Identifying and Improving Socio-Cultural Factors in Research to Broaden Participation and Advancement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Current precedent-based solutions to broaden STEM participation and advancement in the US often fail to deliver intended outcomes because of a variety of challenges and problems. This presentation will discuss alternatives solutions that focus on socio-cultural and culturally relevant factors aimed at producing solutions that better match to needs STEM program participants as well as method to improve the empirical data available to assess these programs. As demographics in the U.S. rapidly change, these and other alternative approaches are critical to improving attitudes, environments and outcomes for both leaders and participants in STEM.

Bio: As a Labor Economics Policy Researcher with the National Institutes of Health’s Division of Biomedical Research Workforce, Dr. Carter-Johnson designs and supports research studies and rigorous evaluations to increase understanding about and develop policy solutions for the biomedical research workforce. Prior to DBRW, she served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow in NIH’s Center for Scientific Review on strategies to increase fairness in peer review. She received M.S. degrees in physics and applied physics from Mississippi State University and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), respectively, before completing a Ph.D. in public policy at UMBC. Before coming to CSR, Dr. Carter-Johnson applied her evaluation and analytical methods doctoral training to large-scale grant evaluations as a Research Associate with Westat and to university-level educational research as a Postdoctoral Associate in MIT’s Teaching and Learning Laboratory.