Benefits of the Culture of Inclusion Survey

Denise M. Driscoll; Kristin M. Everett; Alycia J. Sterenberg Mahon

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 11
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46641

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Paper Authors

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Denise M. Driscoll Purdue University orcid.org/0000-0002-0973-0144

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Dr. Denise M. Driscoll is Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources that is housed in the Charles D. Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue University.

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Kristin M. Everett Everett Evaluation

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Dr. Kristin Everett is the owner and principal evaluator at Everett Evaluation, LLC. Dr. Everett provides STEM program evaluation services for universities and other nonprofit organizations.

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Alycia J. Sterenberg Mahon Everett Evaluation

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Alycia Sterenberg Mahon, Ph.D., has a background in evaluation, measurement, and research with expertise Exploratory Factor Analyses, Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and sensitivity and specificity analyses. Alycia's measurement work has consisted of developing and refining measurement tools including a culture of inclusion survey, a parallel assessment that can be used by either parent or teacher informants to measure a child’s pragmatic language and social communication ability, and a STEM teacher belief survey.

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Abstract

In the pursuit of addressing critical societal challenges, National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) strive to create a culture of inclusion that will empower individuals to harness their full potential, creativity, and expertise. This Work-in-Progress paper will outline the development and implementation of a Culture of Inclusion (COI) survey instrument that was designed to evaluate the inclusivity of ERCs and other large multi-institutional organizations that are education focused.

The COI survey differs from a wealth of other inclusion-related surveys because of this focus, as well as its reliance on social psychological constructs such as identification, commitment, interconnectedness and cultural intelligence. These concepts draw on extensive research in social identity theory, self-efficacy theory, the human need for social connectedness, and research on how cultural intelligence enables people to work more effectively with culturally diverse others.

In addition, the COI survey aligns well with the focus of NSF on cultivating an inclusive professional culture within ERCs. This culture is characterized by open-mindedness, fairness, collaboration, respectfulness, and encouragement of professional growth. These factors echo existing research on inclusive environments and their role in motivating individuals, driving innovation, and fostering creativity in diverse teams. Although we have made improvements in the survey over the years, the core items that comprise an inclusive culture have not changed.

The value of assessing COI in an NSF ERC has already been described in work by the authors [4]. In that paper, too, was a discussion of the added value of reporting back to participants about the survey findings and then discussing them (what was positive, what needs to be improved). Since that time, we have: (i) refined the survey to better understand the underlying factors, (ii) devised a pictorial way to represent, and thus more effectively communicate, what is meant by COI; (iii) explored whether non-respondents to the survey are also more likely to be from groups underrepresented in STEM; and (iv) revised the survey to better capture the myriad ways in which participants behaviorally support COI through their recruitment and mentoring efforts on behalf of the center. Consequently, the survey instrument is now shedding more light on the factors that help, or hinder, the culture of inclusion within a center. It has also opened up avenues by which we can encourage more engagement with creating a culture of inclusion.

Although currently used within only one ERC, our hope is that through collaboration with interested parties and/or widespread dissemination of the survey, it will be more widely used, permitting (1) a better understanding of the underlying factors and (2) an ability to look at COI as a function of the multiple way that people differ in how they identify with various demographic groups. In addition to using the survey to assess COI, however, our findings underscore the significance of increasing discussion about these inclusive factors in center activities to facilitate an environment where diverse perspectives, talents, and energies can be better utilized to tackle our present-day engineering and societal challenges.

Citation
Format

Driscoll, D. M., & Everett, K. M., & Sterenberg Mahon, A. J. (2024, June), Benefits of the Culture of Inclusion Survey Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46641

TY - CPAPER
AB - In the pursuit of addressing critical societal challenges, National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) strive to create a culture of inclusion that will empower individuals to harness their full potential, creativity, and expertise. This Work-in-Progress paper will outline the development and implementation of a Culture of Inclusion (COI) survey instrument that was designed to evaluate the inclusivity of ERCs and other large multi-institutional organizations that are education focused.

The COI survey differs from a wealth of other inclusion-related surveys because of this focus, as well as its reliance on social psychological constructs such as identification, commitment, interconnectedness and cultural intelligence. These concepts draw on extensive research in social identity theory, self-efficacy theory, the human need for social connectedness, and research on how cultural intelligence enables people to work more effectively with culturally diverse others.

In addition, the COI survey aligns well with the focus of NSF on cultivating an inclusive professional culture within ERCs. This culture is characterized by open-mindedness, fairness, collaboration, respectfulness, and encouragement of professional growth. These factors echo existing research on inclusive environments and their role in motivating individuals, driving innovation, and fostering creativity in diverse teams. Although we have made improvements in the survey over the years, the core items that comprise an inclusive culture have not changed.

The value of assessing COI in an NSF ERC has already been described in work by the authors [4]. In that paper, too, was a discussion of the added value of reporting back to participants about the survey findings and then discussing them (what was positive, what needs to be improved). Since that time, we have: (i) refined the survey to better understand the underlying factors, (ii) devised a pictorial way to represent, and thus more effectively communicate, what is meant by COI; (iii) explored whether non-respondents to the survey are also more likely to be from groups underrepresented in STEM; and (iv) revised the survey to better capture the myriad ways in which participants behaviorally support COI through their recruitment and mentoring efforts on behalf of the center. Consequently, the survey instrument is now shedding more light on the factors that help, or hinder, the culture of inclusion within a center. It has also opened up avenues by which we can encourage more engagement with creating a culture of inclusion.

Although currently used within only one ERC, our hope is that through collaboration with interested parties and/or widespread dissemination of the survey, it will be more widely used, permitting (1) a better understanding of the underlying factors and (2) an ability to look at COI as a function of the multiple way that people differ in how they identify with various demographic groups. In addition to using the survey to assess COI, however, our findings underscore the significance of increasing discussion about these inclusive factors in center activities to facilitate an environment where diverse perspectives, talents, and energies can be better utilized to tackle our present-day engineering and societal challenges.

AU - Denise M. Driscoll
AU - Kristin M. Everett
AU - Alycia J. Sterenberg Mahon
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Benefits of the Culture of Inclusion Survey
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46641
ER -