Access, Inclusion, and Heterogeneity in Pre-University Engineering Education

This interdisciplinary investigation delves into the multifaceted analysis of barriers within the realms of socioeconomic, cultural, institutional, and mental health aspects to attain a deeper comprehension of the persisting underrepresentation of women within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professions. Despite regulatory efforts aimed at fostering gender equality, women remain a minority in STEM domains, constituting a mere 34% of the workforce. This disparity is glaring, with women comprising only 21% of engineering majors and 19% of computer science majors, thereby illustrating the pervasive underrepresentation across the academic spectrum. Additionally, gender pay disparities persist, accentuated by biased recruitment and advancement practices that culminate in considerably lower earnings for women in comparison to their male counterparts. Young girls and women face discouragement in pursuing STEM vocations owing to entrenched stereotypes, a dearth of female role models, and an inhospitable institutional milieu. Prevailing societal biases continue to perpetuate the notion that STEM is predominantly male- dominated, portraying scientists and STEM professionals primarily as men. The absence of female role models, particularly for Black women, compounds this challenge. Furthermore, institutional impediments within academic and research settings perpetuate gender insensitivity, mandating conformity to traditional gender norms and impeding the progression of women in their professional trajectories. Additionally, the rigorous demands of STEM education exacerbate mental health issues, notably amongst graduate women hailing from various socioeconomic strata. These issues manifest as heightened stress levels, anxiety, depressive disorders, and even suicidal ideation, dissuading young girls from embarking on STEM careers. To redress these obstacles and propel gender equality within STEM, recommendations encompass the implementation of affirmative action and equal pay policies, robust advocacy for inclusivity and diversity in STEM education and workplaces, establishment of mentorship initiatives, and proactive efforts to debunk prevalent stereotypes. Essential too is the destigmatization and establishment of comprehensive mental health support initiatives tailored to the unique needs of underrepresented groups within STEM. This study underscores the urgent call for collaborative action by governments, institutions, and stakeholders to cultivate a more hospitable and equitable STEM environment for women. It accentuates the paramount importance of comprehending and addressing the intricate interplay of factors inhibiting gender parity within STEM professions. To conduct a meticulous exploration of the intricate nexus between societal, cultural, institutional, and mental health elements contributing to gender disparities in STEM, the research methodology involved a triangulation of data from scholarly journals, surveys, and academic papers within the STEM domain

This paper examines how multilingual education strategies can be applied within STEM classrooms to bridge linguistic gaps and enhance learning outcomes. It reviews various teaching approaches incorporating multiple languages in conveying scientific concepts, aiming to improve accessibility, and understanding for students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The analysis includes case studies of schools successfully implementing multilingual STEM programs, highlighting the benefits and challenges of such educational practices. Multilingualism presents challenges and opportunities in science education, particularly in bridging the gap between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects and linguistic diversity. This review provides an overview of the key themes and findings from a review of multilingual teaching approaches in science education. The review highlights multilingual students' challenges in STEM education, including language barriers that may impede their understanding of complex scientific concepts. It also examines the importance of addressing these challenges through innovative teaching approaches that leverage students' linguistic diversity as a strength rather than a limitation. Key findings from the review include the effectiveness of bilingual education models, such as content and language-integrated learning (CLIL), in enhancing students' scientific literacy and language proficiency. These models allow students to develop their STEM knowledge and language skills in tandem, leading to improved academic outcomes. The review also discusses the role of culturally responsive teaching in engaging multilingual students in STEM subjects. By incorporating students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds into the curriculum, educators can create more inclusive and effective learning environments that cater to the diverse needs of learners. Overall, the review highlights the importance of adopting a multilingual approach to teaching STEM subjects, which recognizes and values students' linguistic diversity. By embracing multilingualism in science education, educators can help bridge the gap between STEM and linguistic gaps, ultimately promoting more significant equity and inclusivity in STEM education.

Probably we would not know about pre-university (or K-12, in USA terms) engineering education if there had not been the discussion about STEM education. STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The term started its existence as a rather political term in the mid-2000s.

