While evidence shows that there are only few reliable differences between boys' and girls' brains relevant to learning or education , society takes these small differences and makes them much bigger, supporting boys' ability in math and science, and discouraging girls who study these subjects. In view of this situation, the EU Parliament encourages all State Members to invest consistently in information, awareness-raising and educational campaigns addressing stereotyped perceptions of gender roles, as well as gender stereotypes in vocational and professional orientation, notably in science and new technologies. UNESCO, in its turn, highlight the urgent need to combat those stereotypes by training teachers to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers and developing curricula that are gender-sensitive. With this context in mind, FOSTWOM intend to use the inclusive potential of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to propose STEM subjects free of stereotyping assumptions on gender abilities. This document makes a benchmark on gender balance in STEM education and a diagnosis on STEM barriers implemented with secondary schools and higher education institutions, as a first step in the FOSTWOM project. ; Funded by the Erasmus+ program. Grant number 2019-1-ES01-KA203-065924
This study aims to summarize and expand the results of the most recent national and international surveys on teachers of STEM disciplines in Italy, regarding to the following aspects: 1) personal profile, 2) initial and in-service training, 3) didactic practices adopted, 4) school environment. By comparing and elaborating the data collected on samples of Italian teachers from the 2016/17 National Surveys of INVALSI, from PISA 2015, from TIMSS and TIMSS Advanced 2015, from TALIS 2018, and comparing STEM teachers with teachers of humanities, we highlight that: a), among the first, the feminization of the Italian teaching staff is less marked; b) in the primary school the percentage of graduates is lower; c) in the middle school, science teachers update less than mathematics ones; d) in the high school the percentage of those who have received specific training for teaching is lower; e) the frequency of inquiry-based teaching practices, among other practices, is the one that most negatively departs from the average frequency of the OECD countries; f) there are no statistically significant differences between STEM teachers and the other teachers regarding their relationship with the school environment. This analysis suggests the adoption of policies for the insertion in the primary school of graduates teachers, especially in the scientific field, the promotion of a wider initial and in-service training, which includes and incentives a more solid pedagogical preparation also for teachers of the STEM disciplines. ; Questo studio si propone di sintetizzare ed ampliare i risultati delle più recenti indagini nazionali e internazionali sugli insegnanti delle discipline STEM in Italia, relativamente ai seguenti aspetti: 1) profilo anagrafico, 2) formazione iniziale e in servizio, 3) pratiche didattiche adottate, 4) ambiente scolastico. Mettendo a confronto e rielaborando i dati raccolti su campioni nazionali di insegnanti dalle Rilevazioni Nazionali 2016/17 dell'INVALSI, dal PISA 2015, da TIMSS e TIMSS Advanced 2015, da TALIS 2018, e confrontando insegnanti STEM con insegnanti di discipline umanistiche, si evidenzia che: a) tra i primi, la femminilizzazione del corpo docente italiano è meno marcata; b) nella scuola primaria la percentuale di laureati è più bassa, c) nella secondaria di primo grado gli insegnanti di scienze si aggiornano meno di quelli di matematica, d) nella secondaria di secondo grado è più bassa la percentuale di coloro che hanno ricevuto una formazione specifica per l'insegnamento; e) la frequenza di pratiche didattiche basate sull'indagine, tra le altre pratiche, è quella che più si allontana, in negativo, dalla frequenza media dei Paesi OCSE; f) non ci sono differenze statisticamente significative tra insegnanti STEM e insegnanti di altre discipline riguardo al loro rapporto con l'ambiente scolastico.Questa analisi suggerisce l'adozione di politiche per l'inserimento nella scuola primaria di laureati, soprattutto in ambito scientifico, la promozione di una più ampia formazione iniziale e in servizio, che includa e incentivi una più solida preparazione pedagogica anche per insegnanti delle discipline STEM.
The last decade has seen considerable concern regarding a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers to meet the demands of the labor market. At the same time, many experts have presented evidence of a STEM worker surplus. A comprehensive literature review, in conjunction with employment statistics, newspaper articles, and our own interviews with company recruiters, reveals a significant heterogeneity in the STEM labor market: the academic sector is generally oversupplied, while the government sector and private industry have shortages in specific areas.
The last decade has seen considerable concern regarding a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers to meet the demands of the labor market. At the same time, many experts have presented evidence of a STEM worker surplus. A comprehensive literature review, in conjunction with employment statistics, newspaper articles, and our own interviews with company recruiters, reveals a significant heterogeneity in the STEM labor market: the academic sector is generally oversupplied, while the government sector and private industry have shortages in specific areas.
