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Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States
written by Michael Verostek, Diana Sachmpazidi, Jayna Petrella, and Chandra Turpen
A major challenge for departmental change efforts is a lack of reliable tools to consistently and accurately monitor progress. Without such tools, identifying challenges in the change process and adjusting strategies accordingly is difficult.  This paper presents results from a pilot administration of the Culture around Systemic Change Survey (CSCS), a tool developed to help physics departments assess and improve their local culture.  The instrument captures faculty and staff perceptions of both their department's "current" and "ideal" states across five factors: open mindedness, student involvement, collective use of evidence, sustainability, and disrupting systemic injustices. Data from N=111 participants across 33 departments show significantly higher ratings for current departmental open mindedness and collective use of evidence compared to other factors.  Across all factors, significant gaps exist between current and ideal states. These findings offer actionable insights for change leaders seeking to build more inclusive and sustainable cultures in their departments.
Physics Education Research Conference 2025
Part of the PER Conference series
Washington, DC: August 6-7, 2025
Pages 435-440
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Assessment
= Instruments
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
- Teacher Characteristics
= Affect
Education Practices
- School Improvement
- Graduate/Professional
- Lower Undergraduate
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2025…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2025.pr.Verostek
Keyword:
PERC 2025
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created October 20, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
October 27, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
October 28, 2025
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Record Link
AIP Format
M. Verostek, D. Sachmpazidi, J. Petrella, and C. Turpen, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107).
AJP/PRST-PER
M. Verostek, D. Sachmpazidi, J. Petrella, and C. Turpen, Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107>.
APA Format
Verostek, M., Sachmpazidi, D., Petrella, J., & Turpen, C. (2025, August 6-7). Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC. Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107
Chicago Format
Verostek, M, D. Sachmpazidi, J. Petrella, and C. Turpen. "Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, August 6-7, 2025. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107 (accessed 8 November 2025).
MLA Format
Verostek, Michael, Diana Sachmpazidi, Jayna Petrella, and Chandra Turpen. "Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States." Physics Education Research Conference 2025. Washington, DC: 2025. 435-440 of PER Conference. 8 Nov. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Michael Verostek and Diana Sachmpazidi and Jayna Petrella and Chandra Turpen", Title = {Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2025}, Pages = {435-440}, Address = {Washington, DC}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {August 6-7}, Year = {2025} }
Refer Export Format

%A Michael Verostek %A Diana Sachmpazidi %A Jayna Petrella %A Chandra Turpen %T Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States %S PER Conference %D August 6-7 2025 %P 435-440 %C Washington, DC %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %O August 6-7 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Verostek, Michael %A Sachmpazidi, Diana %A Petrella, Jayna %A Turpen, Chandra %D August 6-7 2025 %T Assessing the culture around systemic change in physics programs: A pilot study from 33 programs in the United States %B Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %C Washington, DC %P 435-440 %S PER Conference %8 August 6-7 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17179&DocID=6107


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