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Humanitarian engineering (HE) programs are growing exponentially to meet the rising demand of engineering and construction students wanting to address equitable infrastructure service provision. This field is attracting students traditionally underrepresented in engineering and construction, including those of diverse backgrounds, identities, and passions. However, there is a dearth of research tracking students’ evolving career aspirations through the influences of graduate school. This study conducts longitudinal interviews with seven students enrolled in seven graduate HE programs over two years. Through these interviews, students’ career aspirations were collected and qualitatively coded, including desires around impact, daily tasks, work environment, location, and compensation. The study identified three expectation patterns of shifts in career interests over a graduate education. This ongoing analysis will address the shortage of research on the career pathways of socially minded engineering and construction students. Results will be valuable for programs to support and meet the changing needs and aspirations in these fields. 

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to move beyond theoretical explorations of culturally responsive research to instead offer researchers concrete examples and effective strategies for designing culturally responsive instruments and protocols in STEM educational research. As a Black female researcher from a multiply marginalized background, I intentionally leverage minoritized funds of knowledge, cultural intuition, and experiential insight to offer a validated model of culturally responsive interview methods. In doing so, I propose tangible means of enacting critical theories of race, gender, and cultural responsiveness into research practice. This practice-based articulation of culturally responsive research stems from a rigorous analysis of 1 large-scale, multisite study on race, education, and STEM equity. Data from the study include protocols and subsequent revisions, sample interview questions, participant quotes, and research memos. 

Efforts to broaden participation in computing address how systemic school structures, educator preparation, and curriculum can provide inclusive learning spaces for all students. The emerging multiplicity of scholarship in computer science (CS) education forwards diverse voices, perspectives, and positionalities, and together, provide a rich set of evidence-based narratives that can transform K-12 policies and practices. The four projects featured in this panel bring together CS education efforts with varying methodologies focused on equity-oriented pedagogies and learning for all youth across the US. This panel will focus not only on sharing the multi-pronged efforts of the featured projects, but also on developing a shared vision among participants and panelists for what equity" can and should be in the future of both SIGCSE and CS education as we celebrate SIGCSE's 50th anniversary. By highlighting the work of projects rather than individuals in this panel, audience members will have the opportunity to learn about how collaborative efforts create and examine contexts for equity in CS education across diverse stakeholders, while also providing a richer base for constructing visions of equity that go beyond mere platitudes, toward action items for broadening participation in computing.