Presentation of the novelties of the W-STEM project website, made in the 2nd face-to-face meeting of the W-STEM ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education European Project (Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), which was held in the Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Colombia), 27-29 November 2019. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Significant progress has been made during the last decades to achieve gender equality, but there is still much work to do. In particular, the gender gap is pronounced in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at all levels of education and labour market. In those areas, the women participation remains low, although there are differences from country to country. In the Latin American context, there is a need for carrying out studies to collect quality data about the actual situation of women in STEM. Although some available data show a high proportion of women in Latin American university education, they are a minority in STEM programs. Moreover, this problem is particularly severe in Latin America because of the biases or cultural norms that influence female behaviour. In this context, the W-STEM project seeks to improve strategies and mechanisms for attracting, accessing, and guiding women in Latin America in STEM higher education programs. This work aims to describe the main results to prepare a set of attraction campaigns in secondary schools in the Latin American countries involved in the project (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico). In particular, a self-assessment tool about gender equality in higher education institutions in Latin America, an interview protocol for female role models, and a mobile application to show those role models. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
In continuing response to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the United States (U.S.) Department of Education releases an annual appropriation of 180 million dollars for Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP), whose "overarching goal … is to increase students' achievement in mathematics and science by increasing teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical skills" (Merrill & Daugherty, 2010, 23). In their article, Merrill and Daugherty hail the MSP funded science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Education and Leadership Program at Illinois State University (ISU) as an example of the direction that many MSP funded STEM programs should take to address the needs of students and teachers. However, as this paper will discuss, the authors seem to ignore some fundamental flaws in the leadership model of U.S. government funded MSP projects, which create issues in initiatives such as ISU's STEM Education and Leadership Program from their outset through preset restrictions and regulations, and this can hinder the intended promotion of STEM careers. ; Education, Faculty of ; Educational Studies (EDST), Department of ; Unreviewed ; Graduate
Recent developments in initiatives, standards, and legislative agendas have led to increases in the number of STEM educators, in particular elementary STEM educators. This study investigates and reports the characteristics and credentials of this group and explores the features and characteristics of the student population within their classrooms. These criteria were analyzed over nearly a decade in efforts to identify progressions and changes in response to national demands. Data for this study was gathered from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) School and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire (SASS TQ) and documents a significant increase in the number of fulltime elementary STEM educators, depicting the current profile of these educators as largely female, mid-career, and fully certified with a bachelors degree from a traditional teacher preparation program. Trends support that this group is becoming more diversified with more seeking graduate degrees and more earning certification via alternative programming. ; The authors would like to acknowledge Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universitys Open Access Subvention Fund (OASF) for funding this article.
Presentación del Proyecto Europeo Building the future of Latin America: Engaging women into STEM (W-STEM – Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), financiado en el Programa Capacity-Building in Higher Education de la Unión Europea. Esta presentación se realizó el 25 de Agosto de 2019 en la Universidad Nacional San Agustín de Arequipa, Perú. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP) The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
Set of best practices performed in the Universidad de Costa Rica (Costa Rica), which were presented into the First Benchmarking Round session within the 2nd face-to-face meeting of the W-STEM ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education European Project (Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), which was held in Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Colombia), 27-29 November 2019. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
A general overview of the W-STEM project (funded by European Union. ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Call for proposals EAC/A05/2017 - Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). This was presented in the kick off meeting of this project, which was held in Salamanca (Spain) 25-27 March 2019.
A general overview of the W-STEM project (funded by European Union. ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Call for proposals EAC/A05/2017 - Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). This was presented in the kick off meeting of this project, which was held in Salamanca (Spain) 25-27 March 2019.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is an approach and movement in innovative educational practices from the primary level internationally. This would provide a platform for an inquiry approach, creativity, and innovation in young children and formulate a path for changes in existing practices. The STEM approach is widely accepted as a key educational practice ; however, it is dealt with as a combination of disciplines in actual teaching and learning practice. Coherence in this interdisciplinarity and integration has yet to be evolved as a practice in synthesising and designing instruction and could be harbinger for an effective design for future practice. Integrated and interdisciplinary STEM can only generate powerful knowledge to deal with issues that are affecting the planet and bring abiotic and biotic equilibrium. Interdisciplinary and integrated powerful knowledge (IIPK) can act as a roadmap for innovation that can bring changes in existing practices, produce informed citizens, build capacity for informed decisions, and generate sustainable living practices. Interdisciplinary and integrated STEM could lay foundations for IIPK and generate a mindset, approach, and practice. IIPK could lead to the formation of new paths for energy generation, transport, agricultural practices, medical treatment, and clean environment. Interdisciplinary and integrated STEM is not seen in actual practice anywhere nowadays. For coherence in curriculum, implications in instructions need reform and development by the governments across the world. That could lead to a new policy for interdisciplinary and integrated STEM.
Best practice W-STEM Student Group presented into the First Benchmarking Round session within the 2nd face-to-face meeting of the W-STEM ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education European Project (Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), which was held in Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Colombia), 27-29 November 2019. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The 3rd meeting of the W-STEM ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education European Project (Ref. 598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP) had scheduled to be held in Guadalajara (Mexico). The COVID-19 pandemic did not allow us to meet face-to-face, and we decided to organize the meeting online on January 12-14, 2021. The Loja W-STEM node presented its activities related to the project in the Guadalajara project meeting. ; W-STEM (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM) is a project funded under European Union ERASMUS + Capacity-building in Higher Education Programme (598923-EPP-1-2018-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP) The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
