STEM Professionals Research Articles

A Multi-Organizational Network’s Evolving Efforts to Diversify the STEM Professoriate

AbstractMulti-organizational networks are increasingly understood as powerful levers for inducing change in higher education, particularly for fostering more diverse and inclusive organizations. Yet, there is limited scholarship on how these networks successfully change colleges and universities. This case study follows the evolution of one network effort, tracing how its theory of action changed over time. Through a close examination of semi-structured interviews and case-related artifacts, we generated a rich picture of network leadership, learning, and implementation. Future network leaders and funders will find this work useful. Scholars, too, will find that our work responds to numerous calls to examine how data-driven and equity-focused change efforts are successfully sustained in postsecondary education.

The Effect of Project-Based Stem Education Approach on Academic Achievement and Stem Career Interests in Science

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the project-based STEM learning method prepared in accordance with the Science and Technology course curriculum on academic achievement and STEM Career Interest levels. Pre-test post-test control group experimental design was used in the study. In this context, the sample of the study consisted of 52 (n=26 experimental and n=27 control) volunteer 6th grade students studying in two different branches at Karatay Secondary School in Karatay district of Konya province in the second semester of 2021-2022 academic year. A placement test was administered in order to determine the branches in which the study would be conducted. According to the results of the exam, volunteer students studying in the closest level branches were included in the study. The students in the experimental group were taught according to the project-based STEM learning method prepared according to the outcomes of the Support and Motion System, Force and Motion, Sound Insulation, Thermal Insulation units for 64 lesson hours. The students in the control group were taught the above-mentioned units by the same instructor according to the existing program for 64 class hours. Both experimental and control group students were administered the skills-based academic achievement and STEM Career Interest Scale prepared by the Ministry of National Education as pre-test and post-test. The data obtained from the pre-test and post-test applications were evaluated in SPSS 26.0 package program. In the statistical analysis, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the students in the experimental and control groups in favor of the students in the experimental group (p<0.05). According to the findings obtained from the statistical analysis, it was concluded that the project-based STEM teaching method in science education increased the level of academic achievement and interest in STEM professions. Based on this result, it is predicted that students' academic achievement levels can increase with the more frequent use of project-based STEM learning method in science education by teachers

Creativity and collaborative performance of artists and STEM professionals

This study examines the relationship between creativity and performance in collaborations between artists and STEM professionals. It investigates the antecedent factors of the creativity of artists and STEM professionals and elaborates on the performance of temporal and imperfect organizational creativity. A survey was administered to 969 Korean artists and STEM professionals, of which data on 131 respondents with experience of art and STEM collaboration were used for the empirical analysis by applying a structural equation model. The results show that an individual's intrinsic motivation, and creative personality characteristic positively influence creativity collaborative performance. Intrinsic motivation and creative personality characteristics positively influenced collaborative performance by the mediation of creativity. Our study contributes to the literature by deepening our understanding of creativity and collaboration between artists and STEM professionals, particularly in temporary and imperfect organizational creativity, which has not been addressed in existing discussions of creativity. This confirms that artists and STEM professionals have common antecedent factors of creativity, and that the coexistence of scientific and artistic creativity has a positive impact on collaborative performance.

School students’ aspirations for STEM careers: the influence of self-concept, parental expectations, career outcome expectations, and perceptions of STEM professionals

ABSTRACT This study examined the processes that contributed to students’ aspirations for STEM careers and unpacked the relationships between students’ self-concept in science and mathematics learning, perceived parental expectations, perceptions of STEM professionals, career outcome expectations and STEM career aspirations. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse quantitative survey data of 2,477 primary and secondary school students studying in seven Asian regions (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mainland China, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore). The results demonstrated that students’ self-concept, perceptions of STEM professionals, and their career outcome expectations all significantly and positively predicted their aspirations for STEM careers. However, this study failed to establish a direct relationship or positive correlation between perceived parental expectations and STEM career aspirations. Students’ self-concept negatively predicted their career outcome expectations related to seeking parental approval. While no significant positive effects of perceived parental expectations on career aspirations were found, an indirect effect of perceived parental expectations on STEM career aspirations via career outcome expectations was observed. Moreover, career outcome expectations mediated the relationships between students’ STEM career aspirations and their perceptions of STEM professionals more strongly than self-concept. The implications of these results for STEM education are discussed.

