Project aims to identify how African universities foster equitable learning experiences for women

The challenge

Assistant Professor Meseret F. Hailu’s research focuses on how institutions of higher education retain minoritized women in STEM pathways. She was selected as a 2023 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and awarded $70,000 for research expenses. Through the funding, Hailu will explore how private African universities foster equitable learning experiences for women.

“There exists a persistent need to expand research that supports increased diversity in the workforce, and in particular among minoritized women,” says Hailu. “This fellowship will contribute to work being done in this area by identifying and researching promising approaches globally at the K–12 and higher education levels.”

The approach

Hailu will explore engineering laboratory spaces, curricular materials and the perspectives of engineering faculty — in three different countries — to unpack the contextual factors that influence how women in Africa navigate this discipline. Her work will be guided by the main research question: What can be learned about equitable learning experiences for women from a comparative study of engineering laboratory classrooms in private African institutions? 

The project will also address the following sub-questions: 1) How, if at all, do women engage in placemaking in engineering labs? 2) What messages are communicated based on artwork, signs and other physical attributes of laboratory environments? 3) How are materials such as course syllabi, flyers and physical laboratory materials used? 4) How, if at all, do faculty design pedagogical approaches to create an equitable learning environment? 

Hailu will study engineering laboratories at three private universities: Mount Kenya University (Kenya), University of Kigali (Rwanda) and Uganda Christian University (Uganda). She will interview the faculty at all universities, and capture artifacts through photos and written observations. This project will contribute to the research on engineering education in Africa, filling gaps in the literature that has yet to explore the social relations, values and practices within engineering.