Inclusive Graduate Programs

An AGEP Pilot in Physics

IGP Pilot Research

Research Goals

  • Understanding the culture of participating AGEP physics graduate programs around equity and inclusion and approach to educational change
  • Documenting the Equity and Inclusion Change Efforts of R1 Physics Programs

 

Research Questions

  • What is the existing climate and culture of physics departments based on the experiences and perspectives of department members from historically marginalized backgrounds?
  • What change efforts have participating R1 physics programs (n=14) pursued to advance their graduate programs’ culture around equity and inclusion? What has worked, what has not, and why?
  • An autoethnographic examination of like-heartedness: How can a diverse group of people work together for equity?

Survey Instruments

Aspect of the Student Experience Scale (ASES)

The ASES survey was designed to measure physics graduate students’ self-reported experiences of the extent to which their programs offer a number of supports and resources (Sachmpazidi & Henderson, 2021). The ASES includes four components, a) mentoring and research experience, b) professional development, c) social and academic support, and d) financial support. Through ASES, we intended to provide a tool for program administrators to conduct end-of-semester or year evaluations of the student experience and identify targeted interventions. 

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Culture around Inclusion and Systemic Change in Physics (CISCP)

The survey is designed to collect data from physics students and faculty on the culture of the physics department around inclusion and organizational change (Sachmpazidi & Turpen, forthcoming). The survey design was informed by a series of collaborative design sessions in which leaders and representatives of American Physical Society (APS) and American Institute of Physics (AIP) change initiatives, APS committee representatives, AIP Statistical Research Center (SRC), and graduate student representatives identified key areas of focus around inclusion and organizational change that this survey should assess. The survey will be administered by the AIP SRC to more than 160 physics programs across the country. This project sets the foundation for conducting population studies that measure the state of progress of the physics community along these cultural dimensions.

Institutional Transformation Alliance (ITA) Research

Research is infused through every aspect of our work to inform our efforts in continuous cycles of reflection and action. We will study the following lines of inquiry:

 

      • What are characteristics of graduate physics programs that are the biggest contributors to inequity? These will include practices, policies, and procedures, as well as climate and culture.
      • How do departmental teams work to enact systemic and cultural change? A qualitative study that draws on participant interviews and meeting fieldnotes to document the teamwork processes that take place in department teams.
      • How does a new culture around systemic change and inclusion in graduate education diffuse and propagate? A mixed method, critical social network analysis approach to document: (1) department members academic networks within their physics programs and how it relates to the potential propagation of a new culture around approach to systemic change and inclusion; (2) the networks across the other participating departments; (3) networks of expansion locally to advance to adjacent STEM departments.
      • What interventions work for improving equity in physics departments? As we plan to have multiple departments enacting from among a set of interventions, we will be able to have significant statistical power.
      • A qualitative study design focusing on physics department support for graduate students with disabilities. Our inquiry includes two lines of investigation: (1) faculty awareness and readiness to implement policies and practices that support students with disabilities, (2) the experiences of graduate students with disabilities.
      • What progress (if any) have participating departments made toward enacting an inclusive
        and equitable culture?