Ocean Acoustics Education and Expertise (2024) / Chapter Skim
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5 Attracting, Recruiting, Retaining, and Diversifying the Ocean Acoustics Workforce
5 Attracting, Recruiting, Retaining, and Diversifying the Ocean Acoustics Workforce
Pages 55-75
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From page 55... ...
This chapter is guided by the overall need for expanding ocean acoustics education and training capabilities, increasing workforce retention, and strengthening the diversity of the workforce. CURRENT DEMOGRAPHICS AND REPRESENTATION IN STEM Due to the interdisciplinary nature of ocean acoustics, it is valuable to look across many STEM fields when considering its demographics and potential representation.
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NOTES: AIAN: American Indian or Alaska Native; Hispanic or Latino may be any race; race categories exclude Hispanic origin. "Other" includes Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and more than one race.
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From page 57... ...
. The complex and interdisciplinary nature of ocean acoustics benefits from a diverse workforce bringing together different perspectives and experiences to advance the field.
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. STEM education research is used as a corollary for ocean acoustics, given no research specific to attracting and retaining URMs into ocean acoustics, as noted in other areas of this report.
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The TOS survey data indicated that implicit and explicit cultural and institutional constraints to and requirements for entry into a field were identified as the most significant challenge to increasing diversity in the ocean sciences, which is where many ocean acoustics programs reside. Many TOS study respondents reported that efforts to broaden participation have been successful, despite the Bernard and Cooperdock (2018)
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From page 60... ...
. Ocean Acoustics Education and Expertise Survey Industry Responses Industry survey respondents shared positivity about the state of diversity in their organizations in their open-ended responses, indicating that internship or apprenticeship programs focused specifically on recruiting students from underserved populations or targeted their program to meet the needs of a diverse audience.
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would appear to offer a large pool to recruit into acoustics-related careers. Encouraging international students to pursue ocean acoustics or related fields of study could benefit industry, especially multinational companies.
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. The loss of women in the STEM workforce is even greater for underrepresented groups.
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Conclusion 5-2: Although a more accurate accounting regarding diversity among ocean acoustics professionals and students is needed, the community does need to take action now to accelerate diversity and retain a diverse workforce. Recommendation 5-1: The ocean acoustics community should increase diversity and retention through the following: • Institutions of higher education offering degrees in disciplines supporting ocean acoustics should increase academic retention programs to promote a sense of belonging for underrepresented students within STEM disciplines.
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From page 64... ...
, and the public about the discipline and potential career paths. Exposure Through Music Education For many students, exposure to acoustics topics comes through music education, where they may learn some basic acoustics principles, such as intensity, frequency, and duration.
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The Teacher at Sea website could be a place for sharing K–12 ocean acoustics activities that are classroom ready. Conclusion 5-4: While acknowledging the difficulties involved with changing K–12 curricula and education standards, exposure to acoustics can occur through supplemental or extracurricular activities, such as the Science for Tomorrow initiative and the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
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From page 66... ...
Chapter 3 delineates the landscape of ocean acoustics education in this sector, with Table 3-1 listing programs that either offer formal degrees or have an emphasis in ocean acoustics or related courses. Ocean acoustics and acoustics in general have a limited presence on most U.S.
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From page 67... ...
TABLE 5-2 Associate of Science Marine Technology Degree Programs School Program focus College of the Florida Keys Marine engineering, mechanics, management and seamanship -- no acoustics New England Institute of Technology Service of mechanical, electrical, electronic, and hydraulic systems -- no acoustics Kingsborough College Oceanography, seamanship, navigation, marine electronics, marina operations, vessel repair Mass Maritime Academy Marine engineering, oceanography, environmental protection -- possible acoustics content Cape Fear Community College Marine instrumentation, oceanography, hydrographic survey, data acquisition -- possible acoustics content Prince William Sound College Service of mechanical, electrical, electronic systems -- no acoustics SUNY Maritime College Engine-room- and deck-focused programs -- no acoustics State Fair Community College Engine mechanics program Broward College Marine engine mechanics Skagit Valley College Marine maintenance Conclusion 5-6: Awareness of the need for ocean acousticians is bi-directional. Ocean acoustics programs should consider connections to tangential community college programs, and community college programs should consider including ocean acoustics components in existing marine technician programs.
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From page 68... ...
With ocean science included in the emerging national science education standards, students would be exposed to its content and career paths before they reached college. As a result, NSF provided funding for a nationally coordinated effort to improve and promote ocean sciences and ocean science education for the benefit of society: the National Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE)
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From page 69... ...
Through ISC telepresence programming, ocean scientists have interacted with diverse audiences and promote an appreciation and understanding of the ocean. Evaluation of ISC's programs have shown that telepresence is a useful and effective digital media interface for communicating ocean science content and raising understanding about ocean research (Scowcroft et al., 2015)
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Several informative resources are available regarding enacting change, including the consensus study report on Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations, which states that "without actively dismantling policies and practices that disadvantage people from minoritized groups, STEMM organizations stand to lose much needed talent and innovation as well as the ideas that come from having a diverse workforce" (NASEM, 2023)
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, experiential programs may play a pivotal role in engaging and entraining undergraduate students in this field. Despite only a few experiential learning programs that focus on acoustics and related research activities for undergraduate students, the ASA SURIEA, highlighted in Chapter 3, stands out as one of the rare initiatives offering formal avenues for undergraduate students to engage in acoustics research beyond their immediate campuses.
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Conclusion 5-9: Raising awareness of the variety of career paths and jobs relating to ocean acoustics along with increasing the understanding of how many of these are connected to community needs will better engage society and reduce the perception that ocean acoustics is an overly specialized field. Prepublication Copy
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found that undergraduate research experiences are associated with a greater likelihood of STEM career entry and retention. Physics courses are necessary undergraduate preparation for students who may wish to pursue a graduate course of study related to ocean acoustics or a career path related to many marine technologies (e.g., robotics, sensors, oceanographic instrumentation)
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Many people entering ocean acoustics related careers need to learn on the job; as this study's survey showed, few institutions offer degrees in ocean acoustics. Workplaces can encourage employees to engage in a variety of professional development programs, such as encouraging them to take courses through tuition reimbursement upon successful course completion; earn stackable microcredentials; or attend professional society meetings and conferences and offering internal company training (see Chapter 3)
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From page 75... ...
Community-wide, coordinated efforts to address specifically recruitment at the undergraduate level and retention of students in formal education programs, as well as professionals in careers as educators, researchers, or practitioners, are critical for building a robust and diverse workforce that meets the needs of the nation. 5 See https://dosits.org/decision-makers/webinar-series.
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