Conceptualizing the Institutional Transformation Approach to STEM Ethics Education: An Exploratory Study of NSF-Funded Institutional Transformation Projects

Qin Zhu; Rockwell Franklin Clancy; Lisa M. Lee

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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: Broader Approaches to Engineering Ethics Education
Tagged Division: Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48490

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Paper Authors

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Qin Zhu Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-6673-1901

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Dr. Zhu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Science, Technology & Society, the Department of Philosophy, and the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. Dr. Zhu is currently serving as Associate Editor for Science and Engineering Ethics, Associate Editor for Studies in Engineering Education, and Editor for International Perspectives at the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science. He is also serving as on the Board of Directors of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, and the Executive Committee of the International Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. Dr. Zhu's research interests include engineering ethics, global and international engineering education, engineering cultures, and the ethics of human-robot interaction and artificial intelligence.

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Rockwell Franklin Clancy III Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-7797-7835

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Lisa M. Lee Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Abstract

There is consensus that the integration of ethics into STEM curricula is critical for cultivating cultures for ethical practices in STEM research. We argue that the establishment of the Ethics and Responsible Research (ER2) program, previously known as Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE-STEM), at NSF was driven by a cultural perspective on ethics education. According to the most recent version of its solicitation, A comprehensive approach to ethical STEM not only influences individual behavior, but it also maintains and fosters an ethical, equitable and just culture within an organization or research field. Thus, investigators submitting to the program are encouraged to examine organizational and cultural factors that influence ethical and responsible research practice (NSF, 2023). Such a cultural approach to STEM ethics education is primarily essentially holistic and pragmatic. It adopts a holistic approach by recognizing that ethics education occurs within a cultural context, and that an individual's ethical conduct can be both influenced and constrained by their research or workplace contexts. Additionally, it adopts a pragmatic perspective by viewing the objective of ethics education not merely as influencing individual ethical reasoning (as is commonly anticipated in most STEM ethics initiatives) but as an endeavor to engender more systematic, institutional-level transformations in the ethical climate in which individual scientists and engineers work. Moreover, the cultivation of an ethical research/workplace culture is considered imperative for fostering sustainable ethical transformation at both the individual and organizational levels within the campus community. Based on our initial search, while there have been seven institutional transformation projects funded through NSF's CCE STEM or ER2 program, there has been a scarcity of research that systematically compares these funded projects and seeks to derive broader theoretical insights regarding the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. The purpose of this paper is to offer initial insights into the lessons that can be drawn from these funded projects, with the aim of contributing to the theoretical understanding of the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. In particular, this paper seeks to investigate the following research questions: (1) What motivates researchers to opt for an institutional approach over an individualistic one? (2) What theoretical frameworks do researchers employ to tackle institutional transformation? Finally, this paper will outline how our recently awarded institutional transformation grant can benefit from these results. We intend to gather data using three major methods: (1) public summaries of these projects published on NSF’s website; (2) publications listed on each project’s dedicated webpage on NSF’s website as well as additional searches in Google Scholar; and (3) news articles and related commentaries available on the internet pertaining to these projects. We anticipate that the initial findings of this study can offer valuable insights for engineering education researchers, higher education administrators, and policymakers. These insights can aid in the development and implementation of more efficient models for fostering institutional transformation of ethical STEM cultures within and beyond their campuses.

Citation
Format

Zhu, Q., & Clancy, R. F., & Lee, L. M. (2024, June), Conceptualizing the Institutional Transformation Approach to STEM Ethics Education: An Exploratory Study of NSF-Funded Institutional Transformation Projects Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48490

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - There is consensus that the integration of ethics into STEM curricula is critical for cultivating cultures for ethical practices in STEM research. We argue that the establishment of the Ethics and Responsible Research (ER2) program, previously known as Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE-STEM), at NSF was driven by a cultural perspective on ethics education. According to the most recent version of its solicitation, 
A comprehensive approach to ethical STEM not only influences individual behavior, but it also maintains and fosters an ethical, equitable and just culture within an organization or research field. Thus, investigators submitting to the program are encouraged to examine organizational and cultural factors that influence ethical and responsible research practice (NSF, 2023).
Such a cultural approach to STEM ethics education is primarily essentially holistic and pragmatic. It adopts a holistic approach by recognizing that ethics education occurs within a cultural context, and that an individual&#39;s ethical conduct can be both influenced and constrained by their research or workplace contexts. Additionally, it adopts a pragmatic perspective by viewing the objective of ethics education not merely as influencing individual ethical reasoning (as is commonly anticipated in most STEM ethics initiatives) but as an endeavor to engender more systematic, institutional-level transformations in the ethical climate in which individual scientists and engineers work. Moreover, the cultivation of an ethical research/workplace culture is considered imperative for fostering sustainable ethical transformation at both the individual and organizational levels within the campus community.
Based on our initial search, while there have been seven institutional transformation projects funded through NSF&#39;s CCE STEM or ER2 program, there has been a scarcity of research that systematically compares these funded projects and seeks to derive broader theoretical insights regarding the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. The purpose of this paper is to offer initial insights into the lessons that can be drawn from these funded projects, with the aim of contributing to the theoretical understanding of the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. 
In particular, this paper seeks to investigate the following research questions:
(1) What motivates researchers to opt for an institutional approach over an individualistic one?
(2) What theoretical frameworks do researchers employ to tackle institutional transformation?
Finally, this paper will outline how our recently awarded institutional transformation grant can benefit from these results. We intend to gather data using three major methods: (1) public summaries of these projects published on NSF’s website; (2) publications listed on each project’s dedicated webpage on NSF’s website as well as additional searches in Google Scholar; and (3) news articles and related commentaries available on the internet pertaining to these projects. 
We anticipate that the initial findings of this study can offer valuable insights for engineering education researchers, higher education administrators, and policymakers. These insights can aid in the development and implementation of more efficient models for fostering institutional transformation of ethical STEM cultures within and beyond their campuses.

AU  - Qin Zhu
AU  - Rockwell Franklin Clancy III
AU  - Lisa M. Lee
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Conceptualizing the Institutional Transformation Approach to STEM Ethics Education: An Exploratory Study of NSF-Funded Institutional Transformation Projects
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/48490
ER  -