Developing Sustainable Ecosystems that Support Women Transitioning from Incarceration into Technology Careers

结构性不平等导致黑人和非裔美国妇女以及工人阶级妇女被不成比例地监禁。该项目将致力于通过开发和研究一个生态系统来解决这些不平等问题，该生态系统旨在支持以前被监禁的女性过渡到需要基于技术的技能或计算思维的职业。这个生态系统将由劳动力机构、作为非正式学习机构的图书馆、社区组织以及堪萨斯州和密苏里州的大学之间的伙伴关系组成。在这些合作关系的背景下，图书馆从业人员、计算机科学教育专家和曾经被监禁的女性将改进现有的混合计划，该计划包括数字平台和图书馆的面对面学习，并教授支持女性向劳动力过渡的重要技术技能。参与该项目前几次迭代的受司法影响的妇女将在新一批妇女被监禁的最后几个月以及她们工作过渡的头几年担任同伴导师。研究将探讨生态系统的不同要素是否以及如何增强参与组织提供可持续支持的能力，从而有效促进就业，同时减少再犯。由于许多当代职业需要一系列技术技能，本项目将推进有关制度化支助的知识和实践，通过提高获得安全就业的能力，使妇女及其受抚养子女受益。以前被监禁的妇女、劳动力中介机构的就业指导员、图书馆从业人员和大学研究人员将不断改进现有的一个项目，该项目旨在促进受司法影响的妇女重新进入劳动力市场。这个现有项目的新特点包括同伴导师和考虑当地劳动力市场并提供相应就业资源的生态系统方法。研究将探讨伙伴关系是否以及如何促进组织的净能力，为从监禁过渡的妇女提供以就业为重点的技术教育项目，以及参与生态系统是否以及如何改变图书馆从业人员、就业导游员和同伴导师的个人实践。研究还将确定可持续生态系统的主要组成部分，以支持在受司法影响的妇女中开展以就业为重点的技术教育。为了达到这些研究目的，项目小组将编制数据，例如对600多名参与的妇女进行事前和事后调查，此外还将对妇女分样本进行访谈；与图书馆从业人员、就业导航员和同行导师进行面试前后；对面对面和数字教育会议的观察；在共同设计会议上进行焦点小组讨论。对这些数据来源进行纵向和持续的比较分析，将产生基于经验和可操作的见解，以了解相关机构如何共同合作，建立可持续的系统，有效地支持以前被监禁的妇女向技术型劳动力过渡。结果将通过项目网站、图书馆协会会议、技术教育和研究专业期刊以及劳动力服务网络广泛分享。该整合研究与实践项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划支持以下项目：(a)促进研究和实践，考虑非正式STEM学习在STEM公平和归属方面的作用；(b)促进个人和教育在STEM方面的成功；(c)促进公众参与科学发现；(d)培养对STEM职业的兴趣；(e)为有效的非正式STEM学习创造和加强理论和经验基础；(f)改善社区活力；及/或(g)加强科学传播和公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和理解。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。

Structural inequities contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of Black and African American women, as well as women from the working class. This project will work toward redressing these inequities through developing and researching an ecosystem designed to support formerly incarcerated women's transition into careers that require technology-based skills or computational thinking. This ecosystem will be comprised of partnerships among workforce agencies, libraries as informal learning institutions, community-based organizations, and universities in Kansas and Missouri. In the context of these partnerships, library practitioners, specialists in computer science education, and formerly incarcerated women will refine an existing hybrid program, which includes both digital platforms and in-person learning at libraries, and which teaches vital technology skills that support women's transition into the workforce. Justice-impacted women, who participated in previous iterations of this program, will act as peer mentors to new cohorts of women during the last few months of their incarceration, as well as through the first years of their workforce transition. Research will explore whether and how different elements of the ecosystem enhanced the capacity of participating organizations to provide sustainable supports that effectively fostered employment while reducing recidivism. Because many contemporary occupations require a range of technology skills, this project will advance knowledge and practice regarding institutionalized supports that benefit women and their dependent children through enhancing capacity to obtain secure employment. Formerly incarcerated women, employment navigators from workforce agencies, library practitioners, and university researchers will iteratively improve an existing program designed to foster the workforce re-entry of justice-impacted women. New features of this existing program include peer mentors and an ecosystem approach that considers local labor markets and provides corresponding employment resources. Research will explore whether and how the partnerships contributed to the organizations' net capacity to provide employment-focused technology education programs for women transitioning from incarceration, in addition to whether and how participation in the ecosystem shifted the practices of individual library practitioners, employment navigators, and peer mentors. Research will also identify the major components of a sustainable ecosystem that supports employment-focused technology education among justice-impacted women. To achieve these research purposes, the project team will generate data such as pre- and post-surveys of over 600 participating women, in addition to interviews with a sub-sample of women; pre- and post-interviews with library practitioners, employment navigators, and peer mentors; observations of in-person and digital educational sessions; and focus groups at co-design sessions. Longitudinal and constant comparative analyses of these data sources will generate empirically based and actionable insights regarding how relevant agencies can partner together to foster sustainable systems that effectively support formerly incarcerated women's transition into a technology-based workforce. Results will be shared widely through a project website, library association meetings, professional journals in technology education and research, and workforce services networks. This Integrating Research and Practice project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.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.