Reinforcing the STEM pipeline in vocational-technical high schools: The effect of female teachers

Although secondary Vocational-Technical Education (VTE) is highly prevalent in low-income settings in the developing world, this sector remains understudied in the Economics of Education literature. Situated in the Chilean context, this study examines the effect of exposure to a female VTE teacher on STEM pipeline persistence from secondary to post-secondary level. We find that having at least one female teacher in secondary STEM-VTE programs increases overall enrollment in STEM higher education programs by 2.1 percentage points, primarily driven by women choosing postsecondary VTE diplomas in STEM fields. The effect of female VTE teachers in enrollment in these diplomas reaches 4.0 percentage points, equivalent to an 18% reduction in the observed gender gap. We argue that female VTE teachers, acting as role models, have the potential to mitigate the traditional barriers that young women encounter to persist in the STEM pipeline, thereby contributing to closing the STEM gender gap.     

Expectancy-value profiles in math and science: A person-centered approach to cross-domain motivation with academic and STEM-related outcomes

The need to enhance the STEM workforce and, in turn, the STEM educational pipeline is a prevailing issue in the U.S. One critical component in this pipeline is students’ interest in STEM majors and their persistence in such majors, theorized to be a function of both students’ perceived value and expectancy beliefs in the subject matter. Using an expectancy-value lens, we examined cross-domain patterns of high school students’ expectancy beliefs and values in both mathematics and science using a person-centered or profile approach. With data from the High School Longitudinal Study, latent profile analysis revealed five profiles characterized as Low Math/Low Science (i.e., endorsing low levels of expectancy and value beliefs in math and science), Moderate Math/Moderate Science, High Math/High Science, Low Math/High Science, and High Math/Low Science. Taking into account aspects of students’ background and school context, we found that motivational profile membership predicted math and science high school achievement, college persistence, and both STEM major intentions and major choices. Moreover, there were a number of gender and racial/ethnic differences and contextual variation in profile memberships as well. Implications for theory and educational practice are discussed in relation to study findings.     

Bringing equity to underserved communities through STEM education: implications for leadership development

ABSTRACT

STEM Education is sweeping the United States, prompted primarily by the recent adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. The surge in interest in STEM Education is beneficial for local schools and communities, and promises to positively impact students, teachers, school leaders, community members, and the future workforce. Unfortunately, inequitable hegemonic structures and practices limit urban students’ access to knowledge, resources, and a comprehensive and fair educational experience. This article explores the STEM activities in place at the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE), at a local university in greater Los Angeles. From a historical context, CISE data show that an approach to STEM education that focuses on serving underrepresented populations by creating a pipeline, can serve as an example for K-12 schools, universities, and educational leaders seeking equitable practices in the field of STEM education. We identify implications for leadership development for school leaders, teacher leaders, and districts.     

Learning to teach STEM disciplines in higher education: a critical review of the literature

ABSTRACT

Enrolments in STEM disciplines at universities are increasing globally, attributed to the greater life opportunities open to students as a result of a STEM education. But while institutional access to STEM programmes is widening, the retention and success of STEM undergraduate students remains a challenge. Pedagogies that support student success are well known; what we know less about is how university teachers acquire pedagogical competence. This is the focus of this critical review of the literature that offers a theorised critique of educational development in STEM contexts. We studied the research literature with a view to uncovering the principles that inform professional development in STEM disciplines and fields. The key finding of this critical review is how little focus there is on the STEM disciplines. The majority of studies reviewed did not address the key issue of what makes the STEM disciplines difficult to learn and challenging to teach.     

Outcomes for engineering students delivering a STEM education and outreach programme

University science outreach programmes are used to encourage more school students to select science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in further education and pursue science-related careers. The benefits of science outreach programmes are often espoused from the perspective of programme participants. Little attention, however, is given to what university students delivering the programmes gain from the experience. This paper seeks to illustrate the benefits of engineering students delivering STEM outreach programmes in schools. It reports on a qualitative case study of the experiences of two STEM Education and Outreach team members from a regional university in Australia. Content analysis of interview data highlighted not only the participants’ motivations and perceived benefits of being involved in the STEM programme but also revealed the skills and attributes honed throughout the experience. Involvement in the STEM outreach programme resulted in the development of social and personal responsibility generic graduate attribute skills, evidenced through their motivations to be involved, the demonstration of understanding of teaching and learning, and application of science communication skills. This study demonstrates that designing and delivering STEM outreach programmes assists in the development of skills that will be beneficial when pursuing careers in engineering in the future.     

