Assessing efforts to diversify the marine sciences

The challenge

According to research published in Oceanography, the official magazine of the Oceanography Society, the lack of diversity in the marine sciences is striking. Less than 2% of graduate students and 1% of tenured faculty in earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences identify as Black or African American. As such, there is a need to increase the participation of Black people in marine science-related fields and create a sense of belonging through justice-centered programming.

One such effort to address this challenge is through a project funded by the National Science Foundation, called Building Inclusivity and Racial Equity in Marine Science. The project brings together two entities committed to advancing Black people in ocean science: Hampton University and Black In Marine Science. Using the networks established at both organizations, the project brings together leaders in the Black marine science nonprofit and university realms, including experienced educators, educational researchers and research scientists to implement three distinctive components: Black In Marine Science-Hampton University Curriculum, a community science program and a bridge program.

Objectives will be implemented over five years to allow development, field-testing, delivery, evaluation and feedback. An experienced external evaluation team led by reearchers in Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College will support and strengthen program development and effectiveness.

The approach

Collaborative Research: Building Racial Equity in Marine Science is a supplemental sub-award from Hampton University that focuses on the NSF-funded project’s external evaluation. 

Ayesha Boyce, an associate professor with MLFTC and a nationally recognized evaluation researcher, serves as the project external evaluator. Boyce and her evaluation team, which includes other MLFTC colleagues, will use a values-engaged, educative evaluation approach, which prioritizes explicit attention to issues of diversity and equity issues, to evaluate the NSF-funded project.

Boyce and her team will examine the extent to which the project and its programming are equitable, provide equal opportunities for participation and offer meaningful learning for those in traditionally underserved communities. The evaluation team will use a “mixed-methods” strategy in which data from one method (quantitative or qualitative) is combined with data from another to provide a more comprehensive analysis.

 Key evaluation questions to be investigated include:

• Measuring the extent diversity, equity and inclusion are formally and informally built into the project.
• Examining feasibility and implementation by measuring links between resources, activities and outcomes.
• Measuring how and to what extent project activities are being implemented as planned.
• Measuring whether key components – such as professional development, curriculum, and the bridge program – are working effectively.
• Taking stock of existing opportunities and barriers and assessing how they might be effectively addressed.
• Measuring whether this racial equity grant led by Hampton University and Black in Marine Science has impacted the number of Black marine scientists in the profession.
• Analyzing how the efforts in this project can be sustained and institutionalized.

 The evaluation will provide formative data to guide project improvement and summative assessment of its quality and impact. 

Findings and impact

Collaborating with key personnel, Boyce and her evaluation team will develop a comprehensive evaluation plan examining each key project component. The team will prepare materials for and contribute to annual reports and will conduct on-site visits annually. In addition, Boyce and her team will also present findings at evaluation conferences, such as the American Evaluation Association and the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment gatherings.