tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/stem-8868/articlesSTEM – The Conversation2024-03-08T05:42:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234652024-03-08T05:42:34Z2024-03-08T05:42:34Z‘Definitions are often very western. This excludes us.’ Our research shows how to boost Indigenous participation in STEM<p>Australian politicians and major government reports keep emphasising the importance of STEM (or science, technology, engineering and maths) skills for our economy and society. </p>
<p>As the Universities Accord report <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord">noted last month</a>, engineering and and science are experiencing “significant skill shortages”. Then there is a <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/husic/media-releases/number-aussie-tech-workers-rise">federal goal</a> to have 1.2 million tech-related jobs by 2030. </p>
<p>This comes amid a growing discussion about how the current STEM workforce tends to be white and male. </p>
<p>Last month’s <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-02/pathway-to-diversity-in-stem-review-final-report.pdf">Diversity in STEM Review</a> noted how in 2021, only 36% of STEM university students identified as female, while only 5% were living with a disability. In the same year, 0.5% of Indigenous peoples held a university STEM qualification, compared to 4.9% of the Australian population. </p>
<p>We recently conducted <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9fddf34">research</a> for the diversity review about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ views on STEM. This included how we can increase the use of Indigenous STEM knowledge, as well as grow the number of Indigenous peoples in STEM. </p>
<p>Indigenous STEM knowledge is vast and includes many things such as astronomy, weather knowledge, medicinal plant knowledge and animal classification systems. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-peoples-knowledge-of-mysterious-fairy-circles-in-australian-deserts-has-upended-a-long-standing-science-debate-202956">First Peoples' knowledge of 'mysterious fairy circles' in Australian deserts has upended a long-standing science debate</a>
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<h2>Mob have a lot to say about STEM</h2>
<p>In 2023, we did an online survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults’ views on STEM. This is the largest survey of its kind. </p>
<p>We asked both multiple choice and open-ended questions and received 204 responses from diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, representing 98 different mobs across the nation. </p>
<p>We did this as part of a <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9fddf34">broader body of work</a> for the Diversity in STEM review. We also did literature reviews, case studies and interviews on Indigenous contributions to STEM and barriers to participating.</p>
<h2>Mob perspectives on STEM</h2>
<p>Almost one quarter (23%) of our respondents had not heard the term “STEM”. This needs to change if we want to increase Indigenous participation in STEM. It is difficult to promote STEM opportunities to our communities if terminology and language aren’t relatable or understood well.</p>
<p>Of those surveyed, 83.3% saw a connection between STEM and Indigenous culture. This also came up in the literature reviews and qualitative interviews we did: western ideas of STEM and Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing should not be seen as separate, but as complimentary. </p>
<p>Almost everyone surveyed (98%) believed it was important to have Indigenous people represented in STEM fields. Having Indigenous role models in STEM is critical if we hope more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will pursue these careers: we must be able to see a place for ourselves in these fields.</p>
<p>As one participant shared:</p>
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<p>I think it’s important that as an Indigenous person growing up you can see other people in STEM fields so you are aware of the opportunities you have.</p>
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<p>Almost all (97.5%) of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed STEM could benefit community. Many mob have strong motivations to give back and this finding can be used in designing policies and programs that incorporate the connections between STEM and community.</p>
<h2>Indigenous people are not being supported</h2>
<p>Only one in three participants felt Indigenous people are being supported to pursue STEM careers. </p>
<p>They said racism, discrimination and individual and financial challenges are all barriers. Some of the individual barriers identified are a lack of support, opportunities or confidence.</p>
<p>As one participant shared:</p>
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<p>We are often told we are not good enough or smart enough to pursue STEM because we don’t fit certain moulds of what people think should be STEM people.</p>
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<p>One participant observed the way STEM is talked about and defined is also an issue:</p>
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<p>Definitions of STEM are often very western. This excludes us.</p>
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<h2>There is a lot of positivity</h2>
<p>We know there are Indigenous people who are thriving in their STEM careers, despite the challenges. There is also enormous positivity about the possibilities of STEM for individual careers and for Indigenous communities more broadly. As one survey respondent told us: </p>
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<p>I believe STEM can provide more opportunities for our future generations in education, cultural equality and industry advancement.</p>
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<p>One person elaborated on the possibilities for sustaining Country and communities:</p>
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<p>Protecting Country and community both require STEM skills and are necessary in supporting our future generations.</p>
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<p>But our respondents noted it was essential to listen to Indigenous peoples. Our voices need to be at the centre of decision making moving forward. As one participant said: </p>
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<p>the more involvement and engagement we have, the more it opens the door for future generations.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-accord-theres-a-push-to-increase-indigenous-students-and-voices-in-higher-education-but-we-need-more-detail-and-funding-224739">Universities Accord: there's a push to increase Indigenous students and voices in higher education. But we need more detail and funding</a>
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<h2>How can we increase Indigenous participation in STEM?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9fddf34">final report</a> outlines 22 key findings and 15 recommendations based on our research. This is both evidence-based and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-022-00581-w">Indigenous-informed</a>. This is important, as our research found most published research to date on Indigenous participation in STEM and Indigenous STEM knowledge has been undertaken by non-Indigenous researchers.</p>
<p>Some of our recommendations include:</p>
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<li><p><strong>A place to advance Indigenous STEM knowledges:</strong> This should include a platform for schools and universities to access quality sources on Indigenous STEM knowledges and knowledge holders, as well as investment to grow the Indigenous STEM research workforce.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>A campaign to increase Indigenous peoples’ awareness about STEM:</strong> This should include what STEM is, as well as opportunities to be involved. It should also break down language barriers (by being published in multiple languages) and be Indigenous-led.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Establish an Office for Indigenous STEM:</strong> This would coordinate and promote policy initiatives from governments to increase Indigenous participation in STEM and would be similar to the existing Office for Women in STEM.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Community-based STEM programs:</strong> To date, governments have invested in many programs but few of these are community based or use existing STEM knowledge within communities.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Align Indigenous STEM goals with broader Indigenous education policies:</strong> Unless <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/reports/closing-the-gap-2019/education.html">education outcomes</a> improve for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increasing Indigenous participation in STEM will be challenging.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Include STEM perspectives in early childhood programs:</strong> this will provide opportunities to experience STEM from an early age, including Indigenous perspectives on STEM. </p></li>
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<p><em>The authors acknowledge the rest of the <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9fddf34">Big Mob: STEM It Up</a> research team: Suraiya Abdul Hameed, Pedram Rashidi, Zoe Ockerby, Amanda Hurley, Lisa Harvey-Smith and Lisa Williams.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marnee Shay receives funding from the Australian Government, the Australian Research Council and AIATSIS. She is a member of QATSIETAC with the Department of Education Queensland. The new research in this article was supported by a grant to UNSW Sydney as part of the federal government's Women in STEM Ambassador initiative via the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Thomson receives funding from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Antoinette Cole receives funding from the Australian Government. She is appointed as the Chair of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission's First Nations Education Committee and the Deputy Chair and member of the CQUniversity First Nations Council of Elders and Leaders.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jodie Miller receives funding from the Australian Government and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ren Perkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A survey of Indigenous people found almost one quarter had not heard of STEM. But more than 80% saw a connection between science, technology, engineering, maths and Indigenous culture.Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandAmy Thomson, PhD candidate, Senior Research Assistant, School of Education, The University of QueenslandAntoinette Cole, PhD Candidate, Senior Research Assistant, School of Education, The University of QueenslandJodie Miller, Associate Professor in Mathematics Education, The University of QueenslandRen Perkins, Lecturer, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217872024-01-27T09:17:25Z2024-01-27T09:17:25ZMatric results: South Africa’s record school pass rates aren’t what they seem – what’s really happening in the education system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571116/original/file-20240124-19-jpr4hb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the country’s minister of basic education for achieving “<a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/extraordinary-class-of-2023-records-best-pass-percentage-in-national-senior-certificate-history-20240119">extraordinary</a>” results. Of the 691,160 candidates who wrote the National Senior Certificate exams, 82.9% – that’s 572,983 – passed, up from 80.1% of the class of 2022. And more candidates than ever before obtained marks that allow them to study for a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>All of the country’s nine provinces managed to improve on their 2022 pass rates. This is despite the <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-learning-losses-what-south-africas-education-system-must-focus-on-to-recover-176622">after-effects of the COVID pandemic</a> in 2020 and 2021, when this class was in grade 9 and grade 10 respectively. The results also reflect a steady uptick in the overall national pass rate, <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/364476/south-africas-matric-pass-rate-2008-to-2019/">which has risen</a> from 60% in 2009 and stabilised over the past two years at above 80%.</p>
<p>As is clear from this summary, the release of the results focused a great deal on the numbers. As a former teacher, school principal, education circuit manager, academic expert in curriculum studies and current vice-dean of teaching and learning at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, I would caution against this approach. South Africans should not confuse quantity with quality.</p>
<p>The fanfare and hype around the results risks obscuring the big picture, which is that the actual pass rate – when dropouts are taken into account – is far lower and has been for many years. This points to huge problems within the education system.</p>
<h2>‘Real’ numbers</h2>
<p>This year, as has become the case annually, there’s been furious debate between politicians and education experts about the quality of the results. </p>
<p>Some experts <a href="https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/why-matric-pass-rate-not-reliable-benchmark-education-quality">openly</a> say that government is striving for numbers instead of focusing on quality. For example, a matric class in a township (underdeveloped, generally urban areas largely inhabited by Black South Africans) will boast a pass rate of 80%. But only a few of those matriculants qualify to study at a university. </p>
<p>The essence of the debate revolves around what <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-pass-rate-da-claims-real-rate-is-55-3/">some call</a> the “real” pass rate, measured by the number of matriculants who passed as a fraction of the number who started school together 12 years earlier. </p>
<p>In 2012, 1,208,973 learners entered the first year of school, grade 1. Of these, only 928,050 were in grade 11 and only 740,566 enrolled for grade 12 (matric) in 2023. Thus, 468,407 pupils (almost 40%) <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-results-2023-dropout-real-pass-rate-atm-da/">disappeared into the system</a>. Given this attrition, some analysts and politicians argue that the actual pass rate is only <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/education-experts-pour-cold-water-over-das-553-real-matric-pass-rate-20240119">just over 55%</a>.</p>
<p>This issue of “real pass rates” also plays out in the unhealthy competition between provinces. There are nine provinces in South Africa. Eight are governed by the African National Congress (ANC), which also governs nationally. The Democratic Alliance (DA) governs one province, the Western Cape. Each year when the results are released, it becomes a competition to see which province’s matrics performed best. </p>
<p>The Free State province has achieved the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/free-state-remains-first-for-the-fifth-year-running/ar-AA1ncb9E">best pass rate for the last five years</a>. However, it also has the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/experts-welcome-matric-pass-rate-increase-but-note-450000-learners-dropped-out-along-the-way/ar-AA1nciwj">highest dropout rate</a> of all nine provinces, <a href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/education/matric/matric-results-2023-dropout-real-pass-rate-atm-da/">leading to allegations</a> by the DA and some analysts that authorities hold poorly performing pupils back to create a better matric pass rate. Some of those learners will later proceed to grade 12; others drop out entirely. For instance, almost half of the learners in the Free State who were in grade 10 in 2021 <a href="https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/skole-studente/myskool/matrieks/vrystaat-se-top-prestasie-ruik-mos-na-kroekery-20240120">did not make it to matric in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, the Western Cape only performed the 5th best but boasts a comparatively high throughput rate. </p>
