CAREER: Overcoming Obstacles, Building Community, and Broadening Participation: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Career Decisions of Black Men in Computing

教师早期职业发展（Career）计划是一项国家科学基金会范围内的活动，为有潜力在研究和教育中担任学术榜样的早期职业教师提供奖励，领导其部门或组织的使命进步，并为整合教育和研究的终身领导奠定基础。这个职业项目旨在研究和理解影响计算机领域黑人男性教育和职业决策的因素。这种理解将有助于加强指导和其他同伴支持计划，旨在增加计算机、信息学和工程（CIE）学科中代表性不足群体的个人保留率。无处不在的计算和数字信息正在推动世界的快速变化。多样性对美国保持全球竞争力的CIE劳动力至关重要。本项目将使用定性方法来研究个人和环境对学习CIE及其支持系统、兴趣水平、满意度和大学学位课程保留的黑人男性的影响之间的关系。本研究将运用性别与信息技术的个体差异理论和社会认知职业理论的要素，探索影响黑人男性教育和职业决策的独特的个体特征。加深对这些特征及其相互关系的了解，将有助于提高对黑人男性在计算机领域的保留和成功障碍的认识。综合研究和教育计划包括开发一门新课程和建立BLKGENIUS网络，以吸引黑人男性参与计算机行业，并为他们提供榜样和导师，以促进留用和成功。该奖项由传统黑人学院和大学本科计划（HBCU-UP）资助，该计划为加强hbcu的STEM本科教育和研究提供奖励。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。

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is a National Science Foundation-wide activity that offers awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education, to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization, and to build a foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. This CAREER project aims to examine and understand factors that contribute to the education and career decisions of Black men in computing. This understanding will inform enhancements to mentoring and other peer support programs designed to increase the retention of individuals from underrepresented groups in computing, informatics, and engineering (CIE) disciplines. The ubiquity of computing and digital information is driving rapid change in the world. Diversity is essential for the United States to maintain a globally competitive CIE workforce.Qualitative methods will be used in this project to examine relationships among individual and environmental influences on Black men studying CIE and their support systems, interest levels, satisfaction, and retention in university degree programs. Utilizing elements of both the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT and the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research will explore the unique, individual characteristics that influence and impact the educational and career decisions of Black men. Increased understanding of these characteristics and their relationships will advance awareness of barriers to retention and success for Black men in computing. The integrated research and education plans include the development of a new course and the establishment of the BLKGENIUS network to engage Black men in computing and match them with role models and mentors in order to promote retention and success. This award is funded by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), which provides awards to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs.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.