Organizational change for broadening participation in CS education

Across the globe, we are witnessing a reassertion of hegemonic systems of domination around gender, race, socioeconomic status, ability, sexuality, religion, and immigrant status. In the United States in particular, the fragile foundation underlying civil rights and social progress in eradicating segregation, prejudice, and discrimination in education and employment is under threat. While many organizations and individuals are pushing back against these threats, the enactment of new public policy and legislation that undermines civil rights (coupled with the unraveling of existing civil rights policy and legislation) signals a shift in priority and effort away from dismantling historical structures of inequity. This shifting larger social, political, and economic context is problematic for the succession of efforts to broaden participation in computer science education (CSEd), as it reasserts old, dominant paradigms that maintain the status quo. Educational reform is a herculean task under favorable conditions, let alone an overarching environment bucking against gains made in dismantling inequity over the last several decades. Due to these obstacles, we posit that systemic organizational change within CSEd institutions and programs themselves is necessary to truly effect sustainable, transformational change in broadening participation efforts, especially under hostile conditions in the larger environment. This poster will profile one such change effort in progress within a college of computing and informatics located at a large, urban research university in the southeastern US. Comprised of three departments, approximately 100 faculty members, and approximately 1,900 undergraduate students, this CSEd change effort focuses on broadening and sustaining participation through a foundation of engaged pedagogy. Over the past two years, we built a new structure of faculty training and development that is designed to (re)focus CSEd faculty to engaged pedagogical practice, varied teaching techniques, and classroom tools that foster student learning in historically underrepresented and underserved groups that are not typically well-served by traditional teaching beliefs and practices. With approximately 25% of the ~100 CSEd faculty participating to-date (and growth projected to 35% by the end of 2018), we established our base for long-term structural change in our college. Building upon that base as a critical first step, we next retool our teaching evaluations to further enstructure inclusive teaching values within the recurring, everyday processes of the organization. By strategically focusing on an element of the reappointment, promotion, and tenure (RPT) process, we send a crucial signal to organizational members—faculty, students, staff, administrators—that inclusive teaching and learning matters beyond "lip service" and beyond environmental pressures to the contrary.