Track: Engineering Education

Abstract

Research provides opportunities to develop critical thinking and problem solving capabilities.  Intervention programs such as the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and the Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP) also place value on research as a mechanism to attract, retain, and prepare underrepresented minority students for successful graduate careers, and these programs have achieved notable success. Yet, as a discipline, engineering continues to see limited growth in the number of underrepresented minorities who enroll in the major, graduate, and achieve advanced degrees. While research opportunities continue to expand for these groups, gaps in undergraduate and graduate degree attainment continue. We posit that research could be viewed as an inclusive learning system to impact underrepresented students’ agency, self-efficacy, and empowerment in engineering by providing opportunities to acquire research skills and knowledge aligned with values of social responsibility. By centering on the creation of an Inclusive Research Learning System (IRLS) focusing on equity in societal benefits and other inclusive concepts, students not only grow intellectually, but also develop an empowered intellectual perspective. We discuss the IRLS concept, and highlight challenges and opportunities related to inclusive research.