Diversity in STEM education

Magda Wood, Chief of Learning at Micro:bit Educational Foundation, walks us through diversity in STEM education, focussing on three things to rethink on the path to more inclusivity in tech

Technology is everywhere. Simply put, it’s an unavoidable part of everyone’s daily lives. And as society moves quickly toward a progressively digital future, the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become increasingly prominent.

Much STEM education today focuses on preparing children and building skills to fill in-demand technology and science roles later in life, like programmers and scientists. But the significance and value of STEM education extends far beyond professional preparation, and we need to rethink how we bring STEM, especially technology, into the classroom.

Here are the top things we must rethink in Computing and STEM education.

Technology’s diversity problem is more than just gender, and we need to start changing the narrative earlier

The technology sector has long grappled with its gender diversity gap, but gaps are also present in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and neurodiversity. Shockingly, almost half of young people in the tech sector have reported feeling uncomfortable at work due to these factors, hindering their potential contributions and happiness in the workplace.

If we look at STEM in education, Computer Science has the single most enormous gender gap at A-Level, closely followed by Physics, Maths and ICT. Although girls’ attainment at A-Level is now outstripping boys, as last year 6.3% of female students attained an A* grade at Computing A-Level this year, compared with 5.1% of boys.

Meanwhile, a recent Diversity and Inclusion in STEM report from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee found that minority ethnic groups were still hugely under-represented both in STEM education and employment.

This diversity gap isn’t just a problem in the working world; it persists and starts in how we approach education.

The best way to address diversity disparity in Computing is by engaging the interest of girls and students from under-represented backgrounds from a young age and directly challenging unhelpful cultural and societal conceptions and stereotypes about technology before they have time to take root.

STEM and Computing can be a huge source of creativity

STEM is often considered to lack creativity, and for Computing, the reputation is even worse. As a relatively new subject on school curricula, many educators are still learning the subject knowledge in greater depth and how to teach it. They are without the tools and resources to plan and teach Computing creatively.

While creativity may most often be associated with the arts and humanities, STEM subjects are inherently based on approaching problem-solving with a fresh perspective and experimenting with different ideas to produce creative solutions.

By focusing on how digital skills and Computing can boost creative thinking, STEM education can empower students to delve into novel concepts, question conventional wisdom, and devise solutions to intricate problems – critical skills for any real-world occupation.

Using enquiry and critical thinking skills to evaluate the design and impact of technology can strengthen creative thinking within STEM. Learning to develop ideas through the design thinking process offers students opportunities to apply their growing technical and conceptual knowledge to meaningful real-world issues.

Whether as a designer, engineer, software developer or environmental scientist, investing in strategies to encourage digital creativity will prepare individuals for their future careers and foster a society primed for continuous innovation and progress.

Teachers are our most powerful resource – but they need support to bring tech to life and help encourage diversity

Classrooms are undoubtedly one of the best places to inspire and encourage young people from any background to take on a challenge. It offers a more even playing field and setting, with greater opportunities for all, and teachers have a significant and vital role in creating a safe and exciting space to learn STEM skills.

For example, the lack of gender diversity in STEM education is not a question of girls lacking enjoyment or ability in the subject, but rather about making subjects, such as Computing, feel like a safe space for young girls. This means bringing it into classrooms at an early age, but also having teachers play powerful role models.

But we shouldn’t overburden teachers; they need support. Advances in creating teacher resources with greater inclusivity in mind are happening, but we need these to be more readily available to teachers. Teaching is still a female-dominated profession, too. Hence, we need to work extra hard to help female teachers overcome any lack of confidence they might have themselves with technology if we expect them to teach it to children confidently.

Empowering diverse perspectives for a STEM future

Empowering diverse perspectives in STEM education to unleash innovation and nurture creativity is critical. But if we want to do that, we need to urge educators to rethink the culture we create around STEM and Computing; we need to better equip, train and resource teachers in the classroom to minimise the chances of creating the diversity barriers we see in STEM today.