<p>There is a strong feeling among educationists – and I completely agree – that a province’s “pass rate” should be published alongside its “dropout rate” to give a full perspective of the true situation. </p>
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<img alt="A graph showing the number of pupils who dropped out before reaching the matric class of 2023" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571605/original/file-20240126-19-oeximq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://charts.theoutlier.co.za/">The Outlier</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<h2>What’s gone wrong</h2>
<p>The ecstasy over the results also ignores the many challenges that the majority of pupils face on a daily basis.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/overcrowding-in-classrooms-a-challenge-facing-sa-teachers-sadtu/">Overcrowding</a> is one big problem, particularly at primary school level. The <a href="https://tdd.sun.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/E.-Wills-2023-Teacher-Shortages-class-sizes-LE-ratios.pdf">average class size</a> for grade 6 is 61 in Limpopo, 59 in Mpumalanga and 54 in KwaZulu-Natal. This <a href="https://www.mopse.co.zw/sites/default/files/public/downloads/2022%20Annual%20Education%20Statistics%20Report.pdf">compares poorly</a> with some neighbouring countries, such as Botswana and Zimbabwe.</p>
<p>Effective teaching, especially in the basic skills such as reading and writing, is impossible because no individual attention is possible. </p>
<p>Add to that the fact that many schools do not have libraries and it’s clear why <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-10-year-olds-are-struggling-to-read-it-can-be-fixed-206008">only 1 out of 5 pupils in grade 4</a>, aged on average 9 or 10, can read with comprehension. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-10-year-olds-are-struggling-to-read-it-can-be-fixed-206008">South Africa's 10 year-olds are struggling to read -- it can be fixed</a>
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<p>A second problem is that most South African schools do not have the necessary physical resources to create an environment conducive to learning. The lack of libraries is one example. Another is that many schools in poor communities do not have science or computer laboratories. Yet pupils are strongly encouraged to take STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, because these are seen as giving young people the best opportunity of employment.</p>
<h2>A glimmer of hope</h2>
<p>It’s not all hopeless, however. There are certainly things to celebrate, including the achievements of <a href="https://briefly.co.za/education/178071-matric-results-2023-meet-melissa-muller-south-africas-top-achiever-future-mechatronics-engineer/">top-performing</a> individuals. Hardworking teachers also deserve thanks for the seldom-appreciated work they do, particularly in under-resourced rural areas.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.ewn.co.za/2024/01/19/khayelitsha-school-celebrates-99-matric-pass-rate">especially beautiful story</a> is that of the Khayelitsha Centre of Science and Technology. Situated in one of the Western Cape’s poorest residential areas, this school boasts a 2023 pass rate of 99% and 107 distinctions (a mark of 80% or higher), including 10 in mathematics. </p>
<p>Having carefully studied the results I am also delighted to see how many distinctions are emerging from schools in impoverished communities which charge no fees or very low fees. It is also heartening to see that pupils growing up in poverty are making a growing contribution to the pool of excellence.</p>
<p>These examples prove the value of good governance in schools, which creates an environment that is conducive for learning even in the absence of resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Le Cordeur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The fanfare and hype around the results risks obscuring the big picture.Michael Le Cordeur, Professor and Vice- dean Teaching and Learning, Education Faculty, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180012024-01-12T13:28:40Z2024-01-12T13:28:40ZI wrote a play for children about integrating the arts into STEM fields − here’s what I learned about encouraging creative, interdisciplinary thinking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562522/original/file-20231129-27-a3te04.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C18%2C4007%2C2999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scenes from 'The STEAM Plays,' performed in Michigan schools. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thalia Lara</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Often, science and art are described as starkly different things. That narrative can start early on, with kids encouraged to pursue a STEM – short for science, technology, engineering and math – education that may or may not include an arts education. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://people.cal.msu.edu/roznows5/">professor of acting</a>, I’d never thought much about the STEM fields until I received a <a href="https://grad.msu.edu/news/steampower-facultystaff-fellows">fellowship to integrate the arts</a> into STEM educational models. I used the opportunity to write and direct a play for elementary schoolers that showed how the arts can improve upon and extend work in STEM fields when properly integrated – but it wasn’t an easy process. </p>
<h2>STEM or STEAM?</h2>
<p>Whether <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-the-difference-between-stem-and-steam-95713">STEM should be augmented to STEAM</a> – science, technology, engineering, arts and math – with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070331">addition of the arts</a> remains <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2018/06/12/why-liberal-arts-and-the-humanities-are-as-important-as-engineering/">something of a debate</a>. </p>
<p>The origins of STEM education can be traced to as early as the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/morrill-act">Morrill Act</a> of 1862, which promoted agricultural science and later engineering at land grant universities. In 2001, the National Science Foundation pushed a focus on STEM education in order to <a href="https://www.stemschool.com/articles/rich-history-of-stem-education-in-the-united-states">make the U.S. more competitive globally</a>. </p>
<p>A Biden-Harris initiative launched in December 2022 called <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-launches-new-initiative-enhance-stem-education-all-students">You Belong in STEM</a> offers support of more than US$120 billion for K-12 STEM education until the year 2025. But, starting in 2012, the United States Research Council has explored the idea of a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.709560/">STEAM education</a>. </p>
<p>Researchers have found that when integrated into a STEM education, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2013.09.317">the arts make space for curiosity and innovation</a>. So why the lack of agreement and consistency around whether it should be STEM or STEAM? </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GOYN70wszoo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lots of careers bridge both science and arts, from game design to photography and engineering.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The bias toward emphasizing a STEM education could be driven by the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/20/more-students-pursue-stem-degrees-because-of-high-paying-careers.html">higher future salaries</a> of STEM majors or the significant funding that is connected more to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00891-x">STEM-based research</a> and grants than to the arts. A STEAM education takes more time and <a href="https://theconversation.com/improving-science-literacy-means-changing-science-education-178291">is more complex</a> than a traditional STEM educational model. </p>
<p>Or it could simply be that many academics in STEM fields lack the incentive for interdisciplinary work that brings in the arts, and vice versa. In fact, that was exactly the position I was in as an arts-based researcher asked to create something about STEM disciplines that I knew very little about.</p>
<h2>Putting on the play</h2>
<p>It took me several tries and lots of research to get the script of my STEAM-centered play to its current form. </p>
<p>At first, I made basic discoveries. I learned that <a href="https://www.invent.org/blog/trends-stem/stem-steam-defined">there is a debate</a> about whether the arts should be included in a STEM education. I learned that “<a href="https://stemeducationguide.com/is-psychology-stem/">soft sciences” like psychology</a> are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-020-09545-0">not included</a> in many STEM educational models. I lacked a background in most of the disciplines included in STEM. And I struggled to find a project that inspired me.</p>
<p>But eventually I began work on five one-act plays, called “The STEAM Plays: Using the Arts to Talk about STEM.” Each focused on a category of STEAM education. I wrote the first draft of the show with a chip on my shoulder, trying to prove that the arts did indeed belong in STEM education.</p>
<p>The tone was defensive and provocative – and not entirely appropriate for the elementary age range I was focused on. </p>
<p>The new, revised version that toured Michigan elementary schools in the Fall of 2023 contains 20 bite-sized comedic scenes and songs that dramatize how the arts are integral to many STEM fields. These include how engineering skills go into designing a celebrity’s evening gown, how bakers need to know some basic chemistry, and how the mathematical algorithms of TikTok find new videos for each user.</p>
<p>In each of the scenes, students can see how artistic imagination and creative thinking expand STEM education.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people performing on a stage, wearing brightly colored costumes. The background is a screen projecting blue, green and yellow geometric shapes. The two performers on the left have their arms crossed and stand back to back, same on the right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563453/original/file-20231204-23-wjyepx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The STEAM Plays’ in action. Performers, from left: Alex Spevetz, Marcus Pennington, Zoe Dorst, Cassidy Williams and Olivia Hagar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Roznowski</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Beyond the stage</h2>
<p>These themes emerge from a wider scholarly understanding that STEM isn’t done in a creativity vacuum, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2013.09.317">stimulating students’ artistic thinking</a> will help them both in the science classroom and the art studio.</p>
<p>One plot point of the show is about an evil genius who views the arts as less important trying to keep the arts out of STEM. He swaps the bodies of a scientist and an actor, as well as an engineer and a creative writer. In each body swap, the STEM professional and the artist recognize how similar their work is. In the final scene, the evil genius tries to switch the bodies of Pythagoras and Taylor Swift, only to realize that music is all about math.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A square box with the words 'Art & Science Collide' and a drawing of a lightbulb with its wire filament in the shape of a brain, surrounded by a circle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567788/original/file-20240103-23-yg479z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Art & Science Collide series.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/art-in-science-series-2024-149583">This article is part of Art & Science Collide</a></strong>, a series examining the intersections between art and science.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/literature-inspired-my-medical-career-why-the-humanities-are-needed-in-health-care-217357">Literature inspired my medical career: Why the humanities are needed in health care</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/art-and-science-entwined-this-course-explores-the-long-interrelated-history-of-two-ways-of-seeing-the-world-210250">Art and science entwined: This course explores the long, interrelated history of two ways of seeing the world </a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/art-illuminates-the-beauty-of-science-and-could-inspire-the-next-generation-of-scientists-young-and-old-168925">Art illuminates the beauty of science – and could inspire the next generation of scientists young and old</a> </p>
<hr>
<p>Many teachers have provided rave reviews. “The plays did an excellent job of highlighting the importance and value of arts in our educational system,” one noted. “Students walked away enjoying and having a deeper understanding of how all of the different aspects of STEAM were able to work together collaboratively.</p>
<p>A STEAM education in which <a href="https://www.ucf.edu/online/engineering/news/comparing-stem-vs-steam-why-the-arts-make-a-difference/">students learn soft skills</a> like empathy, collaboration, emotional intelligence and creativity through the arts helps prepare students for the job market. And these discussions aren’t confined only to K-12 education – many research grants <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/funding/learn/research-types/learn-about-interdisciplinary-research">encourage interdisciplinary work</a>.</p>
<p>My understanding of the STEM and STEAM debate and my experience writing, producing and watching how people respond to my show have helped me understand how the arts are necessary to every student’s education. I learned that without artistic imagination, STEM students’ big-picture thinking skills can get stifled. </p>
<p>It only took writing a play for children for me to get it myself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Roznowski received funding from Michigan State University from two places. As part of the STEAMpower Fellowship <a href="https://grad.msu.edu/news/steampower-facultystaff-fellows">https://grad.msu.edu/news/steampower-facultystaff-fellows</a> $10,000
and the Humanities And Arts Grant Proposal System. <a href="https://research.msu.edu/humanities-and-arts-research-program">https://research.msu.edu/humanities-and-arts-research-program</a>
The first fellowship covered the writing and research. The HARPwas awarded to tour and design the play. $7000</span></em></p>Is it a STEM education or a STEAM education? Integrating arts into science programming and vice versa can pique kids’ curiosity − a play touring Michigan aims to do just that.Rob Roznowski, Professor of Acting, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183472023-11-27T19:17:32Z2023-11-27T19:17:32ZHow your money is helping subsidise sexism in academia – and what you can do about it<p>It’s frightening to imagine where the world would be right now without mRNA vaccines. The COVID-busting technology <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/mrna-vaccine-revolution-katalin-kariko/">revolutionised vaccine development</a> at an internationally critical moment – with massive implications for people’s health, wellbeing and the global economy.</p>
<p>Yet imagine we must – because some of the research most crucial to the development of mRNA vaccines almost didn’t happen.</p>
<p>Biochemist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katalin-Kariko">Katalin Karikó’s</a> fascination with the therapeutic potential of mRNA began in the early 1990s, but she received little encouragement. She was undervalued and underfunded throughout her university career and eventually left academia.</p>