Interventions supporting baccalaureate achievement of Latinx STEM students matriculating at 2-year institutions: A systematic review

Numerous national reports have identified the importance of significantly improving pathways that begin with Latinx students enrolling in 2-year institutions and ultimately completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields at 4-year institutions. Many programs using multiple interventions have been designed, implemented, and studied to achieve this goal. To synthesize what has been learned from studies of these programs, this article presents a systematic review of published studies of programs designed to support Latinx student success in 2-year institutions and successful transfer to 4-year institutions, particularly for STEM majors. A total of 49 quantitative, 9 qualitative, and 16 mixed-methods studies published as reports, articles, or dissertations since 1980 were identified that met the criteria for the review. Studies covered a wide range of interventions, including mentoring, counseling, advising, study groups, tutoring, scholarships, orientations, career services, undergraduate research, articulation agreements, and transfer programs. Individually, these studies report positive influences on student success outcomes, including 2- and 4-year graduation, transfer to a 4-year institution, retention, and success in individual courses. However, the number of qualifying studies was surprisingly small, considering the importance of improving success of Latinx students and the length of time during which the problem has been repeatedly emphasized. Few interventions have been undertaken from explicitly assets-based perspectives or theoretical frameworks. The lack of explicit frameworks underlying interventions—combined with a sole/primary focus on students—suggests many interventions were approached from a deficit-based perspective. Further, the study found no pattern of replication studies that might confirm effectiveness of potentially promising interventions. Based on our analysis of evaluations presented in the studies, it does not appear that the research community has developed agreed-upon methods to evaluate commonly agreed-upon outcomes. Finally, no intervention has been sufficiently supported that widespread implementation could be recommended.     

Gender norms and STEM: the importance of friends for stopping leakage from the STEM pipeline

More women are now entering male-dominated fields, yet, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remain dominated by men. We examined the association between boys’ and girls’ STEM choices after secondary education and friends’ gender norms, and whether pressure to conform to traditional gender norms differs depending on the gender composition of the friend group. Drawing on 3 waves of longitudinal data (N?=?744) from the Netherlands, our sample consists of adolescents in STEM trajectories in secondary education. Their retention in STEM after secondary education gives us a better understanding of gender-specific “leakage” from the STEM pipeline. We found that girls’ likelihood of choosing STEM decreased drastically when friends had more traditional gender norms. Friends with traditional gender norms had less effect on boys. Nonetheless, boys with only same-sex friends were more likely to enter STEM. Our findings indicate that an environment with gender-normative ideas pushes girls out of the STEM pipeline.     

A model for principals' STEM leadership capability

In this paper we develop a model for the capabilities required by principals for effective Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) leadership. The model underpinned a large national cross-sectional research and development project across Australian states in both primary and secondary schools. This model is developed via synthesis of research literature across leadership and STEM education. The model consists of five dimensions of principals' STEM capability: (1) STEM discipline-specific and integrated knowledge and practices; (2) contexts; (3) dispositions; (4) tools; and (5) critical orientation. These dimensions represent distinct, but interrelated, capacities required by principals to establish and maintain positive STEM learning cultures within schools. Elaborations have been provided, in the form of capabilities, for each of these dimensions. The model has the potential for shaping principals' STEM leadership development trajectories and structuring targeted professional learning programmes for principals, teachers and other members of the school community.     

STEM outreach activities: an approach to teachers’ professional development

Abstract

STEM outreach programmes in secondary schools are mediated by STEM teachers who are responsible for organising, implementing and evaluating the activities with a view to promoting STEM subjects. However, research investigating teachers’ STEM roles and professional development through participation in outreach activities is limited. This paper explores teachers’ views of STEM activities, how they understand their role as primary facilitators and the impact of their STEM engagement on their professional development. STEM outreach provides distinct opportunities for situated and dialogic learning. STEM teachers’ effectiveness in engaging students by demonstrating the importance and relevance of STEM subjects in the real world and engaging captivating STEM outreach partners not only supports students learning but also enhances their opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. Semi structured interviews were conducted with eleven teachers from six different schools in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The data reveals STEM facilitators become the ‘face’ of STEM to their pupils. The expertise, knowledge and partnerships STEM facilitators develop, broadens their capacity to deliver teaching imbued with real world applications and improve students’ understanding of the range of new and upcoming careers available. Most importantly, participating in STEM outreach activities help teachers maintain and reinforce their own sense of identity as STEM professionals. Outreach activities provide opportunities for teachers to interact with leading scientists and obtain exposure to cutting-edge research.     

Gender and family influences on Spanish students’ aspirations and values in stem fields

Drawing on expectancy-value theory, this study examines gender and family influences on students’ career aspirations and attached values. 796 secondary Spanish students (M age?=?16 years old, S.D.?=?0.81) participated. 53% were boys. The results show that boys and students with mothers who have completed intermediate level education were more interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) architecture and technology. Girls and students with highly educated mothers born in Spain were more likely to aspire to STEM health and experimental studies. Furthermore, boys and students planning to pursue STEM-technology studies attached higher extrinsic values to these studies. On the contrary, girls and participants with interest in experimental and health studies attached less extrinsic values to these studies. Moreover, students with highly educated mothers and interested in STEM architecture and technology reported higher extrinsic values. Understanding the interaction of gender and family factors shaping adolescents’ career aspirations in STEM fields seems to be crucial to designing significant and effective school and family grounded interventions.     

