The proposed project is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, international initiative. The goal is to integrate gender analysis and feminist frameworks into STEM education in both the Arab region and the US. Specifically, the project will pursue the following objectives:
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Create an international dialogue, ongoing relationships, and a supportive professional network among STEM UC Davis and Arab region scholars to expand knowledge on gendered dimensions of STEM in university curricula and support women’s opportunities to play leading roles in STEM.
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Develop strategies to improve inclusive participation in STEM in the US and Arab region, and to integrate gender equality and feminist frameworks.
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Develop curricula and educational resources at the university-level to build knowledge on how to incorporate gender analysis and feminist frameworks into STEM education.
In Spring 2017, UCDAR was awarded an Global Affairs Seed Grant to support the Gendering STEM Education project. The Seed Grant had matching funds from the following UC Davis colleges: the College of Letters and Science, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the Division of Student Affairs. UCDAR also received matching funds from the American University of Beirut, American University of Cairo, Lebanese American University and Birzeit University. Throughout the Fall of 2017, the UC Davis team met weekly under the leadership of PI, Suad Joseph, to develop the gendered intersectional framework for the project. In March 2018, UCDAR convened a group of STEM scholars from UC Davis and UCDAR partner universities for a workshop, in Davis, to begin to develop a Gendering STEM Education work-plan. Subsequent workshops have been held in October 2018, February 2019, and December 2019. The research team is in the process of applying to foundations to fund the research component of the project.