<p>When she went on to jointly win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for her pioneering role in developing the mRNA technology that allowed the world to take on COVID, Karikó’s former employer, the University of Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">tried to take credit</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1709214249266847957"}"></div></p>
<p>Yet during her time there, the university <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">sidelined and demoted Karikó</a>, eventually <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=514nzDeT7WM&ab_channel=NobelPrize">pushing her out</a> altogether. While it would be nice to think of Karikó’s experience as an aberration, her experience - as we highlight in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-023-00624-3.epdf?sharing_token=gTOgpetseLdnjca2_9Hgk9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Os9buY1YZg369tprUI8R4tE1kHIVUshCsCo-QKEUAJYagHcGPxf5SREieGp6HtI5EFMB9XTL_gCHcjMmfBri6InvilMNKfPvtOiZntXCRh87wFh1PO_QOoKOPxvx_Jtcw%3D">our new paper</a> - is all too common for women in academia. </p>
<h2>Barriers to women’s success</h2>
<p>Academia is widely viewed as a meritocracy, a bastion of liberalism, and a place where people go to pursue a higher calling. The data, however, point to a dark side to the ivory tower.</p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/sexual-harassment-in-academia">major report</a> published in 2019 by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine showed rates of sexual harassment in academia are second only to those in the military.</p>
<p>More common than overtly sexualised harassment, however, is gender bias. <a href="https://www.cell.com/article/S0896-6273(21)00417-7/fulltext">Studies reveal</a> women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes, and less citation than men’s. Women professors <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10755-014-9313-4">receive lower evaluations</a> and more criticism from students – both male and female – and face higher expectations as mentors.</p>
<p>Women often face chilly academic climates, isolation, job insecurity, stalled promotions and unequal or limited access to resources. These tendencies can easily verge on incivility, ostracism, online abuse, academic sabotage and malicious allegations. And these problems are worse for women of colour, and those who belong to <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-women-underrepresented-groups-sexual-academic.html">sexual and gender minority</a> groups.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-women-of-colour-in-science-face-a-subtly-hostile-work-environment-130204">'Death by a thousand cuts': women of colour in science face a subtly hostile work environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When women are brave enough to speak out, it usually backfires. At best, they may face minimisation or silencing. More damaging is retaliation, including from institutions themselves. Women can find themselves <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00473-8">placed on probation</a>, under investigation, targeted for character assassination, facing retaliatory accusations, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01600-7#:%7E:text=08%20June%202022-,Max%20Planck%27s%20cherished%20autonomy%20questioned%20following%20criticism%20of%20misconduct%20investigations,investigations%20into%20them%20lacked%20transparency">demoted</a> or even <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01286-5">fired</a>.</p>
<h2>Bad for science and a waste of funding</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">massive study</a> of almost a quarter of a million US academics showed women are leaving academia at significantly higher rates than men.</p>
<p>They are also leaving for different reasons. While men are more likely to leave because they have been attracted by better opportunities, the number-one reason women cite for leaving is toxic workplaces.</p>
<p>The outcome of this gradual attrition is that women continue to be vastly underrepresented in senior academic positions: as full professors, research directors, and heads of research institutions and universities.</p>
<p><iframe id="fSdfk" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/fSdfk/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The loss of so many women from research and higher education isn’t just a social or ethical issue. It’s also an economic one. Women in academia reflect investment. Their many years of post-secondary education, their training, their research – it all costs money. This money is wasted when they are pushed out of academia.</p>
<p>The worst bias and explicit harassment often comes as <a href="https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2018/09/24/the-tallest-poppy-high-performing-women-pay-a-steep-price-for-success">women achieve greater success</a>. Rates of departure between men and women really start to widen <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">about 15 years</a> after academics finish their PhDs. </p>
<p>This means higher education and research are often losing women with the most experience and promise, and in whom the greatest funding investments have been made.</p>
<h2>Follow the money</h2>
<p>As current and former institutional heads and research leaders, we suggest it’s time to follow the money. Where does all this wasted money come from?</p>
<p>You, the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Higher education, research and science all are, in many parts of the world, funded mostly through public sources. This means when higher education and research organisations fail to tackle the persistent sexism, discrimination and harassment that are driving women out, they are throwing your money out the window.</p>
<p>Or you can think of it another way: your taxes are subsidising sexism.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-309-544-patent-applications-and-found-inventing-is-still-a-mans-world-188600">We studied 309,544 patent applications – and found inventing is still a man’s world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The buck stops here</h2>
<p>The fact that tax money supports higher education and research also presents an opportunity: taxpayers can demand change in how their taxes are used.</p>
<p>They can demand efficiency in public funding – efficiency that will lead to less sexism in the institutions educating our children, and to more of the science we desperately need to address the collective challenges we face.</p>
<p>We call on governments to address sexism in higher education and research as a matter of urgency, such as by:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>acknowledging that self-regulation isn’t working</strong>. <br><br>Universities and research institutions have implemented gender equity initiatives and policies for decades. Yet gender biases remain entrenched.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>developing effective and transparent systems for measuring gender equity, and applying them to all publicly funded higher education and research institutions</strong>. <br><br> This means collecting and publishing data on recruitment, appointment, salaries, workload allocation, promotions, discrimination, harassment, misconduct, demotion, dismissal and departure.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>making funding in higher education and research dependent on the achievement of gender equity targets</strong>. <br><br> Institutions currently receive public funding regardless of whether they uphold a fair academic culture that provides equal opportunity for men and woman. <br><br>Disregard for rules, procedures and laws designed to achieve gender equity does not hold institutions back from receiving continued public funding. This lack of accountability helps perpetuate gender bias. It needs to change.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You can join us in pressing for these changes by contacting your local representative, organising and submitting petitions, or reporting concerns to organisations designed to investigate possible abuses of public funding (such as federal auditing offices).</p>
<p>The story of Karikó and the transformative research that almost never was should be the wake-up call we need to demand better.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-5-years-this-australian-astrophysics-lab-reached-50-women-heres-how-they-did-it-216632">In 5 years, this Australian astrophysics lab reached 50% women. Here’s how they did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susanne Täuber is affiliated with the Academic Parity Movement and the Network Against Power Abuse in Science. Both are non-profit organizations fighting harassment and power abuse in academia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet G. Hering, Nicole Boivin, and Ursula Keller do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Studies reveal women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes and less citation than men’s.Nicole Boivin, Professor, Max Planck Institute of GeoanthropologyJanet G. Hering, Director emerita, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologySusanne Täuber, Affiliated researcher, University of AmsterdamUrsula Keller, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ZurichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055692023-10-30T04:17:57Z2023-10-30T04:17:57ZAustralian school students are experimenting with ‘space veggies’ in a NASA initiative<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556542/original/file-20231030-29-ezg678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1997%2C1715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/growing-beyond-earth/">Growing Beyond Earth</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A pink glow is shining on the faces of enthusiastic students as they tend to plants in purpose-built grow boxes for space stations. </p>
<p>These students are the first in Australia to experience <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/growing-beyond-earth/">Growing Beyond Earth</a> – a schools citizen science program from NASA and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in the United States.</p>
<p>In Australia, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is working with the La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food, and Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools. The educational initiative ties into the Australian curriculum and gives students a unique introduction to gardening through science.</p>
<p>In this project, students grow plants in controlled conditions to test if they would be suitable for NASA missions, to help feed a future cadre of astronauts.</p>
<p>Plants evolved on Earth, so they might not grow so well in space. Before we start sending plants “off-world” to the Moon and Mars, we need to test their suitability. That way we can select the best for success. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of three Catholic Regional College students posing with a plant inside a growth chamber." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catholic Regional College students Zalaika Farrugia, Natalie Duquemin, and Hamish MacGregor with a growth chamber.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-are-going-back-to-the-moon-and-beyond-but-how-will-we-feed-them-189794">Humans are going back to the Moon, and beyond – but how will we feed them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Gardening on the Moon and beyond</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">NASA Artemis</a> mission aims to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and send astronauts to Mars. If all goes to plan, humans will be living and working on the Moon by 2030. </p>
<p>Currently, astronauts on the International Space Station rely on a pre-packaged diet that is frequently resupplied. But in the long term, space gardens providing fresh, edible plants will be essential to maintain astronaut health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>For Growing Beyond Earth, students build the “growth habitat” inside a box roughly the size of a large microwave fitted with LED lights and sensors. </p>
<p>Then they plant the seeds of a leafy green called misome, which grows reliably and quickly – both on and off-Earth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A closeup photo of the green leafy vegetable misome growing in a bed of soil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The green leafy vegetable misome grows well on Earth and in space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-asian-greens-including-bok-choi-422775190">Jacqui Martin, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The students gain valuable experience in running their own experiments, including planting the seeds in pots and using growth media that match the NASA Vegetable Production System (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/veggie_fact_sheet_508.pdf">Veggie</a>). </p>
<p>They monitor growth and water use, making notes about plant size, colour and fitness. Students learn what plants need, how fast they can grow, what can be recycled and how much can be harvested. Also, would anyone want to eat it?</p>
<p>Students can extend their skills in a second experiment to test other plant types. So far, nearly 200 plants have been trialled and several new candidate plants, including pak choi, cress and kale, were found suitable.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Introducing Growing Beyond Earth (FairchildChallenge)</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Supporting the curriculum and connecting to nature</h2>
<p>Growing Beyond Earth ties into the Australian curriculum through “science as a human endeavour”. This relates to the role of science in society, including how scientific knowledge influences people’s lives and can be used to make decisions.</p>
<p>A growing body of evidence shows student-led, activity-based projects lead to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1223709">better learning outcomes</a>. When students are exposed to real-world content, they remember it better, earn better grades and improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These students can then apply their knowledge to new situations.</p>
<p>Another important part of the project is the connection with plants and nature. The positive effects of nature on wellbeing came to the fore during COVID lockdowns. Studies show indoor plants helped <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132322010290">reduce mental stress during isolation</a>, and people <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866722000267?via%3Dihub">chose to garden</a> to connect with nature, release stress and address issues with food supply. </p>
<p>Nature has a strong influence on student learning too. Greater academic achievement and personal development comes from connection to the environment. For example, students in classrooms that have a view of nature report <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305/full">lower levels of stress and perform better on concentration tests</a> compared to windowless rooms.</p>
<p>Better learning could also simply come from being in a good mood. Students are more interested and self-motivated during nature-based activities. This finding has very real implications for students who are normally disengaged.<br>
Time spent with nature also has a greater influence on how we view the environment than knowledge of conservation alone. Simply knowing climate change is contributing to species loss is less likely to inspire conservation action than frequently observing environmental change during time spent outdoors.</p>
<p>Emotional connection with nature <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378016305787?via%3Dihub">promotes interest in learning</a> about sustainability and in turn, caring for natural resources. </p>
<h2>Exploring an exciting new frontier</h2>
<p>The influence of the Growing Beyond Earth program on student attitudes to gardens, conservation and food is still being assessed. As the program expands to more countries, it will track student achievement, career paths and leadership. </p>
