Examining Engineering Education Research with American Indian and Alaska Native Populations: A Systematic Review Utilizing Tribal Critical Race Theory
Conference
Young, ET, Delaine, DA. (2022). Examining Engineering Education Research with American Indian and Alaska Native Populations: A Systematic Review Utilizing Tribal Critical Race Theory
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Young, ET, Delaine, DA. (2022). Examining Engineering Education Research with American Indian and Alaska Native Populations: A Systematic Review Utilizing Tribal Critical Race Theory
.
Despite their growing population, the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students enrolling in engineering baccalaureate programs has remained static, and representation in the workforce has followed suit. This ongoing dilemma, cast alongside the continuing paucity of AI/AN success in academic engineering programs, prompts a review of engineering education research conducted with AI/AN populations. In this manuscript, papers dealing exclusively with AI/AN populations were systematically selected out of the body of work included in ASEE conference proceedings since 2005. These were then analyzed for the extent to which they accounted for the complexity of AI/AN lived experiences using a framework developed from Tribal Critical Race Theory. Results indicated that extant work does largely center Indigenous paradigms and do include outcomes tied to AI/AN communities, while not contextualizing the effects of colonization or accounting for the legal/political character of AI/AN identity. This manuscript therefore offers an analysis of recent work through a critical theoretical lens in an attempt to identify areas of focus where future work may have the most impact on engaging more AI/AN students to pursue engineering education and careers.
