A SYSTEMATIC MAPPING OF SCHOLARSHIP ON BROADENING PARTICIPATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
Jeremi London, Walter Lee, Canek Phillips, Amy Van Epps, Bevlee Watford
Abstract
Trends in broadening participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science have not significantly improved despite significant investments and efforts of educators, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Given the lack of progress, it is imperative for the field of engineering education to synthesize and use insights from existing literature to readjust its strategy for addressing this persistent problem. Unfortunately, the work that has been done in this area is fragmented in disparate bodies of literature. The purpose of this study is to describe the landscape of existing scholarship germane to broadening participation in engineering and computer science, particularly as it relates to African Americans. The guiding research question is: What are the salient characteristics of literature on broadening the participation of African Americans in engineering and computer science? Using a systematic mapping methodology, we identified and screened 1180 scholarship records. We categorized and tabulated the 470 that met our eligibility criteria after extracting data on publication year, publication type, population race, population gender, segment, study type, and methods. Our results revealed numerous trends in this scholarship, dealing with both the focus of the scholarship as well as the manner in which it has been produced. As stakeholders continue working towards broadening participation of African Americans, we hope that this mapping review not only raises awareness of the current state of efforts dedicated to each segment of the K-12-to-workforce pathway, but also illuminates gaps in the literature yet to be filled.