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"STEM" is a polysemic word very present in innovative frames on Science Education. It shapes several political goals related to increasing scientific and technologic careers, inclusion and citizenship. In this article we identify several methodologic lines from Science didactics to develop STEM goals (I nquiry, Socio-Scientific Issues, Project-Based Learning, Pseudoscience,…). We describe examples of classroom activities and analyse its contributions and potential difficulties. As a conclusion, we discuss the matching of the STEM political goals with the social purpose of education as a way for competent citizenship. ; El término STEM es polisémico y tiene actualmente una gran presencia en ámbitos de innovación en enseñanza de las ciencias. Sintetiza un conjunto de objetivos políticos en relación al desarrollo de vocaciones científico-tecnológicas, inclusión y ciudadanía. En este artículo se identifican vías de acción metodológica para desplegar los objetivos STEM desde la didáctica de las ciencias (Indagación, Controversias, Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos, Pseudociencias,…). Se proponen ejemplos de actividades aplicadas en las aulas y se analizan las aportaciones de cada vía de acción y potenciales dificultades. Como conclusión, se discute el encaje entre los objetivos políticos STEM y la misión social de la educación como vía para una ciudadanía competente.

With the growing demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs in the U.S., the attainment of college degrees in these areas is of paramount importance. Both federal and state governments have established initiatives to grow the number of STEM degrees earned by women and racial minorities, as these groups graduate in STEM disciplines and work in STEM fields at a lower rate than that of their majority counterparts. The factors that can deter women and underrepresented minorities from pursuing STEM careers have been identified with one of the most prominent being low self-efficacy, or a reduced belief in one's capability of accomplishing a goal or task. This study aimed to assess the current level of self-efficacy of Chatham County, Georgia high school students in the STEM disciplines and their interest in pursuing a STEM career. No difference in the levels of self-efficacy in mathematics and science was reported by females and males; however, males reported significantly higher self-efficacy in engineering and technology compared to females. When asked about the future, females and males reported no difference in interest in a variety of STEM vocations; however, males had a significantly stronger preference for jobs in the areas of physics, computer science, medicine, energy, and engineering compared to females. Race did not influence self-efficacy in the three STEM areas, but interest in careers in the physical sciences was low among underrepresented minority students. Continued implementation of strategies to create and maintain female self-efficacy and interest in STEM, especially in engineering and technology, remains a necessity. While underrepresented minority students appeared to possess self-efficacy in the STEM disciplines during high school, strategies are needed to ensure their successful progression through STEM degree programs and later obtainment of a STEM job.

The gender gap is a problem that occurs in different forms in regions and countries around the world. It is a goal of large international organisations, governments, companies and other entities. Although it is not a new issue, it is important to continue studying it and seek mechanisms and strategies to attract and maintain more women in these areas. In particular, in the field of education and employment, the STEM areas present large gender gaps whose reduction would not only impact the equality of men and women but would also have an impact on the economy of the countries and on improving the economic situation of women. In this context, there are initiatives in Latin America working on this issue, but it is necessary to look more deeply into the elements that influence the decision to study careers in these areas. In this context, two focus groups have been held as roundtables with STEM women from different Latin American and European countries, to answer a series of questions centred on their motivations and decisions before and during their university studies. The results obtained have provided some inputs for defining gender equality action plans in ten Higher Education Institutions from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico. Furthermore, the results show similarities with previous studies involving STEM women with different Latin American profiles. ; This work has been possible with the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union in its Key Action 2 "Capacity-building in Higher Education". Project W-STEM "Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM" (Reference number 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). The content of this publication does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the publication lies entirely with the authors

Stem programs: encouraging an early start with engineering design
Nancy Butler Songer, Associate Provost of STEM Education at the University of Utah, highlights the importance of introducing STEM programs to younger students. Fifty years ago, I was one of three girls (of fifty 11 and 12-year-olds) in the after-school Science Club (Figure 1). Equipped with my bicycle and a large butterfly net, my task was to gather and identify fifty different species of insects before school began again in the fall. Little did I know that this activity was a formative experience leading to a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education. My experience as a twelve-year-old is consistent with a wealth of research indicating that pre-teen interest in STEM fields, including Engineering, is a strong predictor of future careers. Research studies indicate that to increase the number of students pursuing engineering and science as a career goal, we must increase activities with engineering as a fundamental component before students reach their teenage years (Sneider & Ravel, 2021).

