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1. Toward a National Agenda for Broadening Participation of African Americans in Engineering and Computer Science: A Systematic Review of Workforce Barriers

   London, J.S. ; Lee, W.C. ; Watford, B.A. ; Pee, C.M. ; Holloman, T.K. ; Hawkins Ash, C. ( June 2019 , ASEE annual conference)

   The overarching goal of this project is to critically evaluate the research-to-practice cycle as it relates to broadening participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science, and develop a national agenda grounded in existing literature and subject-matter experts’ perspectives. To address this purpose, our research team is carrying out a three-phased project that includes systematically reviewing the literature, interviewing subject-matter experts, and conducting a Delphi study, aiming to reach consensus on the key issues and gaps in our understanding. Combined, these efforts will reveal significant questions and areas of opportunity to enhance the relationship between research and practice in this area. We are currently in Year 2 of the project. In addition to providing an overview of the project to date, this paper presents salient findings that emerged from a systematic literature review nineteen articles on barriers to African American’s participation in the engineering and CS workforce (i.e., academia, industry, and government). Although the barriers manifest in unique ways based on the workplace context, they can be organized by the three major paradigms that usually shape broadening participation literature as either pipeline barriers, ecosystem barriers, and/or pathway barriers. Most of the studies in this review revealed barriers experiences by individuals within the work environment (i.e., ecosystem barriers). This paper concludes with possible directions for future research that stem from gaps in the literature, and recommendations for addressing existing challenges. 

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2. Toward a National Agenda for Broadening Participation of African Americans in Engineering & Computer Science: A Methodological Overview of Phase II

   Hawkins Ash, C. ; Lee, W.C. ; London, J. ; Holloman, T. ; Jew, G. ; Halkiyo, A. ; Watford, B. ( October 2018 , IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference)

   This “work in progress” showcases the methodological processes underway in Phase II of a three-part study. In its entirety, the study aims to (1) critically assess and evaluate the current research-to-practice cycle as it relates to participation and success of African Americans in engineering and computer science, and (2) set a national agenda for broadening the participation of African Americans in these two fields. Phase II of this study consists of semi-structured interviews with approximately 60 subject-matter experts from the fields of K-12 education, undergraduate education, graduate education, and the engineering and computing workforce. This paper discusses the following processes: a) participant recruitment, screening, and selection, as well as, b) protocol development and piloting. Insights about our methodological approaches might be useful to others developing research designs intended to capture the perspectives of various stakeholders associated with similarly complex and multifaceted issues. 

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3. Networked Improvement Communities as Tools for Teacher Empowerment

   Childs, Joshua ; Zarch, Rebecca ; Torbey, Ryan ; Fletcher, Carol ( April 2021 , Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT))

   null (Ed.)

   Research literature has documented how computer science (CS) teachers are often isolated in their schools and are less likely to collaborate as compared to other subject area teachers. This parallels an emerging body of literature around how teachers leverage professional development opportunities to engage in their practice. However, limited research has empirically studied how professional development opportunities lead to increases in teacher empowerment and spur broadening participation in CS efforts. In this study, we report on a networked improvement community (NIC) focused on connecting CS teachers to their peers, national experts, professional development providers, and researchers to impact teaching practices and guide implementation of policies that lead to increased female participation in CS courses. We report on the role of the NIC to support teachers as school and community change agents. Drawing from focus groups with participating teachers (n=20), we report on a two-year process of learning that involved identifying root causes for female underrepresentation and conducting teacher-led interventions within their classrooms and schools. We detail how a NIC offers a novel approach to facilitate collaboration and empower teachers to implement changes that can impact girls in computer science. Initial data indicate that the collaborative nature of the NIC and its teacher-directed approach to change led to a newfound sense of ownership and empowerment in NIC teachers for addressing the challenge of increasing female participation in CS. 

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4. The Double Bind of Race and Gender: A Look into the Experiences of Women of Color in Engineering