<p>So far, surveys reveal Growing Beyond Earth students are more knowledgeable and confident about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) topics and related careers.</p>
<p>These students may go on to play crucial roles in building future crop production systems on Mars, designing space plants for food and medicines, and using nature to improve the wellbeing of people experiencing isolation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Johnson works for La Trobe University, conducting work on growing plants in controlled environments. She is an investigator in the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space and collaborates on the NASA Growing Beyond Earth program with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. She receives funding from ARC and Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources. </span></em></p>Astronauts living and working on the Moon will need something to eat. The Growing Beyond Earth program supports international space crop research.Kim Johnson, Senior lecturer, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134362023-09-29T12:23:41Z2023-09-29T12:23:41ZSci-fi books are rare in school even though they help kids better understand science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551054/original/file-20230928-25-qakotc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=61%2C33%2C4462%2C3953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sci-fi books are popular choices.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/surprised-boy-watching-colorful-characters-fly-out-royalty-free-image/546821353?phrase=sci+fi+books+kids&adppopup=true"> John M Lund Photography Inc./Stone via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Science fiction can lead people <a href="https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18040208">to be more cautious about the potential consequences of innovations</a>. It can help people <a href="https://theconversation.com/sci-fi-movies-are-the-secret-weapon-that-could-help-silicon-valley-grow-up-105714">think critically about the ethics of science</a>. Researchers have also found that sci-fi serves as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018780946">positive influence on how people view science</a>. Science fiction scholar <a href="https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/csicsery-ronay_istvan">Istvan Csicsery-Ronay</a> calls this “<a href="https://www.weslpress.org/9780819570925/the-seven-beauties-of-science-fiction/">science-fictional habits of mind</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.2008.1450450345">Scientists</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2015-Feb-1">engineers</a> have reported that their childhood encounters with science fiction framed their thinking about the sciences. Thinking critically about science and technology is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1175/1/012156">an important part of education in STEM – or science, technology, engineering and mathematics</a>.</p>
<h2>Complicated content?</h2>
<p>Despite the potential benefits of an early introduction to science fiction, <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">my own research on science fiction for readers under age 12</a> has revealed that librarians and teachers in elementary schools treat science fiction as a genre that works best for certain cases, like reluctant readers or kids who like what they called “weird,” “freaky” or “funky” books. </p>
<p>Of the 59 elementary teachers and librarians whom I surveyed, almost a quarter of them identified themselves as science fiction fans, and nearly all of them expressed that science fiction is just as valuable as any other genre. Nevertheless, most of them indicated that while they recommend science fiction books to individual readers, they do not choose science fiction for activities or group readings.</p>
<p>The teachers and librarians explained that they saw two related problems with science fiction for their youngest readers: low availability and complicated content. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl sits in a library reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Realistic fiction books outnumber sci-fi books.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/portrait-of-a-young-school-child-black-reader-in-a-royalty-free-image/1496939521?phrase=sci+fi++kids+library&adppopup=true">Lorado/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why sci-fi books are scarce in schools</h2>
<p>Several respondents said that there simply are not as many science fiction books available for elementary school students. To investigate further, I <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">counted the number of science fiction books available</a> in 10 randomly selected elementary school libraries from across the United States. Only 3% of the books in each library were science fiction. The rest of the books were: 49% nonfiction, 25% fantasy, 19% realistic fiction and 5% historical fiction. While historical fiction also seems to be in low supply, science fiction stands out as the smallest group.</p>
<p>When I spoke to a small publisher and several authors, they confirmed that science fiction for young readers is not considered a profitable genre, and so those books are rarely acquired. Due to the perception that many young readers do not like science fiction, it is not written, published and distributed as often.</p>
<p>With fewer books to choose from, the teachers and librarians said that they have difficulty finding options that are not too long and complicated for group readings. One explained: “I have to appeal to broad ability levels in chapter book read-aloud selections. These books typically have to be shorter, with more simple plots.” Another respondent explained that they believe “the kind of suppositions sci-fi is based on to be difficult for younger children to grasp. We do read some sci-fi in our middle grade book club.”</p>
<h2>A question of maturity</h2>
<p>Waiting for students to get older before introducing them to science fiction is a fairly common approach. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/author/susan-fichtelberg/">Susan Fichtelberg</a> – a longtime librarian – wrote a <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/encountering-enchantment-9798216079095/">guide to teen fantasy and science fiction</a>. In it, she recommends age 12 as the prime time to start. Other children’s literature experts have speculated whether children under 12 <a href="https://keywords.nyupress.org/childrens-literature/essay/science-fiction/">have sufficient knowledge to comprehend science fiction</a>.</p>
<p>Reading researchers agree that comprehending complex texts is <a href="https://greatminds.org/english/blog/witwisdom/the-science-of-reading-what-is-prior-knowledge-and-why-is-it-important">easier when the reader has more background knowledge</a>. Yet, when I read some science fiction picture books with elementary school students, none of the children struggled to understand the stories. The most active child in my study often used his knowledge of “Star Wars” to interpret the books. While background knowledge can mean children’s knowledge of science, it also includes exposure to a genre. The more a reader is exposed to science fiction stories, the <a href="https://christopher-mckitterick.com/Essays/protocol.htm">better they understand how to read them</a>.</p>
<h2>A matter of choice</h2>
<p>Science fiction does not need to include detailed science or outlandish premises to offer valuable ideas. Simple picture books like <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/60590019">“Farm Fresh Cats” by Scott Santoro</a> rely on familiar ideas like farms and cats to help readers reconsider what is familiar and what is alien. <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/1122792103">“The Barnabus Project” by the Fan Brothers</a> is both a simple escape adventure story and a story about the ethics of genetic experimentation on animals.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small girl on a foot stool reaches for a book on a library shelf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some educators are hesitant to introduce sci-fi books to young children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-school-girl-taking-library-book-off-shelf-royalty-free-image/81715011?phrase=sci+fi++kids+library&adppopup=true">Dave & Les Jacobs/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The good news is that elementary school students are choosing science fiction regardless of what adults might think they can or cannot understand. I found that the science fiction books in those 10 elementary school libraries were checked out at a higher rate per book than all of the other genres. Science fiction had 1-2 more checkouts per book, on average, than the other genres.</p>
<p>Using the lending data from these libraries, I built a statistical model that predicted that it is 58% more likely for one of the science fiction books to be checked out in these libraries than one of the fantasy books. The model predicted that a science fiction book is over twice as likely to be checked out than books in any of the other genres. In other words, since the children did not have nearly as many science fiction books to choose from, their readership was <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">heavily concentrated on a few titles</a>.</p>
<p>Children may discover science fiction on their own, but adults can do more to normalize the genre and provide opportunities for whole classes to become familiar with it. Encouraging children to explore science fiction may not guarantee science careers, but children deserve to learn from science fiction to help them navigate their increasingly high-tech world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Midkiff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite their scarcity, science fiction books are highly sought after by elementary school students.Emily Midkiff, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144362023-09-28T12:26:32Z2023-09-28T12:26:32ZA solution to America’s K-12 STEM teacher shortage: Endowed chairs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550751/original/file-20230927-17430-2s6dng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C10%2C6720%2C4386&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thousands upon thousands of STEM teacher jobs have gone unfilled in recent years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-american-boy-working-on-a-computer-part-royalty-free-image/1060858390?phrase=stem%2Bteacher">skynesher/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit on Oct. 4, 1957, America has been struggling to recruit and retain STEM teachers in its public middle and high schools.</p>
<p>In the 2017-2018 school year, <a href="https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/75/3/25/2842714/The-US-is-in-dire-need-of-STEM-teachersFaculty">approximately 100,000 teacher jobs in STEM – or science, technology, engineering and mathematics – went unfilled at the high school level</a>. At the middle school level, there were about <a href="https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/75/3/25/2842714/The-US-is-in-dire-need-of-STEM-teachersFaculty">150,000 unfilled STEM educator jobs</a>.</p>
<p>The situation has been getting <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2023/2023144.pdf">progressively worse over the past decade</a> or so. For instance, in the 2011-2012 school year, 19% of public schools were unable to fill a teaching position for biology or life sciences. By the 2020-2021 school year, that number had grown to 31%. The situation was similar for other subjects, going from 19% to 32% for mathematics, and 26% to 47% for physical sciences, such as physics, geology and engineering.</p>
<p>Science shortages were a problem even before Sputnik, but the launch served as a wake-up call. Three months afterward, President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated during his <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-education-2">Special Message to the Congress on Education</a> that federal action was necessary to educate more science and mathematics teachers. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://batten.virginia.edu/people/gerard-robinson">professor of education policy</a> – and also as a <a href="https://iasculture.org/scholars/profiles/gerard-robinson">former state secretary of education in Virginia</a> – I have examined the STEM teacher shortage from multiple vantage points. In a September 2023 policy paper, a colleague and I recommend that in order to solve America’s STEM educator shortage, elected officials and education leaders should <a href="https://pioneerinstitute.org/news/pioneer-study-adopt-innovative-approaches-to-address-k-12-stem-teacher-shortage/">adopt something that is widely used in higher education – an endowed chair position for STEM teachers</a>.</p>
<p>We think endowed chairs have the potential to retain and attract more STEM educators at the K-12 level, but it requires a willingness to rethink the ways that schools employ STEM educators.</p>
<h2>What’s behind the gap?</h2>
<p>Two factors contribute to so many unfilled vacancies in STEM education:</p>
<p><strong>1. There are fewer college students graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education that ever before.</strong></p>
<p>Between 1959-1976, bachelor’s degrees in education were the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93442.pdf">most popular college major</a> in the United States, and they accounted for about 20% of all degrees. Between 1975-2021, the percentage of students majoring in education <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/education-majors-colleges-decline-teacher-pay/">fell from 17% to 4%</a>.</p>
<p><strong>2. STEM graduates can earn more money outside of education.</strong></p>
<p>When STEM majors go into a STEM career, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/06/does-majoring-in-stem-lead-to-stem-job-after-graduation.html">they will earn, on average, US$101,100</a>. When STEM graduates become a math, computer science or science teacher, they will earn, on average, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1718_21022402_t12n.asp">only a fraction of that amount – roughly $60,000</a>.</p>
<p>This salary gap between STEM professionals and STEM educators is what is known as the STEM teacher “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/stem-teachers-are-most-in-need-of-additional-pay/">wage penalty</a>.”</p>
<p>According to a national survey of teacher salaries in 2017-18, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1718_21022402_t12n.asp">average teacher salaries never exceeded $100,000,</a>, regardless of years of experience.</p>
<p>But this only tells a portion of the STEM teacher salary story. In 2021, <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-penalty-2022/">K-12 teachers’ weekly salary was only $1,348</a> – about $660 less than the $2,009 earned weekly by other college graduates.</p>
<h2>Prior efforts to close the gap</h2>
<p>Since developing a strong STEM workforce is vital to the nation’s security and economic well-being, several U.S. presidents have used their position to advance a STEM education agenda. </p>
<p>For example, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, Eisenhower
and Congress <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-education-2">came to realize</a> that the nation needed to focus on what takes place in the classroom space – not just outer space.</p>
<p>The Senate and House passed the <a href="https://history.house.gov/HouseRecord/Detail/15032436195">National Defense Education Act of 1958</a>, and Eisenhower signed it into law on Sept. 2, 1958. </p>
<p>This set in motion a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Sputnik_Spurs_Passage_of_National_Defense_Education_Act.htm#:%7E:text=The%20National%20Defense%20Education%20Act%20of%201958%20became%20one%20of,and%20private%20colleges%20and%20universities">national STEM education agenda</a> for American colleges and K-12 schools for decades to come.</p>
