Collaborative Research: SBP: Increasing Social Equality in STEM through Children's Structural Reasoning

在从事科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）职业的人中存在着重大的性别和种族不平等，这些不平等在幼儿时期就已经根深蒂固。STEM不平等主要是由结构性因素造成的，这些因素是系统性的社会障碍，如负面的社会陈规定型观念和不平等的教育机会。目前的研究通过鼓励儿童认识到结构性限制是主要原因来解决STEM不平等问题。结构性理解可以帮助弱势群体的儿童认识到，目前的不平等并不反映他们群体的任何固有缺陷，从而使他们能够追求STEM。此外，结构性思维可以鼓励儿童将边缘化的同龄人纳入STEM活动。因此，拟议的项目通过解决三个相互关联的问题来解决STEM不平等问题：（1）如何增加儿童对STEM不平等的结构性推理？(2)结构推理是否增加了儿童坚持STEM并将边缘化儿童纳入STEM活动的动力？(3)家长如何促进孩子的结构性推理和STEM动机？这项研究的结果将为如何促进结构推理以从早期增加STEM平等提供新的见解，并将有助于为教育工作者和家长开发教育材料。该项目还直接解决STEM不平等问题，包括为STEM领域代表性不足的学生提供研究培训机会。本研究以5 ~ 8岁儿童为被试，采用认知和行为实验方法，对儿童期结构推理及其行为后果进行了系统研究。具体而言，本研究测试了两种促进结构性推理的方法：（1）组间比较，强调弱势群体和弱势群体之间的不同结构性障碍;（2）组内比较，表明结构性障碍的消除如何对弱势群体产生影响。此外，该研究还探讨了增加结构性推理如何对儿童的STEM动机和边缘化儿童的融入产生下游影响。该项目还通过研究父母在向儿童传递结构性信息方面的作用，为结构性推理的社会化提供信息。拟议的研究通过应用理论上新颖的方法来增加儿童对现实世界不平等的结构性推理，从而推动了这一领域的发展。此外，通过研究结构性推理对STEM追求和包容的影响，这项研究揭示了结构性推理如何使儿童的STEM参与多样化。最终，这个项目可以改变我们对STEM系统性不平等的早期发展障碍的理解。这个项目也得到了STEM教育局（EDU种族平等）STEM教育活动中种族平等的支持。该活动支持通过研究和实践促进STEM教育和劳动力发展中的种族平等的项目。该奖项反映了NSF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。

There are major gender and racial inequalities in who pursues Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers, and these disparities take root in early childhood. STEM inequalities are largely caused by structural factors, which are systemic societal barriers such as negative societal stereotypes and unequal educational opportunities. The present research addresses STEM inequalities by encouraging children to recognize structural constraints as a primary cause. A structural understanding may help children from disadvantaged groups realize that current inequalities do not reflect any deficiencies inherent about their groups and thus empower them to pursue STEM. Moreover, structural thinking may encourage children to include their marginalized peers in STEM activities. The proposed project thus tackles issues of STEM disparities by addressing three interrelated questions: (1) How to increase children’s structural reasoning about STEM inequalities? (2) Does structural reasoning increase children’s motivation to persist in STEM and to include marginalized children in STEM activities? (3) How can parents promote children’s structural reasoning and STEM motivation? Findings from this research will provide new insights on how to promote structural reasoning to increase STEM equality from early on, and will help to develop educational materials for educators and parents. The project also directly addresses STEM inequalities by including research training opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM. Using cognitive and behavioral experimental methods with 5- to 8-year-old children, the present research is a systematic investigation of structural reasoning in childhood and its behavioral consequences. Specifically, the research tests two approaches to promoting structural reasoning: (1) between-group comparisons that emphasize differential structural barriers between advantaged and disadvantaged groups, and (2) within-group comparisons that show that how the removal of structural barriers make a difference for the disadvantaged group. In addition, the research examines how increasing structural reasoning can have downstream consequences for children’s STEM motivation and inclusion of marginalized children. The project also informs the socialization of structural reasoning by examining the role of parents in transmitting structural information to children. The proposed research advances the field by applying theoretically-novel approaches to increase children’s structural reasoning about real-world inequalities. Additionally, by studying the effects of structural reasoning on STEM pursuits and inclusion, this research informs how structural reasoning can diversify STEM participation in childhood. Ultimately, this project can transform our understanding of the early-developing barriers underlying systemic inequalities in STEM.This project is also supported by the Racial Equity in STEM Education activity in the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU Racial Equity). This activity supports projects that advance racial equity in STEM education and workforce development through research and practice.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.