Fostering Inclusive Learning Environments while Navigating DEI Backlash

valerie a guerrero williamson

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Conference: 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
Start Date: February 25, 2024
End Date: February 27, 2024
Conference Session: Track 7: Technical Session 8: Fostering Inclusive Learning Environments while Navigating DEI Backlash
Tagged Topics: Diversity and CoNECD Paper Sessions
Page Count: 29
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--45454
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/45454
Download Count: 110

Paper Authors

biography

valerie a guerrero williamson Stevens Institute of Technology orcid.org/0009-0003-3625-0263

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Having attended nearly a dozen schools before graduating from high school, Dr. valerie guerrero williamson has held a lifelong interest in combatting educational inequities across the United States. Dr. v has spent more than 15 years facilitating equity-oriented organizational change in post-secondary institutions. Her academic credentials include a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz; an MEd in Student Affairs with a graduate certificate in social justice education from Iowa State University; and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah where she studied Educational Leadership and Policy and also earned a graduate certificate in gender studies from the School of Social Transformation.

Whether related to research, practice, or teaching, Dr. valerie guerrero williamson has prioritized strategic, research-informed efforts to actualize equity for students, staff, and faculty. Broadly, her research focuses on higher education at the organizational level, including change models and their implementation, campus climates and cultures, cultivating critical praxis, and faculty development and socialization. Dr. v has also developed and led hundreds of educational workshops focused on issues related to power, privilege, social justice, and social identities such as race, ability, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

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Abstract

The year 2020 in the United States marked what appeared to be a historic shift toward racial justice, equity, and inclusion. However, as of May 31, 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has identified 491 bills in the 2023 legislative session that target the freedoms, rights, and safety of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities (ACLU, 2023). Similarly, in 2023 20 states in the U.S. have seen 35 anti-DEI bills introduced that restrict DEI offices and their staff, use of diversity statements, DEI-related training, and identity-based equity in hiring and admissions within colleges and universities (Lu, et al. 2023). Amid this tumultuous landscape, faculty and administrators continue to educate post-secondary learners, enhance their ability to thrive, and prepare them for the workforce. The ever-present need for the fields of computing and engineering to more closely reflect the composition of society while simultaneously developing the future minds in these disciplines has increasingly become a contentious and in some places illegal, goal. Despite inconsistent guidance and resources, educators in and out of the classroom have been managing the goals of their role, institutional and socio-historic pressures, and their duty to cultivate environments where all learners can flourish.

In this presentation, we will discuss the complex challenges faced by U.S. educators seeking to cultivate successful learning environments for underrepresented populations in engineering and computing. A primary goal of this session is to investigate and recognize signals of DEI backlash and inclusion, respectively. Throughout the session, attention will be made to the specific contexts of the session attendees, including identifying indicators of backlash and challenges specific to their social environments. Examples of backlash at the national, state, institutional, and individual levels will be explored along with recommendations for trouble-shooting these challenges. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the potential impact of DEI backlash on learning environments and post-secondary organizations as well as strategies for broadening how we accomplish goals for inclusion.

Citation
Format

guerrero williamson, V. A. (2024, February), Fostering Inclusive Learning Environments while Navigating DEI Backlash Paper presented at 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD), Arlington, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--45454

TY - CPAPER
AB - The year 2020 in the United States marked what appeared to be a historic shift toward racial justice, equity, and inclusion. However, as of May 31, 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has identified 491 bills in the 2023 legislative session that target the freedoms, rights, and safety of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities (ACLU, 2023). Similarly, in 2023 20 states in the U.S. have seen 35 anti-DEI bills introduced that restrict DEI offices and their staff, use of diversity statements, DEI-related training, and identity-based equity in hiring and admissions within colleges and universities (Lu, et al. 2023). Amid this tumultuous landscape, faculty and administrators continue to educate post-secondary learners, enhance their ability to thrive, and prepare them for the workforce. The ever-present need for the fields of computing and engineering to more closely reflect the composition of society while simultaneously developing the future minds in these disciplines has increasingly become a contentious and in some places illegal, goal. Despite inconsistent guidance and resources, educators in and out of the classroom have been managing the goals of their role, institutional and socio-historic pressures, and their duty to cultivate environments where all learners can flourish.

In this presentation, we will discuss the complex challenges faced by U.S. educators seeking to cultivate successful learning environments for underrepresented populations in engineering and computing. A primary goal of this session is to investigate and recognize signals of DEI backlash and inclusion, respectively. Throughout the session, attention will be made to the specific contexts of the session attendees, including identifying indicators of backlash and challenges specific to their social environments. Examples of backlash at the national, state, institutional, and individual levels will be explored along with recommendations for trouble-shooting these challenges. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the potential impact of DEI backlash on learning environments and post-secondary organizations as well as strategies for broadening how we accomplish goals for inclusion.

AU - valerie a guerrero williamson
CY - Arlington, Virginia
DA - 2024/02/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Fostering Inclusive Learning Environments while Navigating DEI Backlash
UR - https://peer.asee.org/45454
DO - 10.18260/1-2--45454
ER -