Exploring NSF-Funded Evaluators’ and Principal Investigators’ Definitions and Measurement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Abstract

More evaluators have anchored their work in equity-focused, culturally responsive, and social justice ideals. Although we have a sense of approaches that guide evaluators as to how they should attend to culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we have not yet established an empirical understanding of how evaluators measure DEI. In this article, we report an examination of how evaluators and principal investigators (PIs) funded by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program define and measure DEI within their projects. Evaluators gathered the most evidence related to diversity and less evidence related to equity and inclusion. On average, PIs’ projects engaged in activities designed to increase DEI, with the highest focus on diversity. We believe there continues to be room for improvement and implore the movement of engagement with these important topics from the margins to the center of our field's education, theory, and practice.