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Stimulating interest in STEM careers among students in Europe

Stimulating interest in STEM careers among students in Europe Supporting career choice and giving a more realistic view of STEM at work Alexa Joyce. About European Schoolnet. Network & think tank of 30 Ministries of Education in Europe. Dedicated to. Promote the European

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Stimulating interest in STEM careers among students in Europe

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  1. Stimulating interest in STEM careers among students in Europe Supporting career choice and giving a more realistic view of STEM at work Alexa Joyce

  2. About European Schoolnet Network & think tankof 30 Ministries of Education in Europe Dedicated to Promote the European dimension in schools and education Support schools in bringing about the best use of technology in learning Improve and raise the quality of education in Europe

  3. European Schoolnet’s activities Three strands of activity

  4. Focus on STEM education • Europe is training too few scientists, technology experts and engineers • Asian countries train twice as many scientists compared to European member states, and three times as many engineers. • Europe’s highest scientific achievers – Finnish students – outperformed by Chinese students in Shanghai and Hong Kong (PISA, TIMMS) • No growth in choice of scientific higher education and career paths but high unemployment in EU & strong demand for particularly IT & engineering profiles

  5. Horizontal axis: Human Development IndexVertical axis: Scores on questions designed to measure positive attitudes towards studying science Attitudes to STEM & STEM careers Svein Sjoberg, University of Oslo: Project ROSE

  6. Engineering – demand vs interest Shortages already today – opportunity cost of €6.6 billion in Germany alone Eurostat 2008

  7. IT – demand vs interest 90% of future jobs will require higher level of IT skills than todayand 800 000 posts likely to be unfilled by 2020 Eurostat 2013, Empirica 2013

  8. Link to school to work transitions • Hypotheses: • Contextualisation of STEM with job / career information  increase interest and motivation in STEM • School-industry partnerships can provide these experiences

  9. School-industry partnerships in STEM CRECIM, 2012

  10. Key factors in STEM career interest • Engagement in school: inquiry-based learning, collaboration, contextualisation of STEM • Career information: more access to “real life” job information and role models in STEM. • Personal characteristics: role playing, self–efficacy activities allowing students to understand ability to do STEM • Social/ethical perception of STEM – helping students to better understand social and ethical aspects. CRECIM, 2012

  11. Typical characteristics of partnerships • Provision of resources for schools to promote the improvement of scientific or technological knowledge potentially related to the company (materials, ambassadors, courses, etc.) • Establishing direct communication between STEM professionals and students. • Offering company premises to support schools/to students. • Engaging STEM professionals with students’ work. Operate at any level: international, national, regional, local. More partners = more sustainable CRECIM, 2012

  12. Practical examples – e-Skills Week • Encourage interest in tech & tech jobs among young people in all EU member states – European Commission + Schoolnet + DIGITALEUROPE • 30 countries and 200 stakeholders – education, industry, associations • Tangible positive impact on young people more interestedin tech and tech jobs (evaluationsurvey + interviews) • Diverse events: meet role models, workshops, robotics competitions, introduction to programming, industry visits, etc.

  13. Practical examples – Intel ISEF • Reaches 5 million students around the world – local & national STEM fairs • Self-driven research projects, mentored by teachers & encourage links to researchers • Fairs involve business & research personnel in judging teams who meet students & review their projects • Laureates win significant scholarships for STEM studies & act as mentors for future competitors

  14. Class engagement impacts NFER, Kudenko & Gras

  15. Career perception impacts Overall, more short term interest in STEM and STEM careersBUT hard to measure long term impact NFER, Kudenko & Gras

  16. Structural Obstacles & and facilitators

  17. Structural

  18. Motivational

  19. Procedural

  20. Cultural

  21. Conclusions • School industry partnerships have strong potential to help ensure more smooth transition from school to work in STEM fields • Numerous diverse examples but few structural interventions reachingeverystudent in countries • Manybarriers to uptake of opportunities, but solutions exist • Need for more commitment on educationside, industryside, and furthermeasurement of impact

  22. More information? • inGenious website on STEM school-industrypartnerships: http://ingenious-science.eu • European Schoolnet: www.europeanschoolnet.org • Contact me: Alexa Joyce – alexa.joyce@eun.org Thankyou!

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