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Title: Mindful Methodology: A transparent dialogue on Adapting Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis for Engineering Education Research
https://peer.asee.org/28669 This research paper investigates the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in two studies that contribute to engineering education research (EER). We critically examine adaptations made to IPA to address cultural considerations and research focuses of EER. The authors provide varying perspectives in relation to their experiences using IPA. In this paper, we capture an open dialogue that describes adaptations made to IPA and critically question these adaptations.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1531586
NSF-PAR ID:
10042232
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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    Black engineering graduate students represent a critical and understudied population in engineering education. Gaining an understanding of the lived experiences of Black engineering graduate students while they are simultaneously weathering two pandemics, COVID‐19 and systemic racism, is of paramount importance.

    Purpose/Hypothesis

    Black engineering graduate students hold a unique duality, as both Black people in the United States and Black graduate students in US engineering programs that espouse white supremacist ideals. Their real‐world experiences necessitate understanding, and this paper highlights the related impact on the students themselves, their adaptations to the pandemics, and how those adaptations relate to and affect their support needs and navigation of their engineering academic environments.

    Design/Method

    An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was combined with community‐based participatory action research and was situated in Boykin's Triple Quandary. A family check‐in was conducted with 10 Black engineering graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs across the country to delve deep into their lived experience as a cultural community.

    Results

    Findings include an emergent framework of Black engineering graduate student values in response to the pandemics. These values aligned with the Black Cultural Ethos, demonstrating an adoption of collectivistic cultural values in times of crises. Further, COVID‐19 and systemic racism differentially impacted Black engineering graduate students and, thus, the manifestations of their values.

    Conclusion

    For institutions to be able to effectively support their Black engineering graduate students, they must gain awareness of the students' experiences, values, and needs, in general, and amid crises specifically. The findings presented here provide a critical window into this information.

     
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