Research Initiation: Reimagining Engineering Societies and Organizations to Support Participation of Women and Underrepresented Minority Students

长期以来，学生参与学科工程社团和组织一直是课外活动的一个重要方面。课外经历通常是通往职业安置、国际旅行以及在工程环境中积累社会和文化资本等许多好处的门户。成功的学生似乎“找到了自己的路”，成为组织的一员，最终成为一门学科的一员。但这些机会并不总是以公平的方式提供。尽管大约有三分之一的工程专业学生参加了这些组织，但女性和未被充分代表的少数族裔学生在参与这些组织时面临着许多独特的挑战。换句话说，公平地说，那些从参与这些工程协会和组织中获益最多的学生，正是那些参与这些协会和组织的最低层次的学生。因此，至关重要的是，学生成功的利益相关者必须具备制定和维持这些工程学会和组织的积极变化和包容性卓越所需的知识和技能。因此，该项目涉及两个关键目标。首先，这项工作探讨了妇女和未被充分代表的少数民族学生在工程学会和组织中的参与问题。深入了解个人与组织互动和归属的方式可以减轻参与和参与职业的障碍。其次，该项目将首席研究员引入工程教育研究领域，在学生保留、专业发展和组织变革的交叉点上催化一个新的创新研究企业。本项目提供了工程学会和组织的整体视图，以及对这些组织中发生的学习的深入理解，以及如何支持或阻碍学生的参与和归属感。为了达到研究目的，采用嵌入式案例研究设计来调查学生对工程社团和组织的看法、这些组织的实践和政策以及俄勒冈州立大学机械、工业和制造工程学院更广泛的制度背景之间的相互作用。研究进行了两年多的时间，第一年的目的是通过访谈和调查来探索学生的观点，同时磨练二年级采用的深入数据收集方法。二年级的数据收集是一种“深入”的方法，需要对指导教师和学生成员进行定性访谈；收集与给定的组织实践和文化相关的文档和工件（例如，思考、认识和行动的方式）；对会议和活动进行人种学上的观察。虽然案例研究方法提供了对研究地点生态系统的丰富而细致的理解，但指导目标与研究并行，共同pi提供了一系列定性方法的框架学习机会。为了达到指导的目的，这个项目利用了一个指导的理论模型，在这个模型中，专业发展从职业和社会心理两个维度来考虑。项目团队利用这一模式将首席研究员引入工程教育领域，为创新研究的开展提供支持，并创建一个教育工作者网络，投资于在工程课程空间中培养包容性氛围。在整个项目中，首席研究员获得了严格的工程教育方法的接触和经验，同时也获得了关于如何将研究结果应用于实践的指导和指导。综上所述，本项目加强了对扩大eso参与的机构和组织方法的理解，并授权一个新的研究企业通过持续的工程教育研究实践来推动积极的教育变革。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。

Student participation in disciplinary Engineering Societies and Organizations have long been a significant facet of co-curricular activities. The co-curricular experiences are often a gateway to much good such as career placement, international travel, and the general accrual of social and cultural capital in engineering contexts. Successful students seem to "find their way" and come to belong as members of the organization and ultimately members of a discipline. But these opportunities are not always available in an equitable manner. And although roughly one third of all engineering students participate in these organizations, women and underrepresented minority students face a number of unique challenges regarding their involvement in them. Put differently, it may be fair to say that the same students who stand to gain the most from participating in these Engineering Societies and Organizations are the very students who participate in them at the lowest levels. Therefore, it is critical that stakeholders in student success are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to enact and sustain positive change and inclusive excellence in these Engineering Societies and Organizations. This project therefore addresses two key aims. First, this work explores issues surrounding participation of women and underrepresented minority students in Engineering Societies and Organizations. Gaining a deeper understanding of the way individuals interact with and come to belong within an organization can mitigate barriers to participation and engagement with the profession. Second, this project introduces the Principal Investigator into the field of engineering education research, catalyzing a new and innovative research enterprise at the intersection of student retention, professional development, and organizational change. This project offers a holistic view of the landscape of Engineering Societies and Organizations as well as an in-depth understanding of the learning that takes place within these organizations and how that supports or hinders student participation and belonging. To meet the research aim, an embedded case study design is used to investigate the interactions between student perceptions of engineering societies and organizations, the practices and policies of those organizations, and the broader institutional context of the school of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. The research takes places over two years, with Year 1 designed to explore student perspectives through interviews and surveys while honing the in-depth data collection approach employed in Year 2. Data collection in Year 2 represents a "deep dive" approach, which entails conducting qualitative interviews with faculty advisors and student members; collecting documents and artifacts relevant to given organizational practices and culture (i.e., ways of thinking, knowing, and doing); and conducting ethnographically-informed observations of meetings and events. While the case study methodology offers a rich, nuanced understanding of ecosystem at the research site, the mentoring aim runs parallel to the research, with co-PIs providing scaffolded learning opportunities with a range of qualitative methods. To then meet the mentoring aim, this project leverages a theoretical model of mentoring in which professional development is considered along both Career and Psychosocial dimensions. The project team leverages this model to introduce the Principal Investigator to the field of engineering education, provide support in the conduct of innovative research, and create a network of educators invested in cultivating inclusive climates in co-curricular spaces in engineering. Throughout the project, the Principal Investigator gains exposure to and experience with rigorous engineering education methodologies while also receiving guidance and mentoring regarding ways to apply findings in practice. Taken together, this project enhances understanding of institutional and organizational approaches to broadening participation in ESOs, and empowers a new research enterprise to drive positive educational change through the sustained practice of engineering education research.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.