Social justice training in graduate engineering education through critical civic engagement

工程师做出的决定在不经意间对社会产生了影响，尤其是在塑造结构性不平等的方式上，但这些社会公正的结果在工程教育中往往是看不见的。对社会公正的忽视尤其令人不安，因为历史上充斥着加剧不平等的工程项目。以前提高社会公正态度和信念的方法在工程领域是新生的，主要集中在课堂课程上，旨在提高对不平等的认识。项目小组先前的研究表明，这些办法很重要，但它们在加强社会正义行动方面的能力有限。据推测，在课堂上学习社会正义，与社区和他们所面临的不公正隔绝，是有限的。这项授予爱荷华州立大学（ISU）的国家科学基金会研究生教育创新奖（IGE）将测试，与边缘化社区和公民伙伴合作的社会正义课程是否会改变学生对社会正义的态度以及对这些不公正采取行动的愿望。这个项目将鼓励工科学生批判性地思考一些最具挑战性的社会问题，如种族主义、性别歧视和其他形式的社会不平等。这个项目提出了一个社会正义行动的模式。它解决了目前教育干预措施的局限性，这些干预措施过分注重改变社会公正的态度，而不是采取行动。该项目将直接影响约250名工程专业研究生。该项目通过一种称为批判性公民参与（CCE）的新模式，缩小了社会正义课程与社会不公正发生的地方之间的差距。CCE强调社区驱动的合作，学生从边缘化社区和公民伙伴中学习。CCE模式将包括十个模块，在ISU连续两个学期的四门研究生工程课程中实施。社区教育课程将与边缘化社区和民间伙伴密切合作实施。CCE模式认为，合作制作和公民参与是社会正义的基础。如果被证明是正确的，这个模型将概述帮助研究生导师创建社会正义网站的具体步骤。这个项目中的教学工具将有助于弥合研究生教育和发生不公正现象的地方之间的权力差距。CCE模式的严谨性将通过以下学生成果的改善来反映：(1)工程中的批判意识，(2)道德发展，(3)交叉意识，(4)个人对多样性的信念，(5)批判意识和课程的自我评估，以及(6)课程的定性评估。研究生教育创新（IGE）项目专注于研究生教育的研究。IGE的目标是试点、测试和验证研究生教育的创新方法，并产生将这些方法推广到更广泛的社区所需的知识。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。

Engineers make decisions that inadvertently have impacts on society particularly in the way they shape structural inequities, but these social justice outcomes are often invisible in engineering education. The neglect of social justice is especially troubling because history is replete with engineering projects that have exacerbated inequalities. Previous approaches to enhance social justice attitudes and beliefs are nascent in engineering and have primarily focused on in-class curricula targeted at increasing awareness of inequities. Prior research of the project team has shown that these approaches are important but present limitations in their capacity to enhance social justice action. It is hypothesized that learning about social justice in the classroom, in isolation from communities and the injustices they face, is limiting. This National Science Foundation Innovations of Graduate Education (IGE) award to Iowa State University (ISU) will test if engaging social justice curriculum in collaboration with marginalized communities and civic partners changes students’ social justice attitudes and desire to act upon those injustices. This project will encourage engineering students to think critically about some of the most challenging social issues, i.e., racism, sexism, and other forms of social inequities. This project proposes a model for social justice action. It addresses the limitations of current educational interventions which overfocus on changing social justice attitudes but not action. The project will directly impact approximately 250 graduate engineering students.This project closes the gap between social justice curriculum and the places where social injustices take place through a new model called critical civic engagement (CCE). CCE emphasizes community-driven collaboration wherein students learn from both in and with marginalized communities and civic partners. The CCE model will consist of ten modules implemented across four graduate engineering courses at ISU during two consecutive semesters. The CCE curriculum will be implemented in close partnership with marginalized communities and civic partners. The CCE model posits that co-production and civic engagement are foundational to social justice. If proven correct, this model will outline specific steps to help graduate instructors create sites of social justice. The pedagogical tools in this project will help bridge the power gap between graduate education and the places where injustices happen. The CCE model’s rigor will be reflected through improvements in the following student outcomes: (1) critical consciousness in engineering, (2) moral development, (3) intersectional consciousness, (4) personal beliefs about diversity, (5) self-assessment of critical consciousness and curriculum, and (6) qualitative assessment of the course.The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.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.