STEM Workforce Development  

Broadening Participation in STEM

Inclusive Workplaces for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities in Informal STEM Education (IWISE)

Effective Years: 2024-2027

This project aims to serve the national interest by exploring community-based participatory research and relevant theories from disability studies and organizational change to implement inclusive practices for developmentally disabled employees, interns, and volunteers in informal STEM education settings such as zoos and aquariums. The investigator will implement a mentorship and professional learning plan specifically focused on three key areas: 1) developing deeper understanding of theories and methods from disability studies, 2) applying community-based participatory research with the developmentally disabled community, and 3) exploring theories of organizational change. The project will advance knowledge about inclusive hiring and employment practices in informal STEM education settings, specifically in zoos and aquariums, for developmentally disabled employees, interns, and volunteers and deepen understanding of organizational characteristics that advance or limit the implementation of these practices. This project explores the overarching research question: What is the experience of developmentally disabled individuals working as employees, interns, and volunteers at zoos/aquariums as the organizations change to implement inclusive employment practices? The study will be conducted in partnership with developmentally disabled researchers and advisors using community-based participatory methods to explore the research question. The study will apply qualitative case study methods, specifically using a sociological descriptive and multiple case study approach, with developmentally disabled zoo and aquarium employees, interns, and volunteers as case study participants. Data collection activities will include listening sessions, interviews, observations, and photo journaling with developmentally disabled employees, interns, and volunteers at participating zoo/aquarium sites and interviews with decision-makers at these sites. The data will be coded and analyzed using qualitative methods, including thematic and cross-case analysis, to describe the experience of developmentally disabled individuals at case study sites and how case study sites implement inclusive workplace practices. The research findings will be informative for zoos, aquariums, and potentially other informal science education settings that share major characteristics with zoos/aquariums as they engage in work to implement inclusive workplace practices, with the ultimate goal of creating equitable zoo/aquarium workplaces for employees who identify as having a developmental disability. This project is supported by the Mid-Career Advancement program that offers opportunities for scientists and engineers to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships. This project is also supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments, and the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. 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.