   Cross, K ; Mendenhal, R ; Clancy, K.B.H. ; Amos, J.R. ( June 2017 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   African Americans, Latinos/Latinas, and other traditionally underserved ethnic/racial groups are needed for the next generation of engineers, scientists, and STEM educators. Women of color (WOC), in particular, represent a tremendous untapped human capital that could further provide a much-needed diversity of perspective essential to sustain technological advantages and to promote positive academic climate. Recently engineering educators have questioned the STEM community commitment towards increasing the participation of WOC. Indeed, national reports of domestic students studying and completing STEM degrees show marginal improvement in broadening participation with significant lag in engineering, despite the known benefits of diversity. Therefore, more must be done by the STEM community to attract and retain WOC. For students of color, campus climate issues around race, class, and gender are critical components shaping their higher education learning environment. Research suggests hostile campus climates are associated with students of color leaving STEM fields before graduating. Such barriers can be more pronounced for WOC who often experience a “double bind” of race and gender marginalization when navigating the STEM culture. Therefore, it is important that educators understand experiences of WOC and what is needed to improve students’ experiences in order to minimize the performance gap in key indicators (e.g., retention, achievement, and persistence). We seek to address this STEM need through the guiding research question: “How does the double bind of race and gender impact the experience of women of color in engineering?” The data reported here is part of a larger, sequential mixed-methods study that is informed by the Womanist and intersectionality theoretical frameworks. For the first time, we introduce the Womanist Identity Attitude scale to engineering education research, which provides an efficient way to understand gender and racial identity development of WOC along with the intersection of identities. Intersectionality provides a means to produce scholarship that investigates the connection between social identity dimensions and educational conditions. Social identity models that adhere to intersectionality concepts acknowledge that multiple oppressed identities have a cumulative, not additive, impact. Although intersectionality is used to understand the experiences of students of color in higher education, few engineering education studies apply an intersectionality framework, particularly for WOC. After a short pilot study, we anticipate the survey results will generate three outcomes. First, the survey results will show what intersecting identities most impact the experience of WOC in engineering. Second, interview question and potential themes will be created by grouping results into clusters of intersectionality types or exemplars of intersecting identities. Finally, we will generate strategies to overcome the challenge of the double bind for WOC in engineering by examining the context and scope of intersecting identities emphasized by participants in the survey to. Overall, the results presented here will provide the foundation for a larger study that will lead to a deeper understanding of the challenges WOC face in the engineering culture and expose areas to improve inclusion efforts that target WOC. 

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5. The Double Bind of Race and Gender: A Look into the Experiences of Women of Color in Engineering

   Cross, Kelly J. ; Clancy, Kathryn B.H. ; Mendenhall, Ruby ; Imoukhuede, Princess ; Amos, Jennifer R. ( June 2017 , Proceedings – American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE), Columbus, OH. June 24-28, 2017)

   African Americans, Latinos/Latinas, and other traditionally underserved ethnic/racial groups are needed for the next generation of engineers, scientists, and STEM educators. Women of color (WOC), in particular, represent a tremendous untapped human capital that could further provide a much-needed diversity of perspective essential to sustain technological advantages and to promote positive academic climate. Recently engineering educators have questioned the STEM community commitment towards increasing the participation of WOC. Indeed, national reports of domestic students studying and completing STEM degrees show marginal improvement in broadening participation with significant lag in engineering, despite the known benefits of diversity. Therefore, more must be done by the STEM community to attract and retain WOC. For students of color, campus climate issues around race, class, and gender are critical components shaping their higher education learning environment. Research suggests hostile campus climates are associated with students of color leaving STEM fields before graduating. Such barriers can be more pronounced for WOC who often experience a “double bind” of race and gender marginalization when navigating the STEM culture. Therefore, it is important that educators understand experiences of WOC and what is needed to improve students’ experiences in order to minimize the performance gap in key indicators (e.g., retention, achievement, and persistence). We seek to address this STEM need through the guiding research question: “How does the double bind of race and gender impact the experience of women of color in engineering?” The data reported here is part of a larger, sequential mixed-methods study that is informed by the Womanist and intersectionality theoretical frameworks. For the first time, we introduce the Womanist Identity Attitude scale to engineering education research, which provides an efficient way to understand gender and racial identity development of WOC along with the intersection of identities. Intersectionality provides a means to produce scholarship that investigates the connection between social identity dimensions and educational conditions. Social identity models that adhere to intersectionality concepts acknowledge that multiple oppressed identities have a cumulative, not additive, impact. Although intersectionality is used to understand the experiences of students of color in higher education, few engineering education studies apply an intersectionality framework, particularly for WOC. After a short pilot study, we anticipate the survey results will generate three outcomes. First, the survey results will show what intersecting identities most impact the experience of WOC in engineering. Second, interview question and potential themes will be created by grouping results into clusters of intersectionality types or exemplars of intersecting identities. Finally, we will generate strategies to overcome the challenge of the double bind for WOC in engineering by examining the context and scope of intersecting identities emphasized by participants in the survey to. Overall, the results presented here will provide the foundation for a larger study that will lead to a deeper understanding of the challenges WOC face in the engineering culture and expose areas to improve inclusion efforts that target WOC. 

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