COVID-19 exposed a wide range of challenges hidden unnoticed in the promise of digital education. Digital education was once promised as the grand equalizer of access and inclusion in education. However, the massive deployment of digital tools in the educational realm during COVID-19 provided significant counterevidence to this promise. If education is a fundamental right and if digital technologies are the only way to gain access to education, it is important that these technologies be made available to everyone for effective use. However, as COVID-19 would demonstrate to us, this has not been the case. There have been stark and widespread inequities in the availability and quality of digital technologies for education, and the need for purposeful efforts to bridge the gap was felt prominently. In the backdrop of COVID-19, this chapter identifies some of the key equity issues and proposes solutions to address them.

The Ministry of Education Malaysia has emphasised on the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025. The inclusion of STEM education in the blueprint is much needed as the number of students enrolling for STEM subjects has seen a decrease over the past few years, especially at the upper secondary level where the students are given the option to choose their subjects of choice from the pool of Science or Arts. This study reviews a collection of literature and aims to further understand the issue causing the downtrend in students opting for STEM subjects in school. The study then reviews literature on using e-learning as a tool to rectify the issue in hand. The study hopes to encourage researchers to look into using e-learning (more specifically, m- learning) as a way to make the learning process of STEM subjects in school more interesting for the students and in turn, will encourage more students to undertake these subjects.

We hypothesized that women avoid male-dominated domains because they anticipate lacking the power to influence others in those contexts. In Study 1, a questionnaire study, male undergraduates were more interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors than were female undergraduates, and this gender disparity was mediated by women anticipating having less power in STEM fields than men did. Study 2 experimentally demonstrated that a lack of female representation within an academic context (MBA program) led women to infer that they would lack power in that context. Consequently, they became less interested in the program and in business schools in general. Our findings indicate that expecting low interpersonal power is an important mechanism by which women lose interest in pursuing male-dominated fields.

Women are underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths); with further stratification existing for those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Understanding the reasons for this is essential to progress towards equality in STEM fields. This paper takes the perspective of such marginalized groups and explores their beliefs about STEM within a school-based system, for the purposes of this study a focus has been placed on gender and socio-economic status. Focus groups were conducted with 18 female participants attending Irish secondary schools. The results provide insight into the challenges faced when pursuing STEM; additionally, the motivating and inhibiting factors are reported. Results reveal how social and academic barriers prevent young women from progressing in STEM, highlighting how intersectional layers of disadvantage limit equal access in STEM education. Such findings can inform the development of policies to help students access STEM-education, especially those attending schools characterized by higher concentrations of students from low-socio-economic backgrounds.

Purpose The study builds on the literature of inclusive higher education, which describes the constructs and challenges of inclusive HE. The study emphasizes the factors responsible for inequality in HE limiting fairness and social justice. The study discusses the critical aspects of inclusive HE for policy directives and new strategic actions. The study describes the essential concepts and dimensions of inclusiveness in HE which support the development of new policy directives, strategic actions at the institutional level and higher stakeholder engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study is a comprehensive review of the concept of inclusive HE. It attempts to explore the concepts of inclusive HE, its enablers and barriers based on a library search of an online database of Scopus. The research adopts the PRISMA model, an approach which is derived from healthcare studies which are inspired by a rigorous and systematic approach. Findings The findings conclude on the apprehension at the institutional policies and practices framework on accessibility, affordability and competence measurement. The study concludes country country-specific restrictions in addressing learners’ diversity and the dearth of financial support in the form of crowdfunding apart and scholarships are critical dimensions of HE, which is an unexplored area of research in higher educational studies. Practical implications Inclusive higher education (HE) advocates social justice with equal rights and opportunities for education, which has recognized the need for policies and practices to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in education. The multi-stakeholder engagement for curriculum and pedagogy development would address the challenge of diversity. Future studies can be directed at examining the campus climate and outcomes of inclusive education and devising an evaluation framework for universal inclusive HE. Originality/value The study brings out the drivers that restrict the fairness in the HE system. The paper discusses diverse literature and identifies the relevant gaps in the strategic orientation of inclusive HE. The research sets the context for understanding the concept of inclusivity in HE in totality through a comprehensive review of extant literature, which sets the direction for future policy directives to address the existing research gaps in the HE institutional framework.

