Masta receives Sloan Foundation grant to study Indigenous scholar involvement
Stephanie Masta, associate professor of Curriculum Studies, received a $125,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to study the history of Indigenous scholar involvement in two national education associations.
The one-year project is titled, “The Role of Indigenous Scholars in the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)” and will begin in October 2023.
“I’m excited about this grant because it allows me to do an in-depth study of the many contributions of Indigenous scholars to professional organizations centered on education,” Masta said. “In addition to traditional forms of research dissemination such as publications, this project will also have two public-focused products—an open-access oral history repository and a series of workshops or seminars that are freely available to any interested party.”
Masta’s vision for the project is to create a space where Indigenous scholars are recognized for their contributions to educational research associations. The open-access aspect of the project will make resources available to tribal communities and other organizations as well as to academia.
The workshops and seminars Masta plans to develop will highlight Indigenous scholarly contributions to professional organizations and provide suggestions for how to make professional spaces supportive for Indigenous scholars.
Masta will use the funding to hire a postdoctoral research associate to conduct research on the historical contributions of Indigenous scholars to the AERA and the ASEE.
“I hope to hire someone who has experience working with Indigenous research methods and is very familiar with Indigenous communities,” Masta said.
“Professor Masta’s research will help us better understand the work of indigenous scholars in the field of education so we can both recognize their past efforts and encourage their future contributions,” said Janet Alsup, department head of the College’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and professor of Literacy and Language Education.
Source: Stephanie Masta, szywicki@purdue.edu
Stephanie Masta is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of Chippewa Indians and an associate professor in Curriculum Studies in Purdue University’s College of Education, with affiliate appointments in American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Engineering Education. Much of her research focuses on the experiences of Brown and Black individuals in K-20 educational environments, with particular interest in Indigenous peoples and their relationships to academic spaces.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven grantmaking institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in four broad areas: direct support of research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics; initiatives to increase the quality, equity, diversity, and inclusiveness of scientific institutions and the science workforce; projects to develop or leverage technology to empower research; and efforts to enhance and deepen public engagement with science and scientists.