Determination of Middle School Students' Opinions on Stem Professions

As it is known, raising qualified individuals to work in STEM occupational groups plays a critical role for the future and welfare of a country. In this respect, determining the interests of middle school students in STEM professions in our country is a subject worth investigating. When the relevant studies in the literature are examined, it is seen that the general tendencies of the students towards STEM professions are evaluated by using quantitative data collection tools in the majority of the studies. In this study, a descriptive study with qualitative elements was carried out in order to determine the opinions of middle school students about STEM professions. The study group of the research consists of 40 middle school students studying in the central district of Uşak. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students and the data obtained were described using the content analysis method. As a result of the research, it has been determined that middle school students have superficial knowledge about STEM professions, and students who are self-sufficient in Science and Mathematics and who are interested in science are more willing to choose these occupational groups in the future.

Liberal Arts Graduates in the Labour Market: A Comparative Study of Dutch University Colleges and Conventional Bachelor’s Programmes

This paper compares the employment outcomes of liberal arts graduates from Dutch university colleges with those of their peers who pursued conventional, subject-specific bachelor’s degrees. Using data from the Dutch National Alumni Survey, the analysis includes 14,933 respondents who completed a master’s programme at a research university, with 210 of them holding a university college degree. Logistic, multinomial, and OLS regression analyses were performed on six labour market outcomes: employment status, time to first paid job, vertical match, horizontal match, vertical and horizontal match combination, and hourly wage from regular work. Propensity score matching was used as a robustness check. The results show that holding a university college degree is not associated with any distinct advantages or disadvantages in the job market. While a liberal arts bachelor’s degree has a negative effect on obtaining employment in STEM professions, no statistically significant differences, neither negative nor positive, were found in other outcomes. This suggests that university colleges do not lack the capacity to prepare students for the labour market.

A reflexive thematic analysis exploring the experiences of undergraduate women in STEM in Bangladesh

Globally, a significant gender gap is reported in the enrolment of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Bangladesh reports one of the lowest female stakeholder percentages in STEM but has increased demand for skilled STEM professionals. Therefore, this qualitative study explores the experiences of undergraduate women in STEM in Bangladesh. Seven female undergraduate students were recruited using purposeful sampling, and a semi-structured interview was conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis, along with a phenomenological approach, was utilized for data analysis to gain a better understanding of their experiences. The four key themes that emerged were the gendered nature of interactions, the impact of societal barriers, underrepresentation and role models, self-identity, and psychological outcomes. The findings suggested multiple factors like gender-biased interactions in classrooms, lack of access to STEM resources, and lack of female role models negatively impacted students’ academic experiences. Moreover, poor self-esteem in female students contributed to imposter syndrome and heightened career anxiety.

ChatGPT‐3.5 and ‐4.0 and mechanical engineering: Examining performance on the FE mechanical engineering and undergraduate exams

AbstractThe launch of Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT) at the end of 2022 generated large interest in possible applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and among STEM professions. As a result many questions surrounding the capabilities of generative AI tools inside and outside of the classroom have been raised and are starting to be explored. This study examines the capabilities of ChatGPT within the discipline of mechanical engineering. It aims to examine the use cases and pitfalls of such a technology in the classroom and professional settings. ChatGPT was presented with a set of questions from junior‐ and senior‐level mechanical engineering exams provided at a large private university, as well as a set of practice questions for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam in mechanical engineering. The responses of two ChatGPT models, one free to use and one paid subscription, were analyzed. The paper found that the subscription model (GPT‐4, May 12, 2023) greatly outperformed the free version (GPT‐3.5, May 12, 2023), achieving 76% correct versus 51% correct, but the limitation of text only input on both models makes neither likely to pass the FE exam. The results confirm findings in the literature with regard to types of errors and pitfalls made by ChatGPT. It was found that due to its inconsistency and a tendency to confidently produce incorrect answers, the tool is best suited for users with expert knowledge.

Factors Influencing Women's Preferences for STEM Professions: A Case Study of the University of Peshawar

There is a widely held belief that there is an increasing gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) worldwide. Women have achieved gender equality with men in certain professions, such as the humanities and social sciences. However, women still lack adequate representation in the highest positions of academia and the professional world in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This paper is grounded in institutional theory to explore the factors that demotivate or hinder women from joining STEM as a profession in universities. The research is based on a qualitative case study of the University of Peshawar. We conducted 20 interviews with female staff members in 13 STEM departments, with 32 female staff out of 183 faculty members. The collected data generated a total of 123 codes. The axial coding procedure generated 38 codes, which were grouped into fourteen distinct categories and four overarching themes of (1) male dominant culture, (2) multiple influences, (3) professional environment, and (4) job opportunities. The study highlights the complex interplay between societal attitudes and gender in STEM fields, emphasising the need for comprehensive strategies to promote gender equality. Addressing these factors and thoroughly analysing women's engagement in STEM departments is crucial.