A traditionally strong presence of women’s universities in Japan has now been seriously challenged owing to the decline in the university-age population. Despite a plethora of initiatives to promote women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the underrepresentation of women still remains an issue. With the rise of equality, diversity and inclusion concepts, what does it mean to study STEM at women’s university from the student’s perspective? This article reports the changing landscape of higher education institutions in Japan and the results of questionnaire surveys conducted in 2012 and 2023 among STEM students at a women’s university. The study found that although more respondents from the recent cohort identified co-educational institutions as their first choice, those who were unsure of a STEM specialization before admission selected women’s universities and private co-ed institutions over public co-educational universities. The findings also suggest that many recognise their selected women-only environment as a place that offers an unusually good preparation for future careers within a society that retains gender stereotypes. In addition, it indicates that many of the respondents are the first-generation STEM students, breaking the mould of their family environment.

This chapter is in three parts. The first part will give an account of how industry has become increasingly involved in pre-university engineering education in the UK over the past 15 years. The second part will describe a range of current activities that exemplify this involvement. The third part will provide a commentary on the activities from the perspectives of intention and effectiveness.

Pre-university engineering education and the possible effects of the national curriculum in the U.K. This paper describes the author's experience of pre-university engineering education and discusses the particular problems associated with electrical topics. It further discusses the possible effects on these schemes of the National Curriculum attainment targets and Programmes of Study in science in the U.K.

This study utilized a descriptive correlational design in order to describe and examine needs of teachers in Science and Technology and Engineering (STEM) Curriculum among public secondary schools in the Congressional District 1 within the Schools Division of Nueva Ecija. It was participated by 70 STEM teachers who were purposively drawn by the researcher. Developed-survey-questionnaire was utilized. Results reveal that there is reliance on computers and smartphones which emphasize the importance of accessibility in education which provides essential access to information, online resources and communication platforms that enhance learning. In addition, it found out that there are critical aspects of STEM education which put emphasis on the need for comprehensive content, innovative instructional strategies, and well-prepared educators. Further, educational strategies should focus on developing these skills through active, inquiry-based learning approaches, thereby preparing students to tackle complex scientific challenges and fostering a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Also, there was a significant correlation between instructional designs and science process skills highlights the need for innovative teaching strategies that actively engage students in inquiry-based learning.