The pressure upon a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematcs (STEM) educators has increased as the demand for workers with stem capabilities develops while worldwide the number of students electing to specialise in stem areas is declining. In 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry (KPRI) released a document titled 'Making Indonesia 4.0', stating stem teachers will be expected to produce students who have several "careers" during their working lives and have the skills needed which includes technical capabilities, creativity and innovative problem-solving. This will occur in a context where the future of work remains human and so while the new technologies have the capacity to automate many tasks, they also create as many jobs as they replace. As well as these governmental expectations, stem educators are being continually confronted with an avalanche of advice on the best ways of teaching and learning their subject. This advice comes from across the spectrum of expertise that includes parents, outstanding teacher heroes, commercial interests, and dubious 'experts' who have no pedagogical knowledge or experience. This paper will attempt to cut through this avalanche and dig down to the bedrock of successful and sustainable stem teaching and learning. While this paper is written for all stem educators, it will tend to favour examples from the mathematics and brain research disciplines.

Higher education is coming under increasing scrutiny, both publically and within academia, with respect to its ability to appropriately prepare students for the careers that will make them competitive in the 21st-century workplace. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that many global issues will require creative and critical thinking deeply rooted in the technical STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines.

Transforming Institutions brings together chapters from the scholars and leaders who were part of the 2011 and 2014 conferences. It provides an overview of the context and challenges in STEM higher education, contributed chapters describing programs and research in this area, and a reflection and summary of the lessons from the many authors' viewpoints, leading to suggested next steps in the path toward transformation.

The literature on gender and science shows that scientific careers continue to be characterised – albeit with important differences among countries – by strong gender discriminations, especially in more prestigious positions. Much less investigated is the issue of which stage in the career such differences begin to show up. Gender and Precarious Research Careers aims to advance the debate on the process of precarisation in higher education and its gendered effects, and springs from a three-year research project across institutions in seven European countries: Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria. Examining gender asymmetries in academic and research organisations, this insightful volume focuses particularly on early careers. It centres both on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and SSH (Social Science and Humanities) fields. Offering recommendations to design innovative organisational policies and self-tailored 'Gender Equality Plans' to be implemented in universities and research centres, this volume will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Gender Studies, Sociology of Work and Industry, Sociology of Knowledge, Business Studies and Higher Education.

Role of the MSEIP grant in the success of STEM undergraduate research at Queensborough Community College and beyond -- Enhancing student engagement with peer-led team learning and course-based undergraduate research experiences -- Aiming toward an effective Hispanic serving chemistry curriculum -- Computational chemistry and biology courses for undergraduates at an HBCU : cultivating a diverse computational science community -- NanoHU : a boundary-spanning education model for maximizing human and intellectual capital -- Design and implementation of a STEM student success program at Grambling State University -- The role of the ReBUILDetroit Scholars Program at Wayne State University in broadening participation in STEM -- "Using scholars programs to enhance success of underrepresented students in chemistry, biomedical sciences, and STEM" -- The MARC U*STAR Program at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) 1997-2018 -- Pathways to careers in science, engineering, and math -- Leadership dimensions for broadening participation in STEM : the role of HBCUs and MSIs -- Bloom where you are planted : a model for campus climate change to retain minoritzed faculty scholars in STEM fields -- Maximizing mentoring : enhancing the impact of mentoring programs and initiatives through the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at Xavier University of Louisiana -- Mentors, mentors everywhere : weaving informal and formal mentoring into a robust chemical sciences mentoring quilt -- Using technology to foster peer mentoring relationships : development of a virtual peer mentorship model for broadening participation in STEM.