Factors Associated with STEM Career Expectations of Greek 15-Year-Old Students

AbstractScience, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions offer competitive earnings, tend to be compatible with technological advances, and are predicted to remain in high demand in the future. Many countries, including Greece, have prioritised STEM education on their educational agendas, aiming to prepare students for careers in these fields. In this study, we investigated factors that may predict Greek students’ STEM career expectations through analysing data from the 2015 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). In doing so, we categorised the responses of 4910 15-year-old students to the question “What kind of job do you expect to have when you are about 30 years old?” into STEM and non-STEM professions, following a wide approach that included health and medical professions in the STEM category and a narrow approach that excluded these professions from the STEM category. Binary logistic regression results showed that student enjoyment of science, instrumental motivation, interest towards broad science topics, and their science performance were associated with their career expectations across both approaches; family economic, social, and cultural status was associated with students’ career expectations within the wide approach only, while gender and achievement motivation were associated with students’ career expectations within the narrow approach only. The differences in the factors predicting students’ career expectations between the two approaches indicate that transparency in the definitions and operationalisations of STEM is needed within the relevant research.

Cross-cultural communication across STEM disciplines

Collaboration across cultures in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields has become increasingly common. This means many STEM professionals in US-based companies now work with professionals from other cultures. In this global context, cross-cultural knowledge is crucial for effective communication. Without this knowledge, there can be misunderstandings and discomfort. Different cultures use different communication styles, which has been studied by the field of communication. The concept of high and context low-context culture is used to discuss the role of contextual cues in communication. High-context cultures rely on implicit language and contextual and situational cues, while low-context cultures use explicit language. Although no culture is strictly high or low context, this concept is important as it helps us understand how our communication style can be influenced by cultural characteristics. There is a growing need to support and encourage students to become interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields. Many STEM programs in the United States have emphasized the importance of collaboration to meet this need. However, effective collaboration requires effective communication, and students often lack opportunities to explore how they can communicate effectively with collaborators from other cultures and countries. To bridge this gap, this article proposes incorporating communication into STEM courses for undergraduate students. The course will include learning opportunities about low and high-context cultures and guest speakers. This article aims to provide insights into how communication content can prepare undergraduate students to become culturally competent STEM professionals.

Gender Perspectives on Role Models: Insights from STEM Students and Professionals

Qualified professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and STEM education are in increasingly short supply globally. Role models can help increase women’s representation in STEM, both at entry and senior levels. The study objectives were to identify the characteristics of role models in STEM higher education and careers and to investigate the differences in role model characteristics between career stages and between genders. We used a mixed-methods methodology involving a questionnaire and interviews. The participants, 788 alumni and final-year undergraduate and graduate students from a STEM research university, responded to the questionnaire, and ten leading women in STEM professions were interviewed. The questionnaire results indicated that a higher proportion of women than men reported being influenced by a role model during their studies. Seven key characteristics of role models were identified from the open-ended responses and the interviews: ambitious, charismatic, empathic and encouraging, inspiring, knowledgeable, gifted, and professional. The most frequent characteristics women mentioned were empathic and encouraging. The research findings support and align with the social cognitive career theory (SCCT), demonstrating how role modeling, which is part of the environmental theme, boosts intrinsic motivation—part of the personal theme, for individuals in STEM, especially women. These processes impact women’s determination and professional performance—part of the behavioral theme. Based on our findings, to advance toward a STEM workforce characterized by greater fairness, we recommend designing and deploying structured mentoring programs and forums in STEM departments that can provide young women with more role models for success and thus with more hope for success in these fields.

Unveiling the Missing Link: Women in Stem Leadership – A Comprehensive Review

This paper extensively examined the representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) within Malaysia, contextualized globally and historically. Existing research affirms the growing presence of women in the workforce (Gupta, 2020; National Academies of Sciences & Medicine, 2020), their progress in higher education (Manongsong & Ghosh, 2021; Vietze et al., 2022), their presence in professional and managerial roles (Burton et al., 2020; Evans & Maley, 2021), and their successful elevation to CEO positions (Dadanlar & Abebe, 2020). However, women continue to be significantly underrepresented in leadership positions, particularly within STEM firms (Hideg & Shen, 2019; National Academies of Sciences & Medicine, 2020). Young Malaysian women excel in both academic and extracurricular STEM activities from primary to university. Despite this gender equity achieved in STEM education, with 29% of tertiary engineering graduates and 57% of science degree holders being female, only 6% of women pursue careers as STEM professionals (Looi, 2022). Additionally, slightly over 4% of women hold leadership roles in technology firms in Malaysia (Amin & Tan, 2018). Using social constructivist and feminist theories, this analysis examines how societal and environmental factors affect girls’ performance in math and science. Educators and parents play a vital role in providing crucial support. This study also highlights a major research gap, particularly in understanding where qualified women in STEM go, especially within Malaysia.