<p>Fifty-three years later, President Barack Obama utilized his <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-before-joint-session-the-congress-the-state-the-union-16">2011 State of the Union address</a> to advance the national STEM agenda. “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment,” he said. “And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math.” </p>
<p>Through the leadership of 100Kin10, now named <a href="https://beyond100k.org">Beyond100K</a>, the initiative <a href="https://100kin10-files.s3.amazonaws.com/IncreaseSupplyValidation2021.pdf">exceeded the goal in 2021</a>.</p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/they-recruited-100-000-stem-teachers-now-theyre-setting-their-sights-even-higher/2022/09">goal of the 100,000 STEM teacher campaign</a> was to narrow the gap, not end it.</p>
<p>A shortage of STEM teachers remains. According to a survey of 53 states and territories, 39 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands had <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/map-shows-us-states-dealing-teaching-shortage-data/story?id=96752632">teacher vacancies in all subjects</a>, STEM disciplines included, as of Feb 9, 2023. One additional reason for the current shortage is that public schools <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105816.pdf">lost approximately 7% of their teachers</a> – 233,000 instructors – between 2019-2021, which included STEM teachers. </p>
<p>Currently, President Joe Biden is <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/12/12/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-bold-multi-sector-actions-to-eliminate-systemic-barriers-in-stemm/">promoting STEM education programs for teachers</a>, the Department of Education has dedicated <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-launches-new-initiative-enhance-stem-education-all-students">$120 billion to support STEM</a>, and the National Science Foundation is <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/robert-noyce-teacher-scholarship-program-0">supporting teacher fellowships</a>. </p>
<h2>The endowed chair as a potential solution</h2>
<p>Federal investments in programs and fellowships to produce more STEM teachers are good. But those alone will not be enough to retain and attract the quality STEM educators we need.</p>
<p>That’s why a colleague and I <a href="https://pioneerinstitute.org/news/pioneer-study-adopt-innovative-approaches-to-address-k-12-stem-teacher-shortage/">recommend endowed chairs</a> for K-12 educators.</p>
<p>Traditionally, an endowed chair is a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/10/26/obtaining-endowed-chair-or-distinguished-professor-position-opinion">prestigious faculty position</a> funded through annual spending from a university’s endowment fund.</p>
<p>The interest earned on the endowment will partially or fully fund the salary of the position for as long as the university exists. Endowed chairs are <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/10/26/obtaining-endowed-chair-or-distinguished-professor-position-opinion">awarded to those who are the best in their field</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit of an endowed chair is that it will be paid for decades to come by the interest on investment. In our paper, we suggest that K-12 schools could use endowed chairs to support a K-12 STEM teacher’s salary, benefits and professional development, all the while saving money for the district and state.</p>
<p>If structured right, the interest on the endowment will pay a teacher’s salary and benefits, something the district would subsequently not have to pay. The endowment can be used to purchase STEM supplies. The money saved by the district can be used to invest in another teacher. The money could come from private individuals, corporations or foundations.</p>
<p>An endowed chair could also provide funding for teachers and students to have access to state-of-the-art learning technology. As part of the endowed chair contract, a teacher can participate in a fully paid externship at a STEM-focused public or private sector company during the summer months. The goal would be to bring to the classroom the experiences and insights the teacher learned from the externship.</p>
<p>An endowed STEM chair salary may never outpace what educators could earn if they entered the private market. But it can potentially help elevate their position and, perhaps, enable educators to make a salary that would be higher than what it would otherwise be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerard Robinson is affiliated with <a href="https://www.tepf.org/#leadership">https://www.tepf.org/#leadership</a>. I joined the endowment project a few months ago. Our goal it to help public high schools create an endowment for the school. My idea of supporting an endowed K-12 chair preceeded my joining the board. I do not receive a salary for my board membership. </span></em></p>Year after year, public schools have come up short on STEM teachers. An education policy scholar pushes for a novel solution.Gerard Robinson, Professor of Practice in Public Policy and Law, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101122023-09-11T12:34:07Z2023-09-11T12:34:07ZQuantum information science is rarely taught in high school – here’s why that matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546510/original/file-20230905-18949-mvp0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C143%2C7304%2C4759&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many students attend high schools that don't offer physics. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/high-school-student-with-molecular-structure-on-a-royalty-free-image/528436312?phrase=quantum+information+science+student&adppopup=true">BraunS/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first time I heard about quantum information science, I was at a teacher development workshop in Canada in 2008. </p>
<p>I already knew that quantum science was the <a href="https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/quantum-science-explained">study of the smallest objects in nature</a>. I also knew that information science was the study of computers and the internet. What I didn’t know was that <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf00101/nsf00101.htm">quantum information science</a> – sometimes called QIS – was a new field of science and technology, combining physical science, math, computer science and engineering. </p>
<p>Until then, I didn’t realize how <a href="https://q12education.org/">QIS</a> was key to so many everyday items, like cellphones, satellites, MRI machines, lasers, cybersecurity and solar technology. I was a physics teacher and didn’t know this, so I knew other teachers didn’t either. And if they didn’t know about it, that meant K-12 students were definitely not learning it. </p>
<p>I vowed to do a better job of teaching these concepts in my own classroom and to the teachers I mentor. But I quickly discovered significant barriers. </p>
<p>Those barriers include:</p>
<p>• <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020117">Lack of materials</a> about quantum information science that high school students can understand.</p>
<p>• Limited funding and opportunities for teacher professional development focusing on quantum information science.</p>
<p>• Lack of state or federal <a href="https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2023/05/why-k-12-schools-must-invest-teaching-quantum-computing-today">quantum information science standards</a> for schools to follow.</p>
<p>With the help of colleagues, I organized <a href="https://quantumforall.org/">Quantum for All</a> in 2020 to help give high school teachers support in teaching quantum information science. The project received <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2048691&HistoricalAwards=false">nearly US$1 million in funding</a> from the National Science Foundation. The goal of the grant is to help students become <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2058-9565/abfa64">quantum smart</a> by teaching K-12 <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-computing-is-the-future-and-schools-need-to-catch-up/">educators</a> how to teach QIS.</p>
<h2>Quantum jobs are everywhere</h2>
<p>From a societal perspective, there are many <a href="https://spie.org/news/photonics-focus/mayjune-2023/teaching-about-quantum-science?SSO=1">reasons to invest</a> in quantum education at the high school level.</p>
<p>The quantum information technology market is poised to be worth <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/public-sector/future-of-quantum-technology-public-sector.html">$44 billion by 2028</a>. Yet one study <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-funding-remains-strong-but-talent-gap-raises-concern">estimates a major talent shortage in the industry</a> – with the number of open jobs outnumbering the number of qualified applicants by about 3 to 1.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020117">Not having fundamental knowledge in the field</a> may keep students from pursuing these highly paid jobs. <a href="https://thequantuminsider.com/2022/04/20/top-quantum-computing-jobs-for-workers-in-emerging-quantum-fields">Annual salaries can start</a> at about $100,000 for quantum engineers, developers and scientists. Quantum physicists can earn up to $170,000.</p>
<p>While there is a need for quantum science talent in many industries, one of the most critical is in national security.</p>
<h2>National security</h2>
<p>Historically, huge scientific and technological advancements have been made in the United States when politicians invest in efforts they deem critical to national security – think of the <a href="https://www.aii.org/how-the-space-race-built-todays-technology/">space race</a>, where the <a href="https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-apollo#:%7E:text=The%20United%20States%20spent%20%2425.8,for%20inflation%20to%202020%20dollars">U.S. spent US$257 billion over 13 years</a>, or the <a href="https://ethos.lps.library.cmu.edu/article/id/22/">atomic bomb that cost about $30 billion to $50 billion over four years</a>, both in today’s dollars.</p>
<p>In 2016, the U.S. government recognized the importance of quantum information science in maintaining the country’s strategic edge when China launched <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/china-quantum-satellite-1.3349383">the world’s first quantum satellite</a>, showcasing its emerging space and technology program. U.S. military leaders also worried that China was on the verge of creating <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-space-satellite/china-launches-hack-proof-communications-satellite-idUSKCN10R07J">“hack proof” communications tools</a> far more sophisticated than American designs. This raises questions about which nation will dominate from space in times of crisis.</p>
<p>The Center for New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, <a href="https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/quantum-hegemony">warned that China’s focus on quantum science</a> as part of its research efforts could help that country <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/tech/quantum-computing-china/index.html">surpass the U.S.</a> as an economic and military superpower.</p>
<p>In 2018, the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6227/text">National Quantum Initiative Act</a> was signed into law “to accelerate quantum research and development” and “develop a quantum information science and technology workforce pipeline.” However, the initiative lacked details on how this workforce would be developed.</p>
<h2>Quantum science education</h2>
<p>With a new national focus on quantum information science, the <a href="https://q12education.org/">National Quantum Network</a> was launched in 2020 to help support and coordinate the K-12 education efforts, expand available learning tools and create opportunities for students to envision their role in a quantum workforce. </p>
<p>The most logical venue for exposure to quantum information science would be a high school physics course. However, <a href="https://www.aip.org/statistics/reports/high-school-physics-overview-19">as many as 16%</a> to <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/2-in-5-high-schools-dont-offer-physics-analysis-finds/2016/08#:%7E:text=Nationally%2C%20about%2039%20percent%20of,likely%20to%20offer%20the%20subject">39% of high school students</a> do not attend high schools where physics is offered each year. </p>
<p>Traditional professional development focuses on teaching the teacher, rather than helping the teacher prepare to teach. That’s why I and other researchers are studying the effectiveness of a different professional development model. Components of the model include having the content taught <a href="https://library.iated.org/view/LOPEZ2023QUA">by fellow science teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Our model educates teachers one week and then allows them to teach students at a camp the following week while the information and techniques are still fresh. Research has shown that this approach is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X18302063">more effective</a> than doing summer workshops that don’t allow teachers to try out what they learned until much later.</p>
<p>This model also allows teachers to <a href="https://library.iated.org/view/MATSLER2023QUA">gain confidence</a> as they practice teaching techniques with fellow science teachers, <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/effective-teacher-professional-development-report">making it more likely</a> they will implement this knowledge in their own lessons.
The lessons being developed by the project can be embedded into existing STEM curricula – science, technology, engineering and math – or taught as stand-alone topics.</p>
<p>Examples of quantum information science lessons that have been developed include levitation, where students are shown the basics of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXHczjOg06w">superconductors</a> and <a href="https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/quantum-levitation/">quantum levitation</a>. These concepts are already being used in applications such as <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-maglev-works">Maglev trains</a>, which use magnets to quietly float above the tracks instead of using wheels. There are many <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/eeseniordesignhandbook/2015/maglev-magnetic-levitating-trains/">benefits to this type of travel</a>, including energy efficiency, fewer derailments, less maintenance and less impact on the environment. </p>
<p>Other lessons involve understanding cryptography and cybersecurity. <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/650341/nist-publishes-draft-post-quantum-cryptography-standards-calls-for-industry-feedback.html">Cryptography</a> is the technique of coding information – or encryption – so it can only be read by the intended receiver, whereas cybersecurity is the process or procedures taken to keep information secure in devices and networks.</p>
<p>As districts and educators begin to implement quantum information science concepts, my colleagues and I are collecting feedback from teachers on the effectiveness of their lessons and student engagement. This feedback will be used to inform how to add quantum information into more lessons.</p>
<p>If this new model of teacher education works, it could be expanded nationwide.</p>
<p>This type of professional development may be expensive due to the time teachers need to learn the content and increase their teaching confidence. But failing to prepare students for the jobs of the future could be even more costly if the U.S. yields its place in quantum technology, allowing countries like China to assert their supremacy in the field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen J Matsler receives funding from National Science Foundation as linked to and mentioned in the article.
