Addressing Financial Barriers to Field Education Antoinette Abeyta 1 Anjali Fernandes 2 Robert Mahon 3 Travis Swanson 4 University of New MexicoGallup Denison University University of New Orleans ID: 1002217
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1. True Cost of ParticipationAddressing Financial Barriers to Field EducationAntoinette Abeyta1, Anjali Fernandes2, Robert Mahon3, Travis Swanson4University of New Mexico-GallupDenison UniversityUniversity of New OrleansGeorgia Southern UniversityThis Project is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences Award #2005439
2. Field educationCritical for the development of essential skillsThrill of discoveryTraditional component to geoscience education“Membership” to the geoscience community30-60 days in the field for UG degreeis defined as any educational component outside the classroom, typically in a natural setting
3. Limited work has been done to examine the cost of field workCost of field work/trips mitigated by student tuition/fees (Boyle et al., 2007)Brief mention that cost of field camp could present as a barrier (AGI, 2016)One study analyzed the cost of field activity Mainly addressed cost of equipment and samplingImportant assumption: individuals had their own gear to do field work and was not incorporated into the cost analysis(Mallory et al., 2018)
4. Does the cost of field education present a barrier to participation?Requires significant investment Lack of adequate gear reduces minority participation to outdoor activities(Schwartz & Corkery, 2011)Inadequate gear poses safety hazards(Alpay and Paulen, 2014)Impacts quality of the tripPotential barrier and determent to persistence in geoscienceImproper footwearNo rain gearAll cotton based clothesLow SPF sunscreen“School” backpack
5. Can we quantify the cost of participation?Identified the critical gear, travel, and associated costs needed to complete field activity5 day, out of state field tripDetermined costs using commonly used websites and vendors to obtain goods/servicesCompiled the top 40 results, sorted by relevanceSummarized data to collected to determine the 25/50/75 percentileBracket the lower and upper limit of cost of participationCalculate incurred costs needed to participateloss of wages, dependent care
6. PercentileCost25$24350$38975$626Initial Cost of Investment
7. Price difference based on gendered searchesWomen on average will pay 43-75 USD more than their male counterpartsReduced number of items available contribute to cost differenceDoes not look at the intersection of specialized sizes (e.g., plus, tall, petite)n = 54n = 174n = 168n = 236
8. Finding equity with where you shop
9. Finding equity with where you shop
10. Cost of field gearMinimum Value assumes individual has one pair of pants and socksWomen’s and men’s gear summary is calculated with 2 pair of pants, 3 pairs of socksAssumed to be the minimum ideal amount for a 5 day trip
11. External costs related to field tripsTravel related expensesFlights and lodgingLoss of wages based off of 8 hour work dayUSA minimum wages – potentially much higherDependent careBased off average annual spent on childcare in USA 2018, averaged out to dollar per day.Assumes 1 dependent
12. Summary of cost of participationThe total investment from students ranges from 1200 – 1800 dollars
13. If field work remains a critical component of geoscience education, we need to address cost as a barrier to participationAnalyze who participates on field trip activitiesReduce costsProvide field gear assistanceStipend to purchase gearBoots, fast dry pants most purchasedField gear librariesCompensate students for their labor in the field
14. Removing cost as a barrier to participation improves diversity#BonnetCarre2019NSF Funded ProgramPaid for student laborProvided field stipendProvided general gearPaid travel/lodging54% femaleDouble the rate of representation34% from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (Black, Native American, Latinx)Four times the rate of representation
15. AcknowledgementsThis field work was done on the homelands of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians of Louisiana; the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe; the Grand Caillou and Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha Choctaw Tribe; and the Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha Tribe of the Grand Bayou Indian Village. These tribes have lost upwards of 98% of its land since the 1950s.This Project is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences Award #2005439Special thank you to:Denison University: David Greene, Sawyer Hilt, Bennett Van Horn, Eva Jorn, Ariel Russell, Laura Lapham, Elliot Hayne, Ethan Leuchter, Rachel MierzejewskiUniversity of New Mexico Gallup: Martina Smiley, Keira Redhouse, Elliot Redhouse, Douglas Benally Jr., Bobbi Padilla, Astrid Gonzaga, Philip Rodgers, Tyson BondGeorgia Southern University: Caroline Mlaska, Katherine Lawrence, Meredith DuncanUniversity of New Orleans: Wayne Wagner, Madeline Cross, Miles BeechThe Water Institute of the Gulf: Diana De Leonardo, Chris Esposito, Ioannis Georgiou Tulane: Nicole Gasparini, Torbjörn Törnqvist