Gender disparities and potentials in STEM approach in Jordan and Saudi Arabia – An analytical literature review

AbstractIn recent years, the integrated approach of STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has been adopted in the Middle East to improve students' scientific capacities and their formative thinking. Nevertheless, this approach encounters complications in the application, including many due to gender differences. Middle Eastern women's life and education is affected by conservative constraints and social norms where gender stereotypes and culture impact shared views about specific domains. Research regarding gender has frequently emphasized gender imbalance in virtually all STEM study fields and professions. This study explores STEM education's conceptual framework in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Likewise, it provides an overview of STEM teachers' practices and their gender perspectives in the classrooms. We investigate the implementations and gender differences in STEM education by scrutinizing relevant literature and studies in the selected countries. The conclusions indicate a shortage of teachers' knowledge in applying STEM education in classrooms and a need for more development programs that qualify teachers for STEM education applications. In addition, the results show that gender disparities are promoted by the education system and teachers who teach STEM subjects in schools because social norms and gender stereotypes influence them.

The Importance of Representing STEM Professional Role Models Through Multimedia Instructions

The first part of this paper discusses that STEM education does not have clearly defined fields, unlike discipline-based educational programs such as science education, which do have clearly defined areas. In order to overcome the complexity and ambiguity of different STEM and STEM education perspectives, it is necessary to understand the status and trajectory of STEM education research. Also, the authors suggest that stereotypes about STEM professionals can be minimized by using several faces associated with learners, as role models in presenting information about the career options available to STEM professionals in order to reduce stereotypes. As learners learn STEM, they can recognize their potential and their sense of self as well as their STEM connections. Additionally, by exposing students to various professions through multimedia learning, the distance between role models and learners may be closed, thus appealing to their interests and encouraging them to pursue careers that they are interested in the future.
 Keywords: STEM, professional role models, multimedia instructions

Academic Motherhood: Considerations of STEM Postdoctoral Scholar Women

This instrumental case study explores the messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women received and understood from faculty about having children and an academic career. Of concern, women with children are less likely than men with children or individuals without children to be offered tenure-track positions or to be promoted. This reality suggests academic motherhood is in opposition to professional legitimacy in higher education. Furthermore, postdoctoral scholars who are mothers are more likely than their peers to cite children as their primary reason for not entering the faculty job market. Through inductive and deductive methods, interview transcripts of 22 demographically diverse STEM postdoctoral scholar women were analyzed using the ideal worker conceptual framework. Two themes were identified: (1) messages interpreted as disparaging suggest to STEM postdoctoral women they must sacrifice the choice to have children for an academic career and (2) messages interpreted as supportive promote the belief that academic motherhood is achievable. These findings illustrate a systemic conflict for STEM postdoctoral scholar women who have children or are considering becoming mothers in the future. Due to disparaging messages from faculty, most interviewees felt the constraints of ideal worker norms; however, through supportive messages from faculty, particularly positive modeling, these women saw the feasibility of having children and a successful academic career without the necessity of conforming to these norms. Inclusive, family friendly higher education policies and practices must be instituted to ensure more women enter and thrive in the STEM professoriate, and women who have or desire to have children are not marginalized.

Contested imaginaries: workfinding information practices of STEM-trained immigrant women in Canada

