NSF Award
2325593
Engineers make decisions that inadvertently have impacts on society particularly in the way they shape structural inequities, but these social justice outcomes are often invisible in engineering education. The neglect of social justice is especially troubling because history is replete with engineering projects that have exacerbated inequalities. Previous approaches to enhance social justice attitudes and beliefs are nascent in engineering and have primarily focused on in-class curricula targeted at increasing awareness of inequities. Prior research of the project team has shown that these approaches are important but present limitations in their capacity to enhance social justice action. It is hypothesized that learning about social justice in the classroom, in isolation from communities and the injustices they face, is limiting. This National Science Foundation Innovations of Graduate Education (IGE) award to Iowa State University (ISU) will test if engaging social justice curriculum in collaboration with marginalized communities and civic partners changes students’ social justice attitudes and desire to act upon those injustices. This project will encourage engineering students to think critically about some of the most challenging social issues, i.e., racism, sexism, and other forms of social inequities. This project proposes a model for social justice action. It addresses the limitations of current educational interventions which overfocus on changing social justice attitudes but not action. The project will directly impact approximately 250 graduate engineering students.<br/><br/>This project closes the gap between social justice curriculum and the places where social injustices take place through a new model called critical civic engagement (CCE). CCE emphasizes community-driven collaboration wherein students learn from both in and with marginalized communities and civic partners. The CCE model will consist of ten modules implemented across four graduate engineering courses at ISU during two consecutive semesters. The CCE curriculum will be implemented in close partnership with marginalized communities and civic partners. The CCE model posits that co-production and civic engagement are foundational to social justice. If proven correct, this model will outline specific steps to help graduate instructors create sites of social justice. The pedagogical tools in this project will help bridge the power gap between graduate education and the places where injustices happen. The CCE model’s rigor will be reflected through improvements in the following student outcomes: (1) critical consciousness in engineering, (2) moral development, (3) intersectional consciousness, (4) personal beliefs about diversity, (5) self-assessment of critical consciousness and curriculum, and (6) qualitative assessment of the course.<br/><br/>The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.<br/><br/>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.
