Postdoctoral Fellowship: STEMEdIPRF: Scholars in the Margins: Historically Excluded Postdoctoral Experiences in STEM

迫切需要为追求STEM职业道路的个人提供支持和欢迎的环境，以确保美国充分发挥其潜力，提供世界级的教育经验和受过教育的公民。来自边缘背景的教师可以在提高学生在STEM教育项目和STEM职业生涯中的持久率方面发挥重要作用。在美国，STEM领域的博士后学者目前拥有黑人或非裔美国人、西班牙裔或拉丁裔、美国原住民、夏威夷原住民或其他太平洋岛民身份的个人代表比例低得惊人。对于职业生涯早期的STEM学者来说，当个人决定是否继续在学术界工作时，博士后经历可能是最重要和最直接的考虑之一。很少有研究以边缘化身份的学者的博士后经历为特征。本项目旨在研究专业和个人环境对来自非军事化背景的博士后学者的自我效能感、STEM认同感、归属感、研究兴趣、交流结果和职业目标的影响。本研究旨在为包容性培训空间的开发和实施提供信息。这位研究人员与为博士后学者服务的科学和专业协会建立了合作伙伴关系。理解科学认同与跨部门认同的独特方式对于扩大参与是至关重要的，这是博士后学者文献中的一个关键空白。早期的研究表明，博士后学者感到肯定和重视的环境背景有助于对抗排他性的STEM文化规范，并建立归属感。目前还没有研究表明更广泛的科学界对博士后学者的STEM身份验证做出贡献的机制，也没有这一因素的程度。本项目旨在考察学术机构和科学团体对博士后留住的影响。研究框架综合了认同的传播理论、STEM认同理论和社会认知职业理论。本研究旨在对来自边缘背景的博士后学者进行访谈，以考察他们的专业和个人环境与其自我效能感、STEM认同发展、归属感、所在领域的挑战、一般兴趣和科学交流成果之间的关系。这项研究还旨在调查参与者预期的STEM职业道路。访谈结果旨在为相关调查的设计提供参考。研究结果还将用于与合作组织和合作者共同创建指南，为博士后培训空间提供信息，提供循证方法和指导，特别是以边缘化的博士后学者为中心。该项目由STEM教育博士后研究奖学金(STEM ED PRF)计划资助，该计划旨在提高STEM、STEM教育、教育和相关学科的新近博士的研究知识、技能和实践，以促进他们从事促进该领域知识进步的基础和应用研究。该项目由卡莱塔·A·杜林基金会与国家科学基金会合作提供部分资金，以促进STEM/STEM教育研究工作的更大多样性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There is an urgent need to provide supportive and welcoming environments for individuals pursuing STEM career pathways to ensure that the United States meets its full potential in providing world-class educational experiences and an educated citizenry. Faculty members from marginalized backgrounds can serve vital roles in increasing the rates of persistence of students in STEM educational programs and STEM careers. In the United States, postdoctoral scholars in STEM fields currently have strikingly low representation of individuals with Black or African American, Hispanic or Latine, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander identities. For early-career STEM scholars, postdoctoral experiences can be one of the most important and immediate considerations when individuals are deciding whether or not to continue working in academia. Few studies exist that characterize the postdoctoral experiences of scholars with marginalized identities. This project aims to study the effects of professional and personal environments of postdoctoral scholars from minoritized backgrounds on self-efficacy, STEM identity, sense of belonging, research interests, communication outcomes, and career goals. This research is designed to inform the development and implementation of inclusive training spaces. The researcher has developed partnerships with scientific and professional societies that serve postdoctoral scholars. Understanding the unique ways in which science identity relates to intersectional identities is vitally important to broaden participation, and it is a critical gap in the literature on postdoctoral scholars. Early studies have shown that environmental contexts in which postdoctoral scholars feel affirmed and valued can help counter exclusionary STEM cultural norms and build a sense of belonging. There is no extant research to suggest the mechanisms by which the broader scientific community contributes to STEM identity validation in postdoctoral scholars, nor the extent to which this is a factor. This project aims to examine the influence of academic institutions and scientific societies on postdoctoral scholar retention. The research framework integrates the Communication Theory of Identity, STEM Identity Theory, and Social Cognitive Career Theory. This study is designed to conduct interviews with postdoctoral scholars from marginalized backgrounds to examine the relationship between their professional and personal environments and their self-efficacy, STEM identity development, sense of belonging, challenges in their fields, general interests, and science communication outcomes. The study also aims to examine participants’ intended STEM career pathways. Interview findings are intended to inform the design of a related survey. Findings will also be used to co-create a guide with partnering organizations and collaborators to inform postdoctoral training spaces with evidence-based approaches and mentorship that specifically centers marginalized postdoctoral scholars. This project is funded by the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field.This project is partially funded by The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation through a partnership with the National Science Foundation to promote greater diversity within the STEM/STEM education research workforce.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.