Peer-Based Supplemental Instruction in STEM: Differences in Effectiveness Across Transfer and Nontransfer Undergraduates

Although there is a large body of research on the effectiveness of supplemental instruction for college undergraduates, very little of it has focused on transfer students, who often confront additional sources of stress and historically perform more poorly than their native student counterparts. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a peer-based supplemental instructional program in general and organic chemistry at a large state university over a six-year period, while considering differences across transfer and nontransfer students. The results suggest that the supplemental instruction improved outcomes overall but that nontransfer students benefit to a greater degree than transfer students, in the form of higher grades and pass rates, from attending supplemental instruction. The results suggest that peer-based supplemental instruction is a useful method to improve undergraduate student performance in chemistry, but more research is needed on ways to enhance the effectiveness of interventions in improving the performance of transfer undergraduate students in STEM fields.     

STEM素养的内涵及结构框架模型研究

STEM教育的发展为创新型人才的培养提供了一条可行之路,而深入研究STEM素养的内涵及结构是当前推进STEM教育的关键所在。为此,文章首先通过分析现有研究明确STEM素养的内涵,再通过对国内外有关STEM素养构成要素的政策文件的梳理总结论述STEM素养的构成。在此基础上,从知能、情意、价值三个维度系统分析STEM素养的结构,提出STEM素养结构金字塔模型,将知能维度的STEM素养分为STEM学科基础知能、STEM学科核心素养、STEM共同核心素养三层内容。STEM学科基础知能层指数学、科学、技术、工程、计算机等具体学科或领域中的基本知识、基本技能、基本方法等;STEM学科核心素养层指解决STEM相关学科或多学科交叉融合领域复杂性问题所应具备的关键能力;STEM共同核心素养层指解决超越具体学科或工作领域的真实世界复杂性问题的综合能力。最后细化各个层次中STEM素养的构成要素和内容,以求为STEM教育的开展打好基础,明确方向。     

美国大学少数族裔STEM教育的现状、影响因素及发展路径

通过对美国大学少数族裔STEM教育的现状分析发现,美国大学的少数族裔整体接受STEM教育的比率仍然较低,黑人学生STEM教育的参与度不高,原住民学生的STEM教育入学率低下,少数族裔女性学生在STEM职业发展中处于不利地位。这受到美国历史、文化、经济和教育等多元化因素的综合影响。为此,美国实施多元化的路径提升少数族裔STEM教育质量,例如,设置适合少数族裔发展的STEM教学培养模式,设立不同类型的STEM奖学金资助计划,建立有助于提升少数族裔STEM研究能力的研究机构,开发优秀的STEM大学课程资源等。这对我国少数民族的理工科教育的发展具有一定的借鉴意义。     

STEM教育的困境及出路

STEM教育的宗旨是整合创新,这对STEM课程的设计、开发和实施都提出了很高的要求。然而我国STEM教育领域却存在课程体系不明、课程目标不清晰、缺乏细致的探究学习设计、专业教师储备不足、未形成健康生态等问题。STEM教育遭遇的困境实际上是经验主义的前现代教育不适应现代社会发展要求的表现。STEM教育不是教学法意义上的教育革新,而是全新的教育实践。STEM教育需要与以往不同的教育实践生态。因此只有升级为现代教育,STEM教育才能摆脱上述困境。这就需要我们努力发展新教育学,并在新教育学理论指导下组建新的专业团队,构建健康的STEM共同体和企业联盟,开发新的STEM课程并提供STEM教师专业发展服务,培养STEM专业教师以基于一致性的新方式实施课程,允许教师以教育众筹的方式参与STEM课程升级,最终实现STEM整合创新的教育旨趣。     

幼儿教育中“项目活动”与“STEM教育”的区别

早期STEM教育是近年来继项目活动后出现在学前教育领域的一种新的教育形态。STEM教育与项目活动非常类似,两者都是基于问题的学习,都有助于培养幼儿解决问题的能力;但同时两者在其价值取向、整合方式、探究内容、对幼儿个性化发展的促进以及教师的角色与作用等方面也有着明显的区别。项目活动更多看重的是教育的个人发展功能,而STEM教育更多追求的是教育的工具价值;项目活动是一种跨越学科领域的、大范围的整合,STEM教育则是一种围绕同类型学科的、小范围的整合;项目活动以幼儿的兴趣为出发点,探究的内容往往极为丰富多彩,基本上可以囊括幼儿生活的全部,而STEM教育主要集中在幼儿对周围物质世界的探究方面,其内容主要涉及到"物理知识"及"逻辑数理知识"两个方面;项目活动能满足所有幼儿的个性化发展需要,故而能促进所有幼儿的适宜性发展,而STEM教育则相对只能更好地满足某些特定学习风格(场独立型)的幼儿的个性化发展需要;在项目活动中,教师的"引导"作用更多地表现在对幼儿已有兴趣的合理引导,在STEM教育活动中教师的"引导"既有对幼儿已有兴趣的"引导",更有对兴趣的"引发",带有一定的"外烁论"的痕迹。厘清这些差异,有助于幼儿园教师提升相关教育理念,从而更好地开展这两种教育活动。     

