Examining How Student Identities Interact with an Immersive Field Ecology Course and its Implications for Graduate School Education.

ABSTRACT: One of the central issues in ecology is the underrepresentation of individuals from diverse backgrounds. This underrepresentation starts at the undergraduate level and continues into graduate programs, contributing to a need for more diversity in the discipline. We hypothesize that the interplay of students' identities and contextual factors influence how students perceive their sense of belonging in a field-based discipline. We present findings from a 2-yr evaluation of a pregraduate school field program, FIRED UP (Field-Intensive Research Emphasizing Diversity UP in the alpine), where students interacted with a curriculum focused on building field skills and cohort bonding. Students provided feedback through surveys and interviews conducted at various phases throughout the program. Using

SUBMITTER: Saha S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11659855 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature