜在影响。这个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散在全国各地的STEM教育研究人员之间的合作；建设具有文化能力的STEM教育研究和传播的能力；提高黑人学者所做工作的知名度；倡导在实地一级改变加强系统性种族主义的做法和政策。该项目的主要目标是增进对系统性种族主义对从事DBER的黑人学者个人和集体机构的影响的了解。研究团队将使用以资产为基础、了解创伤信息、面向社区的方法。首先，项目团队将收集、汇编、分析和可视化有关黑人DBER学者群体的数据。其次，该项目将采访职业生涯后期、中期和早期的跨代黑人学者，讨论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，该项目将通过以形成和维持富有成效的研究合作为重点的研讨会，为以学科为基础的教育研究人员之间的新合作奠定基础。这个项目的目的是扩展以前关于以学科为基础的教育研究的文献，以包括对种族或种族主义的实质性考虑。指导这项研究的研究设计将利用并促进从事DBER的黑人学者之间的真正伙伴关系。本研究设计也可作为后续集体代理研究的范本。这一合作项目由STEM教育中的种族平等活动(EDU种族平等)提供资金。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。获奖项目寻求集中受STEM企业内部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，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各地的项目为种族平等活动提供资金，以表彰其项目与理事会四个部门的集体研究和开发努力的一致性。这一奖项反映了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。

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.