Employed by University of Texas Arlington</span></em></p>A former physics teacher says America could lose its technological edge if it doesn’t do a better job of teaching quantum information science – starting in high school.Karen J. Matsler, Assistant Professor in Practice for UTeach Arlington Program, University of Texas at ArlingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104452023-09-07T20:52:28Z2023-09-07T20:52:28ZHow students are developing solutions to the problem of campus sexual and gender-based violence<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-students-are-developing-solutions-to-the-problem-of-campus-sexual-and-gender-based-violence" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Some universities have <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/some-ontario-universities-pulling-course-info-from-public-sites-for-safety-faculty-want-more-say-1.6540576">removed course information from public websites as part of efforts to</a> prevent and respond to gender-based violence, following the stabbing attack this past summer on June 28 at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-stabbing-attack-at-the-university-of-waterloo-underscores-the-dangers-of-polarizing-rhetoric-about-gender-208904">University of Waterloo</a>.</p>
<p>Police recently added an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/stabbing-incident-university-waterloo-attempt-murder-1.6947981">additional charge of attempted murder</a> to previous charges faced by a man accused of entering a classroom and stabbing three people in a gender studies class. Police believe the attack <a href="https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/police-say-university-of-waterloo-stabbing-that-sent-three-to-hospital-targeted-gender-issues-class-1.6461829#">was motivated by hate related to gender expression and gender identity</a>.</p>
<p>While institutional responses pertaining to increasing security or surveillance <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/university-of-waterloo-vivek-goel-gender-course-continues-1.6897673">technology</a> are important, we can’t build a wall big enough, or an alarm system sharp enough, to protect students from hate, patriarchy or <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/12/15/7371737/rape-culture-definition">rape culture</a>. </p>
<p>And in some cases, responses like added policing can lead to <a href="https://incite-national.org/2020/06/11/abolitionist-feminist-resources-to-dismantle-policing/">increased violence</a>, especially for <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/why-policing-and-prisons-cant-end-gender-violence">Black, queer, trans, Indigenous, poor or non-binary people</a>. </p>
<p>As one response to the problem of gender-based violence on campus, a project at Queen’s University is piloting gender-based/sexual violence training that meets students where they’re at — the classroom — and engages them through their field of study.</p>
<h2>Gender-based violence on campus</h2>
<p>The attack at Waterloo is symptomatic of larger issues of sexual and gender-based violence present in society, especially on university <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/tcu-summary-report-student-voices-on-sexual-violence-survey-en-2019-03.pdf">campuses</a>. </p>
<p>Gender-based and sexual violence lies at the intersection of <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/color-of-violence">racism</a>, sexism and homophobia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/addressing-campus-sexual-violence-new-risk-assessment-tool-can-help-administrators-make-difficult-decisions-199714">Addressing campus sexual violence: New risk assessment tool can help administrators make difficult decisions</a>
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<p>A recent initiative to <a href="https://www.couragetoact.ca">address and prevent gender-based violence</a> on Canadian campuses reports research conducted about <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00005-eng.pdf?st=IS1xkl8M">post-secondary students in 2019</a> showed 71 per cent of students have either witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours in a post-secondary setting. Racialized, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ students are disproportionately <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14842-eng.htm">at risk</a> of sexual assault. </p>
<h2>Prevention strategies matter</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199943494.013.005">Prevention strategies for ending gender-based violence</a> <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d482d9fd8b74f0001c02192/t/62ac86307f9bb400023b8598/1655473740770/Courage+to+Act+Report+2022.pdf">must be rooted in challenging inequities</a> through community mobilization, comprehensive education and structural change. </p>
<p>For many universities, the vision is there, but the road is long. And in the context of limited resources, stretched staff and stressed students, how can anti-violence practitioners reach students, especially those not already engaged in these conversations? </p>
<p>One hurdle is the divide between faculty who have been historically tasked with students’ education and knowledge, and administration, who have been tasked with the welfare of students, including responding to and preventing sexual violence on campus. The project we are involved in brings these approaches together.</p>
<h2>Reaching more students</h2>
<p>Co-authors of this story, Rebecca Rappeport, a sexual violence specialist in <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/sexualviolencesupport/">the Queen’s University Human Rights and Equity Office</a>, and Rebecca Hall, a professor in the department of <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/devs/">global development studies</a>, worked together. We piloted embedding gender-based/sexual violence prevention material into the curricular goals of a global development studies classroom.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-long-fight-against-sexual-assault-and-harassment-at-universities-170258">The long fight against sexual assault and harassment at universities</a>
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<p>Rappeport was invited to lead a one-and-a-half hour workshop during a first-year global development studies class. The workshop focussed on educating students about gender and sexual violence as a <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/722312">social problem</a>, and raising awareness about services available at the university and in the community.</p>
<p>Afterwards, students were asked to engage the analytical tools they were building in the classroom to create proposals addressing this problem. </p>
<p>In keeping with <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/health-risks-safety/trauma-violence-informed-approaches-policy-practice.html">trauma-informed approaches</a> to teaching, students were given advance notice of the collaboration and a “no questions asked” opt-out option with an alternative assignment.</p>
<h2>Engineering students involved</h2>
<p>The workshop framed campus sexual and gender-based violence as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/jun/08/wicked-problems">wicked problem</a> — that is, a problem that requires multiple approaches and intersectional and transdisciplinary collaboration. </p>
<p>Framing gender-based and sexual violence as a wicked problem means that the embedded approach lends itself well to most academic departments — not only to departments focused on feminist theory or equity.</p>
<p>Last winter, Rappeport also brought an embedded workshop, similarly with an “opt out” option, to the second-year mechatronics and robotics classroom of engineering professor Joshua Marshall. </p>
<p>Following Rappeport’s workshop in an engineering class, students were asked to apply their emerging disciplinary knowledge to the problem of gender and sexual violence on campus. In groups, students focused on how their engineering knowledge could contribute creative strategies for addressing campus violence.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadian-engineers-call-for-change-to-their-private-iron-ring-ceremony-steeped-in-colonialism-194897">Canadian engineers call for change to their private 'iron ring' ceremony steeped in colonialism</a>
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<h2>Students as agents of change</h2>
<p>The training met students where they’re at (the classroom) and engaged them through their field of study, with incentives: grades. </p>
<p>This form of engagement reached beyond students who tend to be engaged in gender issues, including significantly more male students.</p>
<p>But beyond this practical aim, in embedding the training in classroom learning, we sought to position the <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-and-colleges-want-to-enrol-more-students-but-where-are-they-supposed-to-live-195624">students as agents of change</a>, rather than solely potential perpetrators, victims or witnesses. </p>
<p>Students are encouraged to consider developing new approaches, technologies and policies to work towards ending gender-based violence: to see themselves as inventors, social scientists and leaders.</p>
<p>Preliminary survey results from the two piloted classes showed a significant increase in students’ self-assessment of their knowledge, and their ability to help solve issues related to sexual violence, linking their discipline to these issues. There was almost 100 per cent participation from both classes with over 300 students.</p>
<h2>Expanding pilot program</h2>
<p>This fall, Rappeport will extend this pilot program with Queen’s engineering, kinesiology and health sciences faculty, with plans for further expansion. </p>
<p>Sexual and gender-based violence can seem like an insurmountable problem, but interdisciplinary thinking encourages creative approaches to social change. Using their own university as a case study allows students to combine their lived experience on campus with classroom knowledge to think through a major social problem. </p>
<p>With this teaching approach, we aim to layer immediate approaches to campus violence with a vision for longer-term structural change. We do so by encouraging students who are often missed in traditional prevention programming to integrate this awareness into their future careers, whether that’s community organizing, writing policy or building robots.</p>
<p><em>Rebecca Rappeport, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Community Outreach and Student Support Worker at Queen’s University, co-authored this story.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Hall receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>Faculty and university staff are embedding training to prevent gender-based and sexual violence into curricular goals of both arts and STEM classes.Rebecca Hall, Assistant Professor, Global Development Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093092023-08-10T12:45:59Z2023-08-10T12:45:59ZHeritage algorithms combine the rigors of science with the infinite possibilities of art and design<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541961/original/file-20230809-29902-o57gog.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C7168%2C4088&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artist AbdulAlim U-K (Aikin Karr) combines the fractal structure of traditional African architecture with emerging technologies in computer graphics.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cge-WOAsrkz/?img_index=2">AbdulAlim U-K</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The model of democracy in the 1920s is sometimes called “<a href="https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/melting-pot/">the melting pot</a>” – the dissolution of different cultures into an American soup. An update for the 2020s might be “open source,” where cultural mixing, sharing and collaborating can build bridges between people rather than create divides.</p>
<p>Our research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_TEKN.2016.v13.n2.52843">heritage algorithms</a> aims to build such a bridge. We develop <a href="https://csdt.org">digital tools</a> to teach students about the complex mathematical sequences and patterns present in different cultures’ artistic, architectural and design practices.</p>
<p>By combining computational thinking and cultural creative practices, our work provides an entry point for students who are disproportionately left out of STEM careers, whether by race, class or gender. Even those who feel at home with equations and abstraction can benefit from narrowing the gap between the arts and sciences.</p>
<h2>What are heritage algorithms?</h2>
<p>Traditional STEM curricula often present science as a ladder you climb. For example, you might be told that math starts with counting, then goes to algebra, then calculus and so on. </p>
<p>But our research has found that the global history of science is more like a bush: Each culture has its own branching set of discoveries. Some of these discoveries offer a perspective that’s different from the theorem-proof approach for math or hypothesis-experiment approach for biology. Understanding the rules and techniques that create cultural patterns from the maker’s point of view can help bridge the gap between knowledge branches. We refer to these hybrids of computation and culture as <a href="https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_TEKN.2016.v13.n2.52843">heritage algorithms</a>, and there are examples everywhere. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two photos. On the left, one man in a hat is sitting holding a book, and another person crouches next to him pointing at the page. On the right, two people stand above a table and the person on the right is stamping a blank page." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537365/original/file-20230713-17-2yr2er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The authors learn from artisans. Left: Ron Eglash discusses fractal patterns with an Ethiopian crafter. Right: Audrey Bennett tries her hand at Adinkra stamping in Ghana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ron Eglash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Flying over an African village, you can see the recursive geometry of <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/african-fractals/9780813526140">African fractals</a> in their architecture: circles of circles, rectangles within rectangles, and other “self-similar” structures. These fractal patterns also appear in their textiles, carvings, paintings, ironwork and more.</p>
<p>Other kinds of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09728-6">algorithms underlie</a> the repeating sequences of bent wood arcs that make up Native American wigwams, canoes and cradles. Even <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/henna/index.html">henna tattoos</a> demonstrate the interactions among computation, nature and culture.</p>
<p>These heritage algorithms challenge the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Reinvention-of-Primitive-Society-Transformations-of-a-Myth/Kuper/p/book/9781138282650">myth of “primitive cultures”</a> – the idea that early Africans had no math past counting on fingers or that Native American agriculture lacked sophistication.</p>
<p>The computational thinking that is embedded in Indigenous artifacts and other creative practices, such as weaving, beadwork and quilting, is not merely decorative. It also reflects different ways of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31293-9_18">thinking about the world</a>. Our interviews with artisans revealed how they visualize <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1997.99.1.112">spiritual concepts</a> in formal techniques and numerical sequences. </p>
<h2>Bringing heritage algorithms to the classroom</h2>
<p>Heritage algorithms give students a way to blend the abstract rigors of math, the grounded legacies of culture and the infinite possibilities of art. To bring these algorithms to the classroom, <a href="https://csdt.org">we have created</a> interactive computer programs and simulations that we call <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3804796">culturally situated design tools</a>, or CSDTs.</p>
<p>Each CSDT was created in collaboration with Indigenous elders, street artists, traditional crafters and others. With the creators’ permission, we transfer their knowledge of pattern creation into digital tools that students enjoy using and teachers enjoy implementing in their lesson plans.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close up of a brown and white woven fabric" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540603/original/file-20230801-29684-6okmwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In a woven Navajo blanket, the line y=x forms a 30-degree angle with the horizontal axis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ron Eglash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s important to craft each CSDT to reflect the way those artisans think about the cultural practice. For instance, the slope of the line y=x, mathematically calculated as “rise over run,” is 1 – for every unit you move up the line, you move a unit to the right. This line forms a 45-degree angle with the x-axis. But when Navajo weavers use this “up one, over one” pattern, the slope is closer to a 30-degree angle. This is because they weave yarn horizontally through vertical cords that are thicker than the yarn. So we made sure to preserve this feature in the weaving simulation we built.</p>
<p>A crucial aspect of CSDTs is that students may use them to follow their interests. This freedom and independence lets students encounter new cultures, delve deeper into their own identity or mix designs from different cultures to create something completely new. </p>