Transdisciplinarity in STEM education: a critical review

ABSTRACT

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education garnered significant attention in recent years and has emerged as a key field of research globally. The goal of this article is to offer a critical review of how STEM education and its transdisciplinarity were defined and/or positioned in empirical studies published during the early formulation of the field. In particular, we sought to identify how these studies conceptualise learners and learning and portray the underlying assumptions in light of the macrosystemic discourses that often serve as ideological forces in shaping research and practice of STEM education. We examined 154 peer-reviewed articles published between January 2007 and March 2018 and analysed them along several emergent dimensions: their geospatial focus, focal disciplinary areas, methodological and theoretical assumptions, and major findings. Grounded in a critical transdisciplinary perspective, we used critical discourse analysis to identify how macrosystemic and institutionalised forces – overtly and implicitly – shape what counts as STEM education research, including its goals and conceptualisations of learners and learning. Our analysis highlights the need for aesthetic expansion and diversification of STEM education research by challenging the disciplinary hegemonies and calls for reorienting the focus away from human capital discourse.     

How do STEM-interested students pursue multiple interests in their higher educational choice?

Interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has lately received attention in research due to a gap between the number of STEM students and the needs of the labour market. As interest seems to be one of the most important factors in deciding what to study, we focus in the present study on how STEM-interested students weigh multiple interests in making educational choices. A questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended items was administered to 91 STEM-interested students enrolled in a STEM programme of a Dutch University for secondary school students. Results indicate that students find it important that a study programme allows them to pursue multiple interests. Some students pursued multiple interests by choosing to enrol in two programmes at the same time. Most students chose one programme that enabled them to combine multiple interests. Combinations of pursued interests were dependent on the disciplinary range of interests of students. Students who were interested in diverse domains combined interests in an educational programme across academic and non-academic domains, whilst students who were mainly interested in STEM combined only STEM-focused interests. Together these findings stress the importance of taking a multiple interest perspective on interest development and educational choice.     

Students’ Preconceptions and Perceptions of Science-Oriented Studies

Do non-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students’ views about STEM studies correspond with how STEM students actually perceive these studies? This paper deals with this issue by comparing higher education students’ attitudes towards STEM studies between those who actually did a STEM study and those who did not. The attitudes of the first category of students have been referred to as perceptions and the attitudes of the second category as preconceptions. The study included 1,935 students in higher education. The results confirm both small and large differences between the preconceptions and perceptions, and show significant differences between suitably qualified students (i.e. eligible for STEM studies) and other students. At the end of this paper, we will discuss the implications of this study for future research and offer some suggestions for practice.     

Linking early science and mathematics attitudes to long-term science,technology, engineering,and mathematics career attainment: latent class analysis with proximal and distal outcomes

There is a need to identify students' early attitudes toward mathematics and science to better support their long-term persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Seventh graders from a nationally representative sample (N = 2,861) were classified based on their responses to questions about their attitudes toward mathematics and science using latent class analysis. Four distinct groups of students that differed in terms of their attitudes were identified. There were relationships between attitudinal group membership, demographic characteristics, mathematics and science achievement, and STEM career attainment. Females and underrepresented minorities were more likely to be in the positive attitude group. However, despite these early positive attitudes, females and underrepresented minorities were less likely to be employed in a STEM career some 20 years later. Information about student interests organized in this manner can be used to better target specific interventions to support and encourage persistence in STEM careers.     

Leadership training in science,technology, engineering and mathematics education in Bulgaria

This synthesis paper explores current leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Bulgaria. The analysis begins with discussion of global factors influencing the implementation of leadership training in STEM education in general and then presents information about the current status of leadership training in Bulgaria with emphases on the country's economics, politics and geographical location as specific factors influencing leadership education. A short background of Bulgaria is presented with regard to population, gross domestic product, educational system, engineering force and possible need for leaders in industry in Bulgaria and the European Union. The paper provides an overall view about the current status of leadership training in all Bulgarian universities offering STEM education and concentrates specifically on two major universities by examining their currently offered programmes. As part of the discussion, similar training elements in other European countries and the USA are presented.