| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 10, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | January 10, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1937392 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Keith Sverdrup
ksverdru@nsf.gov �(703)292-4671 DUE �Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU �Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | January 15, 2020 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2023�(Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $300,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $300,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
#5 HAIRPIN DRIVE EDWARDSVILLE IL �US �62026-0001 (618)650-3010 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Edwardsville IL �US �62025-0001 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | IUSE |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project aims to serve the national interest by creating safe and inclusive learning environments. Specifically, the project aims to begin a transformation in the way archaeological field school directors implement policies and procedures. Undergraduate education for students who plan to become archaeologists often requires a four- to eight-week field-based learning course, referred to as a field school. Studies have suggested that field-based learning environments can make students susceptible to sexual harassment and related unwelcome behaviors. Undergraduate students who have such experiences may face negative consequences that can derail academic progress, possibly even causing them to leave their chosen field of study or drop out of college. Through this project, the research team will identify and document field school policies, procedures, and structures that promote safe learning environments for undergraduate students pursuing careers in archaeology. The project team will document practical steps that directors of field schools can take to prevent harassment and assault and, by extension, help retain students in the field, ensuring a more diverse workforce in archaeology and other field-based sciences.
The research team will conduct this work in three phases. Phase 1 will consist of a landscape analysis to document current sexual harassment and assault policies, procedures, and structures that field directors implement. The research team will use the results to select a sample of eight field schools as case studies for Phase 2. Phase 2 will focus on understanding how sexual harassment and assault policies, procedures, and structures are implemented and will gather students' perceptions of safety, and their identity and self-efficacy as an archaeologist in the context of these implementations. The Phase 2 results will allow the project team to identify practices and structures that hold promise for eliminating harassment and assault at field schools. During Phase 3, the research will provide supports to field directors to implement modifications within the sample of case study field schools and evaluate the efficacy of the modified approaches. The final product of this research will be a set of evidence-based practices designed to prevent sexual harassment, assault, and violence at field schools. The research will explore mechanisms field directors can implement to structure learning environments that are free of sexual harassment and assault, helping undergraduate students achieve their full potential to learn. This research will provide foundational data to begin building theory and models to support all undergraduate students to safely engage in field-based research courses. This project is funded by the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. It is funded in the Institutional and Community Transformation track that supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Evidence-based Transformation of Undergraduate Field Schools to Promote Safety and Inclusivity investigated what archaeological field school directors can do to reduce and prevent sexual harassment at field schools and how students perceive those reduction and prevention practices. Using a mixed-method approach that included surveys and interviews with field school directors and students, the research team developed several recommendations that field directors can implement to support undergraduate student learning at field schools, while also supporting safe and inclusive field learning environments. The team developed seven approaches to support undergraduate student learning at field schools. These include 1) position students as epistemic agents in the field learning process; 2) provide a clear grading structure for students with transparent feedback; 3) support all students to participate in the field school by actively recruiting students and staff who are from backgrounds historically marginalized in STEM, archaeology, and higher education; 4) provide quiet spaces for students and staff; 5) facilitate open communication through daily debriefing meetings to begin and end the day; 6) facilitate open communication between field school leaders and students by encouraging questions; 7) serve as advocates for students and recognize institutionalized barriers that may disempower them.
The team also made nine recommendations that field school directors can implement to reduce sexual harassment at field schools. These include 1) communicate sexual harassment policies clearly, seriously, and in a non-compliance orientated framing; 2) provide readings to students and staff that contextualize the history and impact of sexual harassment on the field of archaeology; 3) connect ethical field behavior with research quality; 4) provide students with the university’s structural mechanisms to report sexual harassment, including the contact information for Title IX administrators, the supervisor of the field school director, anonymous reporting systems, and counseling services; if available, provide contact information for non-university advocacy groups; 5) provide students with contact information of local support structures and/or local advocates if the field school is in a remote location; 6) provide students with an anonymous survey form where they can share issues and concerns they might have with supervisory staff; 7) provide a clear definition of what sexual harassment is and clarify that gender harassment is a form of sexual harassment; 8) provide evidence-based training sessions for supervisory staff, particularly graduate students, that supports their ability to respond to reported cases; and 9) ensure that students are aware of mandatory reporting/responsible employee obligations and who among the field school staff is a mandatory reporter.
This research was widely disseminated by the team, which resulted in a combination of 11 conference presentations and posters, three peer-reviewed publications, and eight workshops to support the adoption of these recommendations among field school directors, staff, and supervising graduate students. As such, this research and the dissemination of the research translates into field-based learning environments that are safer and more inclusive for undergraduate students to learn.
Last Modified: 11/14/2023
Modified by: Carol E Colaninno
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