<p>We have seen Black students choose an <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/quilting/appalachian.html">Appalachian quilting simulation</a>, Native American students choose <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/cornrowcurves/index.html">cornrow simulations</a> and white students create <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/beadloom/index.html">beadwork simulations</a>. Students’ creative designs often mix many cultures together – cornrows become “<a href="https://csdt.org/news/powwow/">powwow braids</a>,” and African fractal simulations turn into plants, lungs and river deltas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A collage of several images, some depicting students holding up a quilt, another of a student working on the quilt, and another of a computer program featuring the quilt design" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537364/original/file-20230713-27-a3kuf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students from Harlem Academy create designs using the Appalachian and Lakota quilt CSDTs. Many Appalachian quilts contained the ‘radical rose,’ symbolizing support for abolition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ron Eglash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heritage algorithms and CSDTs provide a powerful starting place for students to improve their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/cye.2009.0024">computing skills and confidence</a>. These tools even provide a foundation for a variety of careers, from <a href="https://blog.ted.com/architecture-infused-with-fractals-ron-eglash-and-xavier-vilalta/">architecture</a> to <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/anishinaabearcs/2017overview.html">environmental engineering</a>.</p>
<h2>When computation and culture collide</h2>
<p>The reach of heritage algorithms has recently extended beyond learning environments to contemporary art spaces. Artists are generating a bold new creative style using “ethnocomputing” – an understanding of computer science from a cultural perspective.</p>
<p>You can see fresh interpretations of heritage algorithms in the African fractals embedded in the work of visual artist <a href="https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/202007/tendai-mupita-83726">Tendai Mupita</a>, the cornrow simulations integrated in the work of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/arts/rashaad-newsome-assembly-exhibit.html">Rashaad Newsome</a>, the blending of the African diaspora and technology by <a href="https://nettricegaskins.medium.com/afrofuturist-software-from-conception-to-manifestation-d05389d0874">Nettrice Gaskins</a> and the creative duo <a href="https://iconeye.com/?p=44925">Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissy Amuah</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/35571-the-new-bend/#about">An exhibition</a> on display <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5dc84bade8c8347aab560645/t/647f625bf3739e5c9f84d163/1686069851882/Press-Release_TheNewBend_HWNY22-1-1.pdf">in New York City</a>, <a href="https://vip-hauserwirth.com/the-new-bend-somerset/">the U.K.</a> <a href="https://vip-hauserwirth.com/the-new-bend-los-angeles/">and Los Angeles</a> explores the textile techniques of artists inspired by the African American <a href="https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2015/quilts-gees-bend-slideshow">quilting tradition of Gee’s Bend, Alabama</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-skinned girl wearing glasses sits in front of a computer screen. Conrow patterns are visible on the screen behind her, and imposed on the right side of the image." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537363/original/file-20230713-21522-dovvzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A high school student uses a CSDT to simulate cornrow hairstyle patterns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ron Eglash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research on heritage algorithms is partially driven by a philosophical desire to reframe STEM as a source of <a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-joy-resistance-resilience-and-reclamation">radical joy</a> for every ethnicity and identity. Inspired by the radical feminist phrase “sex-positive feminism,” we sometimes call our perspective “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340418728_Race-positive_Design_A_Generative_Approach_to_Decolonizing_Computing">race-positive design</a>” – thinking of race not in purely negative terms of oppression but instead as a rich source of creativity, liberation and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00815-9">free-thinking mindset</a> for curiosity and scientific inquiry.</p>
<p>This philosophical stance also has <a href="https://csdt.org/publications/">a practical side</a>: <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314263728_From_Sports_to_Science_Using_Basketball_Analytics_to_Broaden_the_Appeal_of_Math_and_Science_Among_Youth">statistically significant</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.17583/remie.2015.1399">improvement</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2037276.2037281">in STEM scores</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.2006.108.2.347">for underrepresented students</a>. Many teachers have recognized the potential of heritage algorithms for getting students invested in STEM. One teacher using the <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/graffiti/index.html">graffiti tool</a> told us this was the first time students asked if they could stay in her math class after school. Another said she would never teach negative numbers again without the <a href="https://csdt.org/culture/beadloom/index.html">bead loom CSDT</a>.</p>
<p>Heritage algorithms, both in the classroom and beyond, open up a two-way bridge between humanistic and technical knowledge. They offer a space where everyone – teacher and student, young and old, geek and artist – can learn, share and collaborate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209309/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Audrey G. Bennett receives funding from the NEH and NSF. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ron Eglash receives funding from the NSF.</span></em></p>By bridging culture and computation, heritage algorithms challenge the myth of ‘primitive cultures’ and forge a new understanding of science and art.Audrey G. Bennett, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, Stamps School of Art & Design, University of MichiganRon Eglash, Professor of Information, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051712023-05-23T12:25:42Z2023-05-23T12:25:42ZNew approach to teaching computer science could broaden the subject’s appeal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527051/original/file-20230518-23-xsgvbi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Language arts students can program chatbots for literary characters.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/side-view-of-youthful-african-american-schoolboy-royalty-free-image/1425235236">shironosov/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-and-information-research-scientists.htm#tab-1">growing demand for computer science skills</a> in professional careers and many areas of life, K-12 schools <a href="https://www.eschoolnews.com/steam/2023/02/23/what-is-computer-science-education-lacking/">struggle to teach</a> computer science to the next generation.</p>
<p>However, a new approach to computer science education – called <a href="https://www.fierceeducation.com/teaching-learning/teaching-computational-thinking-essential-future-college-students">integrated computing</a> – addresses the main barriers that schools face when adding computer science education. These barriers include a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/reports/196379/trends-state-computer-science-schools.aspx">lack of qualified computer science teachers</a>, a lack of funds and a focus on courses tied to standardized tests.</p>
<p>Integrated computing teaches computer science skills like programming and computer literacy within traditional courses. For example, students can use integrated computing activities to <a href="https://youtu.be/KG_JqpmmkdQ">create geometric patterns in math</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/x5w6x7f33Wk">simulate electromagnetic waves in science</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/654BOJwAWCg">create chatbots for literary characters</a> in language arts. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://education.gsu.edu/profile/lauren-margulieux/">professor of learning technologies</a>, I have been <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YGV0Y24AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">designing integrated computing activities</a> for K-12 students for the past five years. I work with faculty and students in teacher training programs to <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.26716/jcsi.2022.11.15.35">create and test integrated computing activities</a> across all academic subjects. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://laurenmarg.com/research/">my research</a>, I have found that integrated computing solves three major hurdles to teaching computer science education in K-12 schools.</p>
<h2>Challenges to teaching computer science</h2>
<p>Fitting a new academic discipline into an <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/0ebc645c-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/0ebc645c-en">already crowded curriculum</a> can be a challenge. Integrated computing allows computer science education to become part of learning in other classes, the way reading skills are also used in science, math and language arts classes. </p>
<p>Teacher knowledge is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2023.2178868">another difficulty when it comes to teaching computer science</a> in K-12 schools. While people who specialize in computer science are often recruited to more lucrative careers than teaching, integrated computing develops all teachers’ computer science knowledge. Teachers do not need to become computer science experts to teach computer literacy and programming skills to their students. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher holds tablet while working in classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527129/original/file-20230518-19-2wsuw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers do not need a computer science degree to incorporate computing into their classrooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/indian-teacher-using-digital-tablet-in-classroom-royalty-free-image/526297603">LWA/Dann Tardif/DigitalVision Collection/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, the most surprising result of my research is how quickly teachers learn to teach integrated computing activities. In about two hours, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.26716/jcsi.2022.11.15.35">teachers can use a pre-made computer science lesson</a> in their classrooms. In the future, I will teach them to use artificial intelligence to create their own lessons for their students. For example, a science teacher recently asked me how she could create a data analysis activity for her class. AI tools would allow her to <a href="https://www.ironhack.com/us/en/blog/chatgpt-for-data-analysts">quickly design the technical aspects</a> of this activity. </p>
<p>And finally, integrated computing also addresses students’ reluctance to take elective computer science classes when they have little knowledge of computer science. In 2022, over half of U.S. public high schools offered computer science, but just <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/computer-science-education-is-gaining-momentum-but-some-say-not-fast-enough/2022/09">6% of students</a> took these classes. Students who do take computer science in high school typically have had <a href="https://doi.org/10.2190/9LE6-MBXA-JDPG-UG90">early exposure to computer science</a>. Integrated computing can give all students early exposure to computer science, which I believe will increase the number of students who take computer science courses later in school. </p>
<h2>Computer science for everyone</h2>
<p>Early exposure to computer science in school is especially important for students from groups <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/exploring-the-state-of-computer-science-education-amid-rapid-policy-expansion/">underrepresented in computer science</a>. A <a href="https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs">2022 report</a> from Code.org, a nonprofit that advocates for more computer science education in K-12 schools, found that students who are Latino, female or from low-income or rural areas are <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/computer-science-education-is-gaining-momentum-but-some-say-not-fast-enough/2022/09">less likely</a> to be enrolled in foundational computer science courses.</p>
<p>Teachers who want to build their computer science knowledge and apply it to their classroom can try these free self-paced, online <a href="https://gavirtualpd.catalog.instructure.com/browse/computerscience">integrated computing courses</a> that I developed, and which are tied to micro-credentials. Also, this sortable list of <a href="https://integratedcomputing.org/">integrated computing activities</a> provides free lesson plans. The activities require only a computer – no prior knowledge is needed, and young learners can complete them outside of class, too.</p>
<p>Integrated computing provides a path to increase computer literacy for all K-12 students. As technology advances at an increasing rate, I believe schools must take care that our young people do not fall behind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Margulieux receives funding from Snap, Inc., Google, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Education. </span></em></p>Integrated computing enables teachers to incorporate basic programming skills into K-12 students’ regular math, science and language arts classes.Lauren Margulieux, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056492023-05-23T02:27:22Z2023-05-23T02:27:22ZFewer women receive research grants – but the reasons are more complicated than you’d think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527474/original/file-20230522-17-f66dbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C79%2C4355%2C2855&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-entomologist-sea-491813269">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It likely comes as no surprise that women receive a smaller share of research funding than men. But untangling the underlying reasons is no small feat.</p>
<p>A recently published <a href="https://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41073-023-00127-3">international review</a> spanning 45 years found that women accounted for just under a quarter of awards.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://osf.io/cpvqk/">our own study of 46,912 grants</a> awarded in Australia by the <a href="https://www.arc.gov.au/">Australian Research Council</a> and <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/">National Health and Medical Research Council</a> over 20 years points to a complex issue that extends beyond granting systems: fewer women researchers mean fewer women applicants, in turn leading to fewer women receiving grants. </p>
<h2>The international scene</h2>
<p>In the recent international review, the authors synthesised evidence from 55 studies from 14 countries including the United States and Canada, and the European Union, from 1975 to 2020. Their analysis explored gender differences in grant award outcomes, success rates and funding amounts. </p>
<p>They found, on average:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>fewer awarded grants were led by women (24%) than men (76%)</p></li>
<li><p>30% of applicants were women. Success rates for grants led by women (23%) did not differ significantly from those led by men (24%)</p></li>
<li><p>women researchers received about half the amount of research funds per grant than men – an average of US$342,000 compared to men with an average of US$659,000. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>But this international analysis only incorporated one year of Australian data, limiting the degree to which those findings might pan out here.</p>
<h2>What about Australia?</h2>
<p>We, the research team at the Office of the <a href="https://womeninstem.org.au/">Australian Government’s Women in STEM Ambassador</a>, deployed a statistical model that enabled us to detect nuanced patterns by simultaneously considering not only gender, but also career seniority, field of research and time. This research is currently available <a href="https://osf.io/cpvqk/">as a preprint ahead of peer review</a>.</p>
<p>Echoing findings of the international study, our modelling revealed fewer awarded grants were led by women than men. However, we also found that career seniority mattered – increasingly fewer women researchers received grants at a senior level. The percentage of grants led by women was 36% among early-career, 30% among mid-career, and 21% among senior-career researchers. </p>
<p>We also found that gender differences in awarded grants varied by field of research. Proportionally fewer awarded grants were led by women in the fields of chemical sciences, mathematical sciences, Earth sciences, engineering, technology and physical sciences.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-women-are-studying-stem-but-there-are-still-stubborn-workplace-barriers-190839">More women are studying STEM, but there are still stubborn workplace barriers</a>
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<p>We documented progress towards gender parity over the 20-year period, and the rate of progress depended on career seniority. The percentage of awarded grants led by early-career women rose from 29% in 2000 to 42% in 2020. The increase was from 21% to 40% for mid-career and from 14% to 30% for senior-career women researchers.</p>
<p>However, progress is slow and these percentages remain well below gender parity. </p>
<p>Importantly, we found that success rates for grants led by women did not differ significantly from men’s success rates. Based on this, we conclude it’s unlikely the main source of gender disparities in grant outcomes is how the research is assessed. </p>
<p>Unlike the findings from the international review, we found that funding amounts didn’t differ by gender. Women-led grants in Australia were awarded the same amount of funding per grant as men-led grants.</p>
<p>That said, because fewer awarded grants were led by women, the total funds showed a substantial difference: A$19 billion awarded to men lead investigators versus A$7.4 billion awarded to women lead investigators.</p>