There is national attention and concern from industry leaders, educators and politicians that the United States will not be able to maintain its competitive edge due to the lack of students prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Hurtado et al., 2008; Kuenzi et al., 2006; Kuenzi, 2008; Laursen et al., 2010). Student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE), has been shown to be a high impact activity leading to greater student interest in STEM careers. A closer look is needed to get an idea of what types of experiences during UREs impact a students interest in persisting into a STEM field career and to understand what are the key mechanisms of the experience that make it meaningful. The findings in this study add to the literature by exploring participants views of the undergraduate research experience at non-doctoral-granting universities and by supporting the idea that UREs can be effective in these settings as well. Further, this study puts forward a theoretical explanation about how and why UREs promote a students interest in persisting to a STEM field career. The purpose of this qualitative study using critical incidents was to identify experiences during a URE that students perceived to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify causal mechanisms for why these experiences made a difference in their interest. This study was designed to use a qualitative approach consisting of individual interviews and a focus group with a total of 31 participants from three institutions to identify and come to a more complex, multi-layered understanding of the undergraduate research experience. A card sorting technique where participants assigned each card to the encouraged an interest, deterred an interest, neither encouraged nor deterred an interest, or did not experience category was used initially to generate a conversation about what individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Follow-up interview questions guided the participant in explaining the incident and how and why it impacted their interest in a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that all participants began their URE with an interest in science. No one set of critical incidents was identified to encourage or deter an interest as the same incident could have positive and negative outcomes. Because of the initial strong interest in science, incidents identified in the literature as deterring an interest in STEM often served to help participants refine the field or topic in STEM they wanted to pursue rather than causing them to leave STEM altogether. The individual critical incidents during the URE in totality, not individually, had an impact on participants interest in pursuing a STEM field career. It is a combination of multiple experiences or events that help students gain a greater sense of self and to refine career and research opportunities. The main contribution of this study is a theoretical model of the mechanisms by which a variety of incidents during a URE can impact an interest in STEM. This model identifies underlying causal mechanisms on how UREs can promote an interest in STEM. The model is similar to a grounded theory model in that it highlights student characteristics, contextual factors, mechanisms, and outcomes that help to refine STEM field career interest. The URE incidents in totality provide mechanisms resulting in outcomes that refine a career interest in STEM. As all participants were still involved in their URE, this study is limited in that we do not know with any certainty if the participants will enter a STEM field career. Future research designed with a longitudinal time frame could follow participants throughout the URE then into their career thus allowing greater understanding as to why some students may choose to leave the STEM pipeline. In-depth case studies would allow for testing of the conceptual model to identify turning points in an interest in a STEM field career and how interests in a STEM field career are refined. Further, case studies would allow researchers to compare the conceptual model in different settings. The goals of UREs can be advanced in settings where there is a central organizing office on campus that makes visible that the institution values research and STEM and creates opportunities where students can to connect to a wider community of researchers. Faculty mentors guiding UREs can advance a commitment to pursue science by continually articulating the importance and wider social significance of the research. Further, faculty mentors play an invaluable role by providing information about the range of opportunities to pursue research, connect students with other research, and encourage URE student attendance at professional conferences in order to begin identification with a wider community of like-minded individuals. ; Ph. D. ; Educators, industry leaders and politicians are concerned about the lack of students prepared for STEM field careers and the United States being able to maintain its competitive edge globally. One opportunity to prepare students for STEM field careers is through student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE). This study was designed to identify and understand critical incidents in undergraduate research experiences that students perceive to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify why these experiences made a difference in their interest. An incident sorting process was used to identify individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Participant interviews and a focus group were conducted to understand how and why the identified experiences had a bearing on the student deciding to pursue a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that incidents during the URE combined, not individually, had an impact on participants interest in pursuing a STEM field career.

This paper focuses on the need to build a solid foundation of skills which the future maritime workforce can build on to provide the innovation and exploitation of new technologies that the Royal Navy requires. This need sits within the wider strategic context of the national engineering skills shortage, reflected recently in the EngineeringUK report: 'The State of Engineering 2018.' The report forecasts as a conservative estimate an average shortfall in engineering graduates (level 4+) of 22,000, with the impact of Brexit upon these figures yet to be determined (the UK relies on attracting talent from the EU and beyond to help meet current shortfalls). The situation regarding Level 3 – A levels, Highers, and Advanced apprenticeships reflects a similar shortfall. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that only 12% of engineering and technology employees in the UK are women; highlighting that access and availability, including gender diversity remains a challenge for this sector. It is against that backdrop, that the MOD, is collaborating across many areas; one specifically being on inspiring the next generation to undertake Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) as subjects of choice initially, moving thereafter onto more informed careers awareness and ultimately onto career options. Such foundation building is manifest in Defence's Youth STEM engagement strategy which is whole force by design, with several major developments to date following its launch in 2016, including the establishment of formal strategic partnerships with three national STEM outreach providers; notably: Primary Engineer; Tomorrows Engineer (replicated by Energy Skills Partnership in Scotland) and STEM Learning (replicated by SSERC in Scotland) each with niche capabilities. They sit alongside all four Services within Defence and key other government departments including the devolved administration in Scotland, in the form of an implementation group to take the strategy forward. The purpose is to inspire sufficient young ...

In his work entitled "The Gender in U.S. School Reform," William Pinar makes clear that teaching is a profession that is gendered female in the political imaginary of the U.S. In truth, more and more teachers are expected to take responsibility for the learning in their classroom in the same way that the wife in the nuclear family was blamed if her children failed in some way, regardless of the participation (or lack thereof) by the children's father in their upbringing. The great lamentation of politicians and parents in the U.S. over the decline of the education system, and the "lack of relevance" of "brick and mortar" schools is surely related to this "problem" of the feminine. Enter stage right mathematics and science, subjects largely pursued by males and the requirement, it can be argued, of many professions engendered male (Langille, 1993; Pegley, 2007). Mathematics, science and technology are lauded as important pursuits by many, and this is reinforced, among other things, by government initiatives (e.g. STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and college and university entrance requirements worldwide – for better or for worse (Hacker, 2012). There is much work being done, as we will see, by educators and researchers, government initiatives and private corporations, to encourage girls to pursue careers in mathematics, science and technology – as if, somehow, their lack of engagement in these fields is the penultimate problem we face. With the gendered history of education, one can not help but wonder: Is STEM being strongly encouraged worldwide with the (un?)intended purpose of "rescuing" education, the damsel in distress? Two recent initiatives that are intent on increasing girls' engagement with STEM related fields were fraught with harmful assumptions about gender, and point to the heroism perceived characteristic of these subjects with respect to education. I will examine these initiatives. ; Education, Faculty of ; Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of ; Unreviewed ; Graduate

