RACE Forward: Understanding and Catalyzing Equity-Oriented Change in Museums and Science Centers

RACE Forward:
Understanding and Catalyzing Equity-oriented Change in Museums and Science Centers

This study considers the elements of lasting organizational change and the social priority of increasing equity in education.

Researchers are evaluating the widely known and critically acclaimed museum exhibition RACE: Are We So Different? After traveling to more than 40 museums and science centers and attracting well over three million people, RACE is returning home to Science Museum of Minnesota, which is gathering representatives from organizations that hosted RACE to celebrate to reflect upon their experiences.

WCER is working with the Science Museum of Minnesota to learn more about informal science education as experienced in museums and science centers.

Four research questions shape this study:
1. How can informal science education (ISE) organizations better serve underserved populations?
2. How and when does the deep reflection required to change entrenched norms and practices manifest itself in ISE organizations that attempt to better serve underserved populations?
3. What contextual factors support or oppose the achievement and maintenance of organization-wide changes in equity norms and practice?
4. How common are these supportive and opposing conditions in the institutional field of museums and science centers, and how prevalent are different norms and practices related to equity?