PurposeThis pan-Canadian study examines the information practices of STEM-trained immigrant women to Canada as they navigate workfinding and workplace integration. Our study focuses on a population of highly skilled immigrant women from across Canada and uses an information practice lens to examine their lived experiences of migration and labour market integration. As highly trained STEM professionals in pursuit of employment, our participants have specific needs and challenges, and as we explore these, we consider the intersection of their information practices with government policies, settlement services and the hiring practices of STEM employers.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 74 immigrant women across 13 Canadian provinces and territories to understand the nature of their engagement with employment-seeking in STEM sectors. This article reports the findings related to the settlement and information experiences of the immigrant women as they navigate new information landscapes.FindingsAs immigrants, as women and as STEM professionals, the experiences of the 74 participants reflect both marginality and privilege. The reality of their intersectional identities is that these women may not be well-served by broader settlement resources targeting newcomers, but neither are the specific conventions of networking and job-seeking in the STEM sectors in Canada fully apparent or accessible to them. The findings also point to the broader systemic and contextual factors that participants have to navigate and that shape in a major way their workfinding journeys.Originality/valueThe findings of this pan-Canadian study have theoretical and practical implications for policy and research. Through interviews with these STEM professionals, we highlight the barriers and challenges of an under-studied category of migrants (the highly skilled and “desirable” type of immigrants). We provide a critical discussion of their settlement experiences and expose the idiosyncrasies of a system that claims to value skilled talent while structurally making it very difficult to deliver on its promises to recruit and retain highly qualified personnel. Our findings point to specific aspects of these skilled professionals’ experiences, as well as the broader systemic and contextual factors that shape their workfinding journey.

Masculinized discourses of STEM interest, performance, and competence that shape university STEM students' recognition of a “STEM person”

AbstractHow individuals come to perceive themselves in STEM is predicated on their understanding of what it means to be a member of the STEM community. This association is consequential when considering the perpetuation of white male ownership of STEM knowledge and power that forces learners identifying with groups systemically marginalized by racial and gender discrimination to adopt particular norms, values, and behaviors to gain recognition. In effect, these expectations help to maintain masculinized Discourses as STEM professionals are encultured to apply the same recognition criteria to which they were judged themselves. We examine how these Discourses are maintained even as learners who identify with groups that carry histories of systemic marginalization by racist, sexist, and elitist practices gain access to STEM communities. Specifically, we explore how university STEM students attending a Hispanic Serving Institution in the United States articulate gendered expectations of STEM membership through their characterization of themselves and others as (not) STEM people. Drawing from theories in Discourse, social identity, and feminist critiques of science, we describe how students implicitly recognize STEM identity in gendered ways. We discuss how our findings illuminate the mechanisms by which STEM recognition is afforded by pointing to its dependence on masculinized displays of STEM performances, competence, and interests, leading to a cycle of marginalization as learners are encultured to perpetuate existing STEM Discourses in their recognition of others. We discuss research implications for measurements of STEM identity that do not account for gendered Discourses and offer practical implications for the design of learning experiences that co‐opt existing Discourses to inoculate gendered perceptions of a STEM person prototype. Lastly, we present a case for elevating the role of maternal caregivers and family immigration histories in STEM identity construction.

Science and Heritage Language Integrated Learning (SHLIL): Evidence of the effectiveness of an innovative science outreach program for migrant students

AbstractMigrant students tend to underperform in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and are less likely to pursue higher education in STEM when compared with their nonmigrant peers. Given the substantial increase in migration, this disparity has been a central concern in science education in many European countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an innovative science outreach program that brings together migrant students and STEM professionals with the same linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The program consists of one‐off workshops that follow an inquiry‐based approach and include hands‐on activities and science communication in the students' heritage language. Using surveys with adapted scales and open‐ended questions, we applied a randomized block design with waitlist control groups and repeated measures. Eighty‐three Portuguese‐speaking migrant students aged 6–17 years participated in the workshops in Germany and the United Kingdom. Results indicate that both the students and STEM professionals evaluated the program positively and that students who participated in the workshops tended to demonstrate an increase in their attainment value for science and an increase in their self‐concept of ability for the heritage language 4 weeks after the intervention when compared with students in the control condition. These effects were particularly pronounced for students with low prior motivation to study science or speak the heritage language. Our results thus show that it is possible to foster migrant students' attainment value for science and increase their self‐concept of ability regarding the heritage language through a brief science outreach intervention.

Consequential insights for advancing informal STEM learning and outcomes for students from historically marginalized communities

Consequential STEM experiences in informal settings can address issues of equity by fully engaging historically marginalized high school students in complex socio-scientific issues. However, inclusive and effective programs are in high demand, and there is little research on what specific aspects, context, and timeframes are most important when scaling these experiences. Using a mixed method approach, this study demonstrates that students make significant gains, in the short and long term, through in-person and remote informal programs ranging between 22-h and 320-h. Progress across STEM learning constructs is attributed to authentic research experiences, students’ connections to STEM professionals, direct hands-on participation in projects, and group work. Relative to formal education settings, research-based informal STEM programs can be implemented with minimal resources, can maintain effectiveness while scaling, and work towards addressing the societal challenge of improving STEM learning and outcomes for high school students from historically marginalized communities.