Value through the voices: Exploring making and its impact on engineering identity formation of underrepresented groups

制造中的身份：探索制造及其对工程领域未被充分代表群体身份形成的影响最近，大学附属创客空间的创建开始获得动力。工程教育研究人员已经对工程经验对学生身份形成的影响程度有所了解。然而，对于参与创客空间如何影响工程本科学生的身份形成，特别是女性和那些来自代表性不足群体（如西班牙裔、非裔美国人、印第安人、太平洋岛民、夏威夷原住民、残疾人、退伍军人、LGBT）的学生，我们知之甚少。urg在历史上一直与工程专业隔绝，尽管几十年来一直致力于这种改革，但在工程领域的代表性仍然不足。工程机构一直抵制变革，但大学附属创客空间的最新发展为创新地应对这种变化提供了机会。创客空间文化可以延续工程环境中持续存在的规范文化。通过在创客空间的起步阶段，我们可以潜在地影响未来创客空间基础设施的塑造，以及有助于排他性文化永存的方面。本研究旨在揭示对创客空间的投资是否正在支持另一种特权、排斥和不平等制度的发展。本研究旨在通过探索工程专业学生（特别是来自urg的学生）在参与大学附属创客空间时的身份建构，了解参与创客空间如何影响身份形成。这项实质性的、全国性的研究是新颖的，因为它针对的是全国各地大学附属的创客空间，其机构类型、地区和规模各不相同，其中一半以上位于少数民族服务机构（msi），一个隶属于社区学院系统。该项目使用叙事身份理论框架，这是一种强大而具有变革性的方式来考虑工程学生的身份形成，其中赋予经历的意义成为参与者故事的关键部分。叙述性研究方法使研究人员能够从urg的声音中为学生提供声音，这些声音通常因数量少而在翻译中丢失。这项研究将通过性别和种族/民族的分类以及解决交叉性，为这些参与者提供声音。本研究的主要数据是深入的传记访谈，鼓励参与者分享他们成为创客和成为工程专业学生的丰富经历。通过他们的故事，研究团队正在了解学生在经历工程本科课程和参与创客空间时如何形成自我意识和身份认同。在分析过程中，构建的叙事被暂时安排，然后进行主题分析，以揭示跨叙事的突现主题，以了解作为创客的工程学生的身份发展。具体来说，研究团队正在寻求理解(i)参与和体验创客空间的工程学生的个人成长和身份发展故事，（ii）在这些故事中是否存在性别和/或种族/民族差异，以及导致学生发展其工程师身份的生活经历，（iii）这些故事揭示了创客空间的文化，（iv）通过学生的故事阐明的支持和障碍如何为利益相关者提供信息，以提高创客空间的参与度，特别是对于来自urg的学生。通过质疑文化对制作的影响，这个项目可能会影响全国的工程项目。增加URGs工程专业学生发展完整身份的机会，是潜在影响他们作为工程师的坚持和成功的一种方式。通过这项研究，可以深入了解制造作为URGs走向工程的途径，这在考虑国家人口变化和近期劳动力需求时具有重要意义。这项工作也可以为K-12以及社区创客空间提供见解。

Identities in the Making: Exploring Making and its Impact on Identity Formation of Underrepresented Groups in EngineeringRecently, the creation of university-affiliated makerspaces has begun to gain momentum. Engineering education researchers have developed an understanding of the extent to which experiences in engineering impact student identity formation. However, little is known about how engaging in makerspaces impacts the identity formation of undergraduate engineering students, specifically, women and those from underrepresented groups (URGs) (e.g., Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, persons with disabilities, veterans, LGBT). URGs have historically been isolated from the profession of engineering and despite decades of commitment to such reform, remain underrepresented in engineering. The institution of engineering has been resistant to change, but the latest developments of university-affiliated makerspaces present an opportunity to innovatively address such change. Makerspace cultures could perpetuate the normative cultures that have persisted in engineering environments. By looking at makerspaces while in their infancy, we can potentially influence the shaping of future makerspace infrastructure and aspects that contribute to the perpetuation of an exclusionary culture. This study seeks to uncover whether investments in makerspaces are supporting the development of another institution of privilege, exclusion, and inequity. This study seeks to understand how engaging in makerspaces impacts identity formation by exploring the identity construction of engineering students, specifically those from URGs, as they engage in university-affiliated makerspaces. This substantial, nationwide study is novel in that it targets university-affiliated makerspaces across the country varying in institution type, region, and size, where more than half are anchored at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and one is affiliated with a Community College System. This project uses the narrative identity theoretical framework, a robust and transformative way to consider the identity formation of engineering students, where the meaning assigned to experiences becomes a critical part of participants' stories. The narrative research approach enables the researchers to give a voice to students from URGs' voices that typically get lost in translation due to small numbers. This study will give voices to these participants through disaggregation of gender and race/ethnicity and by addressing intersectionality. The primary data from this study are in-depth, biographical interviews where participants are encouraged to share rich accounts of their experiences becoming a maker and becoming an engineering student. Through their stories, the research team is developing an understanding of how students form their sense of self and their identity as they experience an engineering undergraduate program and engage in makerspaces. During analysis, constructed narratives are arranged temporally and then thematically analyzed to uncover emergent themes across narratives to understand the identity development of engineering students who are also makers. Specifically, the research team is seeking to understand (i) the personal growth and identity development stories of engineering students engaging in and experiencing makerspaces, (ii) whether gender and/or race/ethnicity differences exist across such stories and the lived experiences that have led students to develop their identities as engineers, (iii) what such stories reveal about the culture of makerspaces, and (iv) how supports and barriers elucidated through students' stories can inform stakeholder efforts to increase makerspace engagement, particularly for students from URGs. By questioning the impact of cultures in making, this project could potentially impact engineering programs across the country. Enhancing opportunities for engineering students from URGs to develop full identities is one way to potentially impact their persistence and success as engineers. Through this study, insight into making as a pathway for URGs to engineering, a critical implication when considering the country's demographic shifts and near future workforce needs, can be gained. This work may also lend insight into K-12 as well as community makerspaces.