STEM initiatives, measures and schemes, in aggregate, form the major components of STEM activity and Government expenditure. They have been set up to address the serious concerns over downward trends in STEM and help to ensure a better transition from interest at GCSE level to an interest at A-Level, higher education and beyond by focusing on extra curricula activities, deemed to be vitally important, particularly in recruiting more participants from underrepresented segments of the population, such as women and minorities (Roberts, 2002).
DCSF and DIUS support different initiatives which aim to motivate young people:
Ö Science and Engineering Clubs at schools - DCSF currently funds 250 clubs across
the country with this number expected to double in 2008;
Ö DCSF offers new careers advice for young people studying science;
Ö DCSF as a multi-media communications campaign aimed at young people,
parents and teachers to encourage more students to continue studying science post-16;
Ö DIUS supports National Science and Engineering Week – held every year in
March.
Ö DIUS supports competitions such as the BA Crest Awards and Young Engineer of the Year Award.
Ö STEMNET (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network) funded by DIUS, through its national and regional networks of partner organisations acting as local SETPOINTs, STEMNET co-ordinates a variety of programmes which aim to enhance and enrich the STEM curriculum in schools and colleges, including the Science and Engineering Ambassadors (SEAs) programme.
Whilst STEM’s education budget, initiatives and schemes continue to increase in terms of numbers and activities, despite the recommendations made by the Mapping Review 2006, their real impact on improving the take up, performance and achievement in STEM subjects has not been investigated and, as such, their real contribution to STEM education may be undermined. This is a highly neglected area of research and policy. It may be the case that the initiatives generally manage to reach their annual targets, in terms of number of participants (schools, teachers and pupils) and spend the allocated funding. This may be sufficient to qualify them for subsequent funding.
Limited studies, evidence and evaluation of STEM initiatives, grants and schemes that currently exist are, mainly, based on views expressed and comments made by teachers and pupils who have participated in their initiatives and schemes as opposed to any serious attempts to measure and demonstrate the real impact on take up and achievements. The following section provides an overview of some these studies.
A recent study by Lindahl’s (2007) of 70 pupils in grades 5 to 9 suggested that positive experiences with science were associated with an increased likelihood of their
engagement with science in later life and, conversely, loss of interest in science at an early age decreases their likelihood of re-engaging with science in later life.
The main findings of a recent scoping study carried out for the Wellcome Trust which, amongst other objectives, evaluated the impact of the types of science initiatives already taking place in UK primary schools. It was based on the responses of 300 teachers across the UK to a telephone survey and focus groups with groups of teachers which took place in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (Murphy & Beggs, 2006). The study also included the evaluation of HEI primary science initiatives indicated that most initiatives reviewed addressed the following areas:
Ö Increasing teachers’ confidence to teach science
Ö Promoting scientific investigation in the classroom Ö Increasing children’s’ enjoyment of science
Ö Improving pupil attainment in science
Ö Improving continuity between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 science
The study concluded that whilst many of the initiatives reviewed undoubtedly had a significant impact on children and teachers in the project schools, their impact on the school population as a whole was not nearly as high. The study revealed that the largest number of initiatives in primary schools appeared to be aimed at increasing teachers’ confidence in science learning and teaching. However, it is not clear from the evidence provided whether or not improvement of teachers’ confidence is translated into greater number of participants, better results and achievements in STEM subjects beyond the primary stage.
A recent evaluation of the Einstein Year 2005 Initiative carried out by Peters et al in 2006 built upon a questionnaire-based study of attitudes towards science and scientists among 11-14 year olds in the UK and Ireland. The study revealed that with regards to attitudinal change towards physics, young people who stated that they had participated in Einstein Year events showed a small but consistent increase in interest over non- participants. No significant changes were found in participants opinions about the impact of science and technology on society or about their attitudes to scientists and their work (Peters et al, 2006).
As the Mapping Review 2004 has stated, access to, and information about, initiatives are key factors in their take-up by learning providers and learners. Evidence provided in the
Review 2004 also highlighted that there is paucity in the knowledge about their nature and level of activities, take up, added value and impact due to lack of evaluation and a focal point of co-ordination.
It is not clear how these initiatives are linked to the widening participation agenda, an integral part of the remit of RDAs to address issues of social inclusion in economic regeneration for their respective regions. It is not clear whether these initiatives have any provisions to engage the socially disadvantaged, particularly groups of individuals lacking skill-sets that are not aligned the demands of the region, to become inclusive contributors to SET and allied occupations.
The connectivity technologies have provided a significant opportunity for these initiatives to set up their own dedicated websites which are used as the main engine for disseminating information. Due to the vast numbers of initiatives, as well as other web- based resources, it is not easy to access and source information about appropriate initiatives which may affect both demand and supply side factors. This is a criticism that is often made against government-sponsored initiatives in any area of the economy and it is clearly something that needs to be addressed.
This Research Synthesis has identified a number of documents that have attempted to provide information about some of the key initiatives. The Royal Society, for example, has produced a document entitled ‘Money, Money: Funding Opportunity for Schools’ (available on the Royal Society’s Website (http://royalsociety.org), which contains information about some major schemes such as, Partnership Grants, Gatsby Teacher Fellowship Programme, PPARC (now STFC) and the Institute of Physics School Grants Scheme. The original Mapping Review 2004 has provided a list of initiatives by different categories as annexes to its report. The Wellcome Trust scoping study report contains brief descriptions about a number of initiatives (DfES, 2004). Shape the Future has recently produced a brochure which includes information about some 70 schemes, but mainly for the engineering sector (www.raeng.org.uk).
Only a small proportion of STEM initiatives and schemes provide contact details of participating schools, teachers and pupils. Few initiatives and schemes provide case studies or success stories of participating schools, which tend to echo the participants’ positive views and comments, publicised via their websites and newsletters.
Presently, there is no concrete evidence to show whether or not there is a positive link between the improvement in the take up of and higher achievement in STEM subjects and participation in extra curricula activities. Assessing the real impact requires some
available via LEAs. Such studies require comparisons of performance ‘before and after’ participations in innovative initiatives and practices (STEM initiatives and schemes). In order to asses the real impact it is also imperative to compare and contrast the level of take up and performance of STEM subjects between a sample of schools that actively participate in STEM initiatives and extra curriculum activities and a sample of non- participating schools. It is also important to examine the characteristics of high performing schools and assess the extent to which they participate in STEM initiatives and extra curriculum activities. It is only through such studies that we will be able to assess the real impact and effectiveness of STEM.
However, despite the abovementioned limitations, it has been possible for the purpose of this Research Synthesis, to assemble a database of some schools and colleges that have participated in a number of key STEM initiatives and schemes and gather some additional information, such as location (city and region), and type (e.g., mixed, single sex and special schools), as well as the contact details of teachers who have taken the leading role in the development of projects and applications. A great deal of time and effort has been put into the creation of this database. This database could potentially provide an invaluable source and basis for a follow up study to assess and examine the real impact of STEM initiatives and schemes on the take up of and performance in STEM subjects.
The following section provides an overview of some initiatives and analysis of their case studies that may be classed as examples of ‘good practice’. Through this exercise it has been possible to identify a number of schools which have developed and delivered innovative measures and projects funded and supported by these initiatives and schemes.