Inclusive Graduate Programs: An AGEP Pilot in Physics

文化描述了一个特定社会群体的习俗、规范、社会制度和“正常”的人际行为。文化可以是包容和公平的，接受广泛的先前经验，身份和历史。不幸的是，研究表明，物理研究生课程的文化是不包容或不公平的，种族和性别不平等以及资源，权力和经济机会的不平等分配在STEM学科中普遍存在。这些不平等系统地使一些人比其他人更有优势，通过缺乏多样的观点阻碍了我们作为一个国家的科学，技术和经济进步。妇女和来自少数民族和边缘化种族和民族社区的个人在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）中的代表性不足。在STEM中，物理学是研究生教育中多样性最差的领域。特别是STEM和物理学的文化，其特征是一种主导文化，这种文化倾向于基于竞争力，个人主义，自信和傲慢的刻板特征的成功规范，这导致了在STEM中代表性不足的人群的边缘化。尽管有大量文献记录了边缘化学生在研究生教育中的经历，但在创建更受欢迎和包容的物理课程方面几乎没有取得进展。这个包容性的研究生课程：AGEP物理学试点项目将针对不断变化的方案实践和政策，以及各部门机构和强大行为者的心态。该项目的目标是在一批领先的物理研究生课程中创造系统和持久的文化变革，为STEM的扩展奠定基础。研究人员的目标是支持物理研究生课程变得更加包容和公平，创造和维持一个欢迎和支持的环境，特别是对历史上被排斥的群体，他们反过来将录取，毕业和晋升到学术教师职位的人数要多得多，使学科多样化。通过使物理学这一最不多样化的学科多样化，研究人员旨在为全国范围内的STEM研究生课程创建一个模型。该项目采用了一种新颖的结构，在多个高级机构的单一STEM学科内发起深刻而系统的变革，并与国家学科协会-美国物理学会密切合作。该研究团队由物理学交叉性，高等教育系统性变革，咨询，教学和指导方面的包容性教师实践以及美国物理学会内的包容性和公平研究和实践专家组成，将与领先的物理系团队共同参与。作为一个研究和实践的骨干结构，该团队将提供公平，变革领导，社区买入，交叉性和行动规划方面的培训。召集和召集后活动以实践社区模式为中心，注入公平和包容性学习，分享基于证据的干预措施，并得到全面数据收集，分析和背景化的支持。通过在美国物理学会中容纳策展，传播和可扩展性，数据和经验教训将通过会议演讲，出版物，美国物理学会物理学课程有效实践（EP 3）该指南将告知研究人员和物理界以及其他STEM学科有效的制度变革方法，以促进研究生课程中的公平文化。反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

Culture describes the customs, norms, social institutions, and ‘normal’ interpersonal behaviors of a particular social group. Culture can be inclusive and equitable, accepting of a wide range of prior experiences, identities, and histories. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the culture of physics graduate programs is not inclusive or equitable, and that racial and gender inequality and the unequal distribution of resources, power, and economic opportunity are prevalent in STEM disciplines. These inequalities systemically advantage some people over others, hindering our scientific, technological, and economic advancement as a nation through the lack of diverse perspectives. The underrepresentation of women and individuals from minoritized and marginalized racial and ethnic communities persists in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Among STEM, physics is the field with the poorest diversity in graduate education. The culture of STEM and physics, in particular, is characterized by a dominant culture that favors norms of success based on stereotypical characteristics of competitiveness, individualism, assertiveness, and arrogance, which leads to the marginalization of groups of people who are underrepresented in STEM. Despite robust literature documenting the experiences of marginalized students in graduate education, little progress has been made toward creating more welcoming and inclusive physics programs. This Inclusive Graduate Programs: An AGEP Pilot in Physics project will target both changing program practices and policies, as well as the mindsets of institutional and powerful actors in departments. The goal of this project is to create systemic and lasting cultural change in a cohort of leading physics graduate programs to lay the foundation for expansion across STEM. The researchers aim to support physics graduate programs to become more inclusive and equitable, creating and sustaining a welcoming and supportive environment specifically for historically excluded groups, who in turn will matriculate, graduate and advance to academic faculty positions in far greater numbers, diversifying the discipline. By diversifying physics, the least diverse discipline, the researchers aim to create a model for STEM graduate programs nationwide.This project uses a novel structure that initiates deep and systemic change within a single STEM discipline across multiple, high-ranking institutions and in close collaboration with the national disciplinary society–the American Physical Society. The research team, comprised of experts in intersectionality in physics, systemic change in higher education, inclusive faculty practice in advising, teaching and mentoring, and inclusion and equity research and practice within the American Physical Society will collectively engage with leading physics department teams. Acting as a research and practice backbone structure, this team will provide training in equity, change leadership, community buy-in, intersectionality, and action planning. The convening and post-convening activities center on a community of practice model, infused with equity and inclusion learning, sharing of evidence-based interventions, and supported with comprehensive data collection, analysis, and contextualization. By housing the curation, dissemination, and scalability in the American Physical Society, data and lessons learned will be documented and disseminated through conference presentations, publications, and the American Physical Society Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) Guide that will inform researchers and the physics community and other STEM disciplines on effective institutional change approaches to advance equity culture in graduate program.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.