2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

CAREER BPE: A Critical Collaborative Ethnography to Center Racial Equity in Engineering Education Research and Practice

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

Background: Racial inequality in engineering is persistent but under-studied. Everyday engineering classrooms are a primary site that can engage equitable interactions and inclusive and engaging experiences, or can perpetuate marginalization and inequity. Understanding classroom inequity, understanding engineering faculty learning about race and their capacity to change their classrooms, and building capacity for further equity focus with the engineering education community are crucial goals of this study.

Purpose: We report on the first year of a NSF CAREER project funded by Broadening Participation in Engineering that focuses on racial equity in engineering education.

Method: We report on research findings from our first site, a Hispanic Serving Institution, where we engaged 3 engineering professors in weekly conversations and embedded in their classrooms for observations. We also conducted educational activities including building curriculum for racial equity learning and conducting a capacity building session at 2024 ASEE.

Findings: We document the faculty learning trajectories about race and their situations of classroom racial equity or inequity that correspond to that learning. We note key emergent dimensions of learning that we find significant to begin to establish a framework for learning about racial equity. We also report out on the evaluation of impacts of educational events and research processes. Faculty have reported significant impacts on their noticing and considering of race within their pedagogy.

Significance: This project draws a significant and important focus to race in engineering education, situating it within the everyday classroom and faculty discourse. This novel approach sheds light on the subtle dimensions of inequity we perpetuate or resist through our respective actions.

Authors

Dr. Stephen Secules http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-2306 Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Stephen Secules is an Assistant Professor in the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida International University. Secules holds a joint appointment in the STEM Transformation Institute and a secondary appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He has bachelor degrees in engineering from Dartmouth College, a master’s in Architectural Acoustics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a PhD in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from the University of Maryland. Prior to his academic career, Stephen was an acoustical consultant for 5 years. His education research has focused on culture and equity in engineering education, particularly undergraduate contexts, pedagogy, and student support. Through his work he aims to use critical qualitative, video-based, participatory, and ethnographic methods to look at everyday educational settings in engineering and shift them towards equity and inclusion. He also leads the Equity Research Group where he mentors graduate and undergraduate students in pursuing critical and action-oriented research.
Dr. Atota Halkiyo http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-9483-0117 Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Halkiyo is a Postdoctoral Associate at the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida International University. Dr. Halkiyo graduated in Education Policy and Evaluation from Arizona State University and uses mixed methods but largely qualitative inquiry to study his primary research interest: enhancing higher education equity for all students, particularly those from international and/or underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., women and/or Black students in engineering). He envisions researching and removing possible systemic learning barriers from the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and learning environment to make education more responsive to all learners. Halkiyo taught and worked at a university in Ethiopia, where he was also a principal investigator of the “Engendering Higher Education Curricula” research project. Dr. Halkiyo is a Fulbright-Hays Fellow, where he conducted his dissertation research on global education policy transfer from the global West/North to the global South/East, specifically Ethiopia, Africa.
Mx. Nivedita Kumar http://orcid.org/https://0009-0000-8354-9776 Florida International University [biography]

Nivedita (Nivi) Kumar is a doctoral candidate in engineering and computing education at Florida International University (FIU), with a research focus on caste-based inequities in engineering and computing education in the U.S. Their work examines how systems, structures, and cultures perpetuate caste inequities despite an apparent caste-blind environment. They also explore gender diversity in computing education, particularly addressing the leaky pipeline issue affecting women’s participation in STEM fields.
Maimuna Begum Kali http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-1770-7363 Florida International University [biography]

Maimuna Begum Kali is a Ph.D. candidate in the Engineering and Computing Education program at the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED) at Florida International University (FIU). She earned her B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Kali's research interests center on exploring the experiences of marginalized engineering students, with a particular focus on their hidden identity, mental health, and wellbeing. Her work aims to enhance inclusivity and diversity in engineering education, contributing to the larger body of research in the field.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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