The December 2025 issue of the Journal of Research in STEM Education brings together four complementary studies that collectively reflect the evolving priorities of contemporary STEM education research. While situated in diverse contexts and employing varied methodological approaches, the contributions in this issue converge around a shared concern: how STEM education can be designed to be more inclusive, expressive, and transformative for learners and teachers alike. Taken together, these studies extend current discussions on creativity, communication, teacher professional learning, and equity, offering timely insights for both researchers and practitioners. The issue opens with Zhou’s conceptual contribution, ‘Ah!-HaHa!-Aha!’: A Tool of Creativity Development in STEM Education, which foregrounds the often-underexamined role of emotion in STEM learning and teaching. Moving beyond cognitive-only accounts of creativity, Zhou introduces a pedagogical tool that integrates curiosity (“Ah!”), joy and playfulness (“HaHa!”), and insight (“Aha!”) into a coherent framework for fostering creative climates in STEM classrooms. By synthesizing inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, playful learning, and teaching for deeper learning, the proposed model positions everyday experiences as fertile ground for creativity development. This work is particularly significant in its insistence that creativity is not an exceptional trait reserved for a few, but a situated, emotion-mediated process accessible across educational levels. As such, it sets a conceptual foundation for rethinking STEM education as a deeply human and affective enterprise. Building on this emphasis on expression and meaning-making, Wang, Jacobsen, and Jackson offer an empirical investigation into science communication through their study A Text Analytical Study of STEM Inquiries in Grad Slam Competition. Employing text analytics and natural language processing, the authors examine transcripts of graduate students’ three-minute research presentations to uncover patterns in STEM inquiry and communication. Their findings highlight how structured communication training, such as Grad Slam workshops, can strengthen both disciplinary understanding and confidence in public science communication—particularly within a Hispanic Serving Institution context. Methodologically, this study demonstrates the growing potential of computational approaches for analyzing rich qualitative data at scale. Substantively, it underscores communication as a core competency in STEM education, aligning with broader calls to prepare scientists and engineers who can effectively engage diverse audiences. The third contribution, STEM Research Experiences for Teachers: A Feasibility Study of the Sustainable Energy for Empowering Rural Communities Program, by Simpson and colleagues, shifts the focus to teacher professional development and capacity building. Through a mixed-methods evaluation of a research experience program for rural teachers in the United States, the study documents how authentic engagement with sustainable energy research can enhance teachers’ confidence, disciplinary knowledge, and classroom practice. Importantly, the authors situate their work within the specific challenges and strengths of rural educational contexts, emphasizing the value of place-based and context-sensitive professional learning models. The findings reinforce the argument that effective STEM reform depends not only on curricular innovation, but also on sustained investment in teachers as learners, researchers, and agents of change. The issue concludes with Goreth and Lutz’s large-scale quantitative study, Gender and Diversity Awareness among STEM-Teachers: Mono Makes the Difference, which directly addresses questions of equity and inclusion in STEM education. Drawing on survey data from over 500 teachers, the authors examine how gender, subject affiliation, and experience in mono-educational settings relate to teachers’ attitudes and knowledge regarding gender and diversity. The findings reveal nuanced differences that have important implications for teacher education and professional development, particularly in relation to gender-sensitive pedagogical practices. By foregrounding teachers’ beliefs and experiences, this study contributes critical empirical evidence to ongoing debates about how STEM education can challenge—rather than reproduce—structural inequalities. Collectively, the four articles in this issue illustrate the multidimensional nature of STEM education research today. Creativity is framed not merely as cognitive problem solving, but as an emotional and social process; communication is positioned as a central outcome of STEM learning; teacher education is examined as a key lever for sustainable change; and equity is treated as an integral, rather than peripheral, concern. The methodological diversity represented—from conceptual modeling and text analytics to mixed-methods program evaluation and large-scale survey research—further reflects the field’s increasing sophistication and openness to interdisciplinary approaches. As STEM education continues to respond to global challenges such as sustainability, technological transformation, and social inequity, the studies presented in this issue offer both theoretical guidance and empirical grounding. We hope that readers will find in these contributions not only rigorous scholarship, but also inspiration for designing STEM learning environments that are inclusive, expressive, and transformative.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research are globally recognised as engines of growth and development and indicators of citizens’ well-being. Studies have continuously highlighted the unequal access and participation in STEM higher education based on class, caste, gender, disability and other markers of identity. This research paper investigates the underrepresentation of women in STEM at the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) in India. IITs are India’s top elite institutions that open window of opportunities to students across the world. The study uses the data available from the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE), the Council of Indian Institute of Technology and the websites of the IITs. The findings indicate a significant gap between males and females in faculty positions at IITs. Furthermore, the study finds that the underrepresentation of women faculty differs across the STEM disciplines at IITs in India. It needs more gender-just affirmative action policies such as intersectional reservation for women in STEM academic careers, funding, legal protection against harassment, and representation of women in various committees and leadership positions.

In the age of rapid technological advancements, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLMs) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping pedagogical approaches and assessment methodologies. This book, comprising twenty-six chapters, delves deep into the multifaceted realm of AI-driven STEM education. It begins by exploring the challenges and opportunities of AI-based STEM education, emphasizing the intricate balance between human tasks and technological tools. As the chapters unfold, readers learn about innovative AI applications, from automated scoring systems in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and engineering to intelligent tutors and adaptive learning. The book also touches upon the nuances of AI in supporting diverse learners, including students with learning disabilities, and the ethical considerations surrounding AI's growing influence in educational settings. It showcases the transformative potential of AI in reshaping STEM education, emphasizing the need for adaptive pedagogical strategies that cater to diverse learning needs in an AI-centric world. The chapters further delve into the practical applications of AI, from scoring teacher observations and analyzing classroom videos using neural networks to the broader implications of AI for STEM assessment practices. Concluding with reflections on the new paradigm of AI-based STEM education, this book serves as a comprehensive guide for educators, researchers, and policymakers, offering insights into the future of STEM education in an AI-driven world.