A Workshop to Broaden Participation in Engineering by Creating Cultures of Inclusion

这个项目将把工程教育和其他相关领域的研究人员和实践者聚集在一起，举办一个研讨会，目的是a)围绕在工程课堂、系、中心、学校和大学中创造包容的文化来制定未来的研究议程，以及b)创建与研究议程相关联的基于证据的有希望的实践的路线图，以促进包容性。未来的研究议程将突出在包容文化方面存在的知识差距，并可作为研究人员制定其未来研究计划的指南。反过来，促进包容性的有希望的做法的路线图将指导从业者和管理人员做出基于研究的决策，以创造在工程教育环境中包容的文化。从长远来看，随着研究议程中的更多研究完成，这套有希望的做法可以扩大。由于在各种背景和环境中实施了有希望的做法，反馈可以用来告知新的/未来的问题和研究议程中的差距。通过这种方式，工程学院和学校可以有意识地创造包容的文化，这将促进更多来自不同背景的学生的包容、成功和毕业。此外，大多数学生将更好地了解包容性环境及其有益的性质。几十年来，致力于使工程多样化的努力一直在进行，但工程专业仍然以白人和男性为主。与此相关的是机会成本--只有在所有不同个体的充分参与下，这一职业才能解决当今和未来的复杂和具有挑战性的社会问题(Wulf，2001)。几乎没有什么努力集中于改变教室、部门、学校和大学的文化，使所有人都能在环境中茁壮成长。发展包容文化对于不同群体的成功至关重要，这些群体包括代表不足的少数群体(非洲裔美国人/黑人、西班牙裔美国人、美国印第安人、阿拉斯加原住民、夏威夷原住民和太平洋原住民)、妇女、非性别双重身份人士、残疾人、LGBTQ+社区成员、第一代大学生和社会经济地位较低的学生。创建包容性文化的努力会产生一个组织，在这个组织中，每个人都会因为他们所带来的一切而受到重视。为了在创造工程学包容性文化方面取得进展，使每个人，无论其身份、经历差异和信仰差异，都能取得成功和蓬勃发展，需要改造文化，使多样性、公平和包容性成为工程学教育的优先事项。一个促进包容性环境实践者、工程教育、社会科学、包容性、文化和变革理论研究人员的研讨会将是工程界的一项重点工作，它将为包容性文化创建一个研究议程，可用于指导这一领域的未来研究，并将产生一套基于研究的有前途的实践，促进可立即使用的包容性。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。

This project will bring together researchers and practitioners in engineering education and other relevant fields for a workshop that is intended to a) set a future research agenda around creating cultures of inclusion in engineering classrooms, departments, centers, schools, and colleges, and b) create a roadmap of evidence-based promising practices, connected to the research agenda, that promote inclusivity. The future research agenda will highlight the knowledge gaps that exist with regard to cultures of inclusion and can function as a guide for researchers in shaping their future research plans. In turn, the roadmap of promising practices that promote inclusivity will guide practitioners and administrators in making research-informed decisions to create cultures of inclusion in engineering education settings. Longer term, as additional studies from the research agenda are completed, the set of promising practices can be expanded. As promising practices are implemented in various contexts and settings, feedback can be used to inform new/future questions and gaps in the research agenda. In this way, engineering colleges and schools can deliberately create cultures of inclusion, which will promote the inclusion, success, and graduation of more students from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, majority students will gain a better understanding of inclusive environments, and their beneficial nature.Efforts to diversify engineering have been ongoing for decades, and yet, the engineering profession remains predominately white and male. There is an opportunity cost associated with this - only with the full participation of a full set of diverse individuals can the profession solve the complex and challenging societal problems of today and of the future (Wulf, 2001). Few efforts have focused on changing the culture of classrooms, departments, schools, and colleges such that all people are included and can thrive in the environment. The development of a culture of inclusion is critically important for the success of diverse groups, such as underrepresented minorities (African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders), women, non-gender binary persons, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, first generation college students, and low socio-economic status students. Efforts to create an inclusive culture result in an organization where everyone is valued for the entirety of what they bring. To make progress on creating inclusive cultures in engineering, where everyone, regardless of their identities, their differences in experiences, and their differences in beliefs, can be successful and thrive, there is a need to transform culture to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority in engineering education. A facilitated workshop that brings together practitioners of inclusive environments, researchers in engineering education, social sciences, inclusion, culture, and change theory will be a focused effort in the engineering community that will create a research agenda for cultures of inclusion that can be used to guide future research in this area and will produce a set of research-based promising practices that promote inclusivity that can be used immediately.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.