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1. Towards a National Agenda for Broadening the Participation of African Americans in Engineering and Computer Science: Insights from Year 1

   Lee, W. C.; London, J. S.; Watford, B. A.; Holloman, T. K.; Jew, G.; Halkiyo, A. B. (June 2018, ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings)

   While broadening participation is a national problem, to date, efforts tend to respond with local solutions. Though valuable, such efforts are insufficient and have only led to incremental progress. If the goal is wide-scale improvements, we argue that there is a need to take a step back and re-examine what has been done in terms of research and practice. Accordingly, the proposed work engages multiples sources to present a nationwide solution to a national problem and, hopefully, spark a change in the demographic trends of engineers and computer scientists—an area where progress has been stagnant. The purpose of this study is to (1) critically evaluate the research-to-practice cycle as it relates to broadening participation; and (2) set a national agenda for broadening the participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science that is informed by existing literature and subject matter experts. To address this purpose, our three-phase project entails the following: (1) a systematic review of the literature on barriers to participation and proposed solutions for each juncture of the education-to-workforce pathway; (2) interviews with subject-matter experts to discuss their professional experiences regarding broadening the participation of African Americans, and what can be done to gain momentum in this regard; and (3) a Delphi study to reach consensus on the key issues, gaps in our understanding, significant questions, and breakdowns in the Innovation Cycle of Educational Practice and Research. This project started in January 2017 and is well underway. Our poster will present a summary of the results from Phase 1, our progress in Phase 2, and plans for Phase 3. 

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2. Computing Resilient Identity Development and Maintenance of Black Americans who Earned a Ph.D. in Computing

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028648  

   Cummings, R.T; Lowens, B.M; Nelson, W; Gosha, K. (January 2019, Proceedings of the 2019 Frontiers in Education Conference)

   This Research Full Paper presents a qualitative interview and descriptive study on computing resilient identity development of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in a computing field. Low sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to low participation and performance of African Americans have lower participation and performance in computing as compared to their White and Asian counterparts. Computing identity including sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to this deficit. To increase African American successful representation in computing, resilience is explored to identify the support systems, challenges, and coping processes of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in computing. Indepth, semi-structured interviews of African American post-docs, faculty, and industry researchers in computing fields were implemented. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were analyzed with a hybrid inductive-deductive qualitative content analysis. Surveys were employed to document participants’ work resilience and personality to supplement the qualitative data. Results include the resilient identity development of participants by reciting background information, challenges and support systems in their respective employment, and how they react to such stressors and supports, and the productive they are while persevering. Findings from this work can be used to improve academia and industry conditions for African American professionals and to identify resources that were suggested to be pivotal in participants’ resilient identity development within the computing field. This paper is in conjunction with other papers in an extended case study on resilient identity development in African American computer scientists. 

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3. Underrepresented and Overlooked: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review about Black Graduate Students in Engineering and Computer Science

   Holloman, T.; London, J.S.; Lee, W.C; Pee, C.M.; Hawkins Ash, C.D.; Watford, B.A. (January 2021, IJEE International Journal of Engineering Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Engineers and computer scientists with advanced degrees play a critical role in addressing complex societal challenges while serving as role models for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in these areas. However, the results of a literature map, conducted as a part of a larger study, suggest that we tend to focus on undergraduate education when discussing how to diversify the talent pool. This paper presents the findings from a systematic literature review on the barriers to graduate-level participation in engineering as experienced by African Americans, one of the most underrepresented groups. Twenty-two articles resulted from the search, 11 passing the quality check. The analysis focused on synthesizing themes surrounding how researchers study the problem, barriers to participation, and recommendations for addressing them. Results highlight that investigators tend to focus on three topic areas: (1) Student Identity, (2) Recruitment and Persistence, and (3) Students’ Perceptions of Graduate School. This synthesis presents the current state of the literature on broadening participation of African American engineering graduate students and highlights opportunities for future inquiries. 

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4. Literature Review: Research in the career preparation of Native American engineers

   Colston, Nicole; Johnson, Sarah; Jacobs, Sue C.; Turner, Sherri; Mason-Chagil, Gale (October 2018, School Science and Mathematics Association Conference)

   Despite increased efforts to stimulate diverse participation in STEM education, Native Americans (NA) continue to be underrepresented in the field of engineering as students (0.6%; N=1853) and faculty (0.2%; N=68) and at a rate disproportionate to their representation in the population (Yoder, 2016). While many systemic factors contribute to the low participation of NA in STEM fields, professional and social support may increase engagement as they pursue college degrees and consider careers in higher education. This presentation offers an overview of contemporary approaches to the career preparation of Native Americans in the field of engineering. This literature review informs an NSF-funded project to explore the factors that influence Native American interests and aspirations for engineer faculty positions (EEC 1743329/1743572). We completed a thorough search using select keywords in three databases for refereed journal articles between 1990-2017. Although there are various STEM education programs for Native Americans, there are some similarities between their specific objectives. Thematic analyses focused on (a) pre-college STEM career awareness and preparation, (b) entry and retention in engineering degrees, and (c) indigenous/native identity and cross-cultural approaches to STEM education. We make recommendations for future research and practice based on trends and gaps in the literature. More research is needed about what constitutes effective NA career mentoring. Additionally, few researchers address the implications of Native Science on engineering education and career preparation. 

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5. 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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