The present article aims to study employment inequalities from a double dynamic perspective. It deals with the study of turning points in career paths in order to understand, first, the process of exclusion from the labor market, second, the increase in long-term unemployment over time. I mobilize the approach of economics of convention, which accounts for the processes of selection by focusing on moments of quality valuations in "tests" (valorizations and devalorizations). I use qualitative data from 60 biographical interviews with French unemployed people to build a typology of conventional labor worlds based on mixed methods: quantitative lexical analysis with the software ALCESTE and qualitative analysis of the interviews. The empirical analysis reveals the existence of plural logics of coordination and valuation of work's quality, which can be connected to the different segments of the labor market brought out by the labor market segmentation theory. The processes of exclusion differ from one segment to another and are the result of specific tests and of interactions with specific intermediaries. The "critical transitions" often stem from a tension between different registers of valuation. However, some experiences go beyond these discontinuities. Some changes in recruitment conventions, that become dominant, are at the origin of a "denial of evaluation" and of the development of an "unemployment of exclusion."

The continuous transformation of the labor market, characterized by great instability and uncertainty, and by rapid technological changes, has strongly influenced the construction and management of career paths. Nowadays, individuals are faced with careers that are fluid and boundaryless, characterized by discontinuity and a variety of organizations to deal with. In this scenario, the ability to adapt and react to continuous changes in the labor market and in organizations is now a priority for workers. This study presents the psychometric properties of the construct of Career Ability measured through Proactive Personality and Boundaryless Mindset as proxy variables in a sample of 579 adults enrolled at the University of Cagliari (Italy), or recently graduated therein. We aim to rate the factorial structure of the items and to evaluate their multi-group invariance regarding the gender variable. Moreover, the criterion and concurrent validity were assessed. The instrument shows good psychometric characteristics; factorial structure, factorial invariance in relation to the gender variable, concurrent, and criterion validities were confirmed.

Gender equity in academia is a long-standing struggle. Although common to all disciplines, the impacts of bias and stereotypes are particularly pronounced in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This paper explores what barriers exist for the career progression of women in academia in STEM disciplines in order to identify key issues and potential solutions. In particular, we were interested in how women perceive the barriers affecting their careers in comparison to their male colleagues. Fourteen focus groups with female-identifying academics showed that there were core barriers to career progression, which spanned countries, disciplines and career stages. Entrenched biases, stereotypes, double standards, bullying and harassment all negatively impact women's confidence and sense of belonging. Women also face an additional biological burden, often being pushed to choose between having children or a career. Participants felt that their experiences as STEM academics were noticeably different to those of their male colleagues, where many of the commonly occurring barriers for women were simply non-issues for men. The results of this study indicate that some of these barriers can be overcome through networks, mentoring and allies. Addressing these barriers requires a reshaping of the gendered norms that currently limit progress to equity and inclusion.

Las desigualdades en la elección de las carreras universitarias y, particularmente en las carreras STEM, sigue siendo en la actualidad uno de los espacios en donde se visibilizan los diferenciales de género. Este trabajo aborda de forma reflexiva los diferentes contextos que promueven estas diferencias y limitan el desarrollo académico y profesional de las mujeres en las carreras STEM. A través de análisis de los diversos estudios e investigaciones actuales que dan una perspectiva sobre el panorama europeo y su constatación en los informes emitidos por la Unión Europea se sigue constatando estas preocupantes brechas de género y la elección a estos estudios universitarios en las áreas STEM. Las propuestas que presentamos en este trabajo pueden contribuir a la mejora de igualdad de oportunidades para el empoderamiento de las mujeres en las profesiones de carácter técnico-científico. ; Inequalities in the choice of university careers and, particularly in STEM careers, continue to be one of the spaces where gender differentials are visible. This work approaches in a reflexive way the different contexts that promote these differences and limit the academic and professional development of women in STEM careers. Through analysis of the various current studies and research that give a perspective on the European panorama and its verification in the reports issued by the European Union, these worrying gender gaps and the election to these university studies in the STEM areas are still evident. The proposals that we present in this work can contribute to the improvement of equal opportunities for the empowerment of women in the technical-scientific professions.