<h2>What about the workforce?</h2>
<p>It is important to place these gender differences in the context of research workforce participation. According to available <a href="https://www.arc.gov.au/evaluating-research/excellence-research-australia">Australian data</a>, there are fewer women than men in the research workforce. In fact, for every 100 men researchers, there are only 75 women researchers on average. </p>
<p>When we considered the number of awarded grants relative to workforce participation, we found the award rate was actually higher for women than men, especially among senior career researchers. For every 1,000 women professors in the research workforce, eight led a successfully funded grant each year; whereas for every 1,000 men professors, five led a successfully funded grant each year. </p>
<p>Despite award rates favouring women over men (noting the workforce data are not as comprehensive as our grant funding data), fewer women researchers mean fewer women applicants, which means fewer women awardees overall. </p>
<p>Pulling all this together, it seems gender differences in Australian research grant programs may primarily arise from unequal workforce participation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-lack-of-confidence-thats-holding-back-women-in-stem-155216">It's not lack of confidence that's holding back women in STEM</a>
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<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>We need to support women entering the research workforce and ensure they remain there and can progress in their careers. Barriers to women’s workforce participation have been extensively <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/women-in-stem-decadal-plan">documented</a>. The responsibility to remove such barriers rests with several entities. </p>
<p>Higher education and research institutes have social and legal responsibilities to provide environments in which all researchers have an equal opportunity to excel. In Australia, <a href="https://sciencegenderequity.org.au/">Science in Australia Gender Equity</a> provides an accreditation framework to <a href="https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-017-0177-9">identify and address inequities</a> and can <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/2/e032915">accelerate the increase of women in leadership positions</a>. </p>
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<p>Governments and research funders can incentivise these and other gender-equity initiatives. Options include mandating workplace gender targets, equity plans or relevant accreditation as a condition of receiving government funds. These approaches are <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3975">shown to progress gender equity</a>.</p>
<p>Only when the whole sector comes together to contribute solutions across the research ecosystem will we see genuine, sustainable progress towards gender equity.</p>
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<p><em>EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article contained slightly different results of the analysis of ARC and NHMRC grants due to an issue with the data relating to career seniority. The authors have rectified the error, reanalysed the data, and here report the updated results. The pattern of findings and conclusions has not changed.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Senior Research Associate for the Australian Government's Women in STEM Ambassador, Isabelle Kingsley receives funding from the Australian Government that supports this work.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Johnston currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council for her Antarctic research. Professor Johnston has previously received funding from the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources that supported Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador and this research project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa A. Williams receives funding from the Australian government (Australian Research Council; Department of Industry, Science, and Resources).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As the Australian Government's Women in STEM Ambassador, Lisa Harvey-Smith receives funding from the Australian Government that supports this work. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eve Slavich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Overall, women receive a smaller share of research funding – but it’s not due to how applications are weighed up. The problem starts with the workforce itself.Isabelle Kingsley, Senior Research Associate at the Office of the Women in STEM Ambassador, UNSW SydneyEmma Johnston, Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of SydneyEve Slavich, Statistical Consultant, UNSW SydneyLisa A Williams, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, UNSW SydneyLisa Harvey-Smith, Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor of Practice, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052042023-05-10T04:03:31Z2023-05-10T04:03:31ZAmid a STEM crisis, here’s what the 2023 budget promises for Australian science and innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525278/original/file-20230510-17-f7mkf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1549%2C0%2C5496%2C3983&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-data-concept-digital-neural-network-2055335264">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian innovation has the capacity to protect us – our environment, our digital world, our borders and our health. All of these are focuses of <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2023-at-a-glance-major-measures-cuts-and-spends-205211">this year’s federal budget</a>. </p>
<p>But the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector has been sounding the alarm for years that our research system is in crisis. Reviews in progress – including the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord">Universities Accord</a>, <a href="https://consult.industry.gov.au/sciencepriorities1">National Science and Research Priorities</a>, and the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-reviews-and-consultations/review-australian-research-council-act-2001">Australian Research Council</a> – are an opportunity to examine and respond to systemic problems.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teaching-and-research-are-the-core-functions-of-universities-but-in-australia-we-dont-value-teaching-203657">Teaching and research are the core functions of universities. But in Australia, we don't value teaching</a>
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<p>However, they don’t take a whole-of-sector view to designing a research and innovation system that is not only functional but harmonious, and which makes the best use of Australian talent.</p>
<p>While we wait for these reviews to be complete, here’s where the 2023-24 budget stands in terms of Australia’s science, technology and innovation sectors in my assessment as the CEO of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).</p>
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<h2>More STEM degrees</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/business-industry/finding-opportunities/advanced-strategic-capabilities-accelerator">Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator</a> will see A$3.4 billion over a decade to translate disruptive new technologies – such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-russia-china-race-to-develop-hypersonic-weapons-114694">hypersonic research</a> and quantum decryption – into defence capability.</p>
<p>The nuclear submarine workforce will be bolstered by <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/building-better-fairer-education-system-all-australians">$128.5 million for 4,000 new places for tertiary STEM education</a>. This is necessary to meet our commitments under AUKUS. We’ll never say no to more STEM degrees in this engineer-poor, rapidly innovating world.</p>
<p>This budget also aims to <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/safer-secure-future-for-australia.aspx">make safer online spaces</a> with a welcome $7.9 million for combating misinformation and disinformation via the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and $101.6 million for cybersecurity.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-a-robust-cybersecurity-overhaul-not-whack-a-mole-bans-on-apps-like-tiktok-203158">Australia needs a robust cybersecurity overhaul – not whack-a-mole bans on apps like TikTok</a>
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<p>But here, too, is a miss in the education and career pathways to train, support, and continue to develop Australia’s digital workforce. <a href="https://members.professionalsaustralia.org.au/PA/Latest_News/Australia_faces_engineering_skills_crisis-by_2040.aspx">We’re already behind our OECD counterparts</a> – Australia trains an insufficient number of engineers, with just 8.5% of Australian university graduates receiving engineering degrees compared with over 12% in Canada and over 23% in Germany. Our engineering and technology workforce is studded with gaps in areas such as civil engineering, telecommunications and mining, to name just a few.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/national-quantum-strategy#:%7E:text=The%20National%20Quantum%20Strategy%20is,the%20opportunities%20of%20quantum%20technologies.">National Quantum Strategy</a>, Australian Centre for Quantum Growth, and national artificial intelligence (AI) centre are a necessary trio to keep pace with this rapidly transforming field. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-national-quantum-strategy-what-does-that-mean-205232">Australia has a National Quantum Strategy. What does that mean?</a>
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<p>Small business is supported to commercialise research through the $392 million <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/husic/media-releases/investing-industry-growth">Industry Growth Program</a>, adding to the already-committed Australia’s Economic Accelerator program. This will continue to build a positive commercialisation environment and lead to more of Australia’s world class research becoming world class innovations.</p>
<h2>En route to a net zero superpower</h2>
<p>In a decarbonising global economy, Australia has the potential to be a clean energy superpower. We are home to leading minds in most of the key technologies that will drive the clean energy revolution – next-generation batteries, computing power, machine learning and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-clean-hydrogen-revolution-is-a-path-to-prosperity-but-it-must-be-powered-by-renewable-energy-169832">clean hydrogen</a> to name a few. We have abundant critical minerals, sun and wind.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/news/new-national-net-zero-authority">Net Zero Authority</a> is an important step towards the urgent need to decarbonise and transform our domestic and export energy markets. But to achieve this bold transformation, government investment in research and development must match innovation-leading nations like Japan, Germany and the United States.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-finally-has-a-net-zero-authority-heres-what-should-top-its-agenda-205029">Australia finally has a Net Zero Authority – here's what should top its agenda</a>
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<p>We need a coherent plan for clean energy research, development and deployment, with the backing to realise the vision. To keep the top tech and innovation minds here, we must invest around 3% of our gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development (R&D). </p>
<p>Direct government spend on R&D currently sits at 0.49% of GDP – its lowest level since 2014, leaving researchers competing for scraps. By contrast, visionary investment prioritises creating and applying new knowledge over the long term, and invests in building Australia’s new economy.</p>
<p>We need a structural review of R&D funding now to future-proof the system.</p>
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<img alt="A photo of shining stainless steel tanks labelled with the word hydrogen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525274/original/file-20230510-25-kqidgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">‘Clean’ hydrogen is among the renewables needed to transform Australia’s energy sector for a future with reduced carbon emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hydrogen-renewable-energy-production-gas-clean-2169583025">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What’s missing from the budget for STEM</h2>
<p>Research funding grants have flatlined: inflation means their real value is falling. As we await Universities Accord outcomes, the government has avoided supporting the full cost of teaching STEM degrees. Nothing has been announced to address urgent STEM professional shortages, and to support STEM workforce diversity.</p>
<p>Likewise, there’s silence on much-needed industry bodies – a National Engineering Council and the National Indigenous STEM Professional Network.</p>
<p>International STEM collaboration is more important than ever, but has taken a hit with a $25 million reduction to the <a href="https://www.atse.org.au/programs-and-awards/global-science-technology-diplomacy-fund-strategic-element/">Global Science and Technology Diplomacy Fund</a>. The fund was planned to support international collaboration in advanced manufacturing, AI and quantum computing, hydrogen production, and emerging applications of RNA vaccines and therapies to improve health outcomes.</p>
<p>In our region, and across the globe, collaborative and diplomatic relationships in STEM are essential.</p>
<p>We are yet to leverage Australia’s true capacity to grow a thriving R&D economy that supports our health, wealth, wellbeing and sustainability, and grows our stature as an innovative and future-focused, inclusive international leader.</p>
<p>Every budget has winners and losers. Next year, the reviews of our STEM sector will be complete, the government will have been in power for two years, and the window for game-changing investment will be shrinking.</p>
<p>My hope is that Australia’s long-term future as a safe and resilient nation will be the winner. We need a comprehensive and well funded plan to drive national progress and prosperity through research and development.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kylie Walker's organisation receives funding from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and is CEO at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.</span></em></p>Commitments have been made to cybersecurity, defence and certain gaps in STEM education and workforce – but much remains to be seen this year once we review the national priorities.Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006122023-02-23T20:20:19Z2023-02-23T20:20:19ZMac McClung may have ‘saved’ the slam dunk contest, but scoring methods could still be improved, a dunkologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512040/original/file-20230223-19-vc40ce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C76%2C5684%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mac McClung of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks the ball during the 2023 NBA All Star AT&T Slam Dunk Contest on Feb. 18, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mac-mcclung-of-the-philadelphia-76ers-dunks-the-ball-during-news-photo/1468043000?phrase=Mac%20McClung&adppopup=true">Alex Goodlett / Stringer via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I grew up watching some of the greatest slam dunk artists in the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legendsofbasketball.com/alumni/shawn-kemp/">Shawn Kemp</a> was one of my favorites because he was freaky athletic and dunked so powerfully. Plus, he seemed so nonchalant about everything. It made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfDmNdN-8FA">his dunks</a> look effortless. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nba.com/news/history-legend-dominique-wilkins">Dominique Wilkins</a> just jumped <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYhNbslDh8">so high on every dunk</a>. His limbs are long and he would <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ja4Cb7I9h4">windmill the ball</a> so far around and then dunk hard on the rim like a sledgehammer.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walkeke01.html">Kenny “Sky” Walker</a> was my biggest inspiration, because I felt as if we jumped alike, and he did a lot of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7PaSXpy8kQ">360s</a>. He swung and whirled the ball about, kicking his legs and dunking aggressively. That’s why I liked doing those 360s on a 6-foot-high rim back in the 1990s when I was in elementary school.</p>
<p>I also drew inspiration from my dad. One day my dad and I were shooting baskets with a volleyball. I begged him to dunk it. Even though he was exhausted from a day of construction work, he dunked it hard, all his limbs outstretched. The impact ripped open his finger and he began to bleed. Despite the injury, I was just in awe that he had dunked the ball. I thought the whole thing was so cool.</p>
<p>Today, my fondness for dunking remains, but on a much higher plane. I study dunks, so that makes me a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u37g8KEAAAAJ&hl=en">dunk scientist</a>. Or you might say I’m a dunkologist.</p>
<p>So whenever I watch the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest – like the one that <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/who-is-mac-mcclung-former-high-school-phenom-breaks-out-as-2023-slam-dunk-champion-at-nba-all-star-weekend/">Philadelphia 76ers’ Mac McClung won</a> with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mac-mcclung-viral-540-dunk-gets-brutally-honest-take-from-evan-fournier">turnaround slam on Feb. 18, 2023</a> – I don’t watch just to be entertained. As chairman of the technical committee for the <a href="https://wda.do/">World Dunk Association</a> – a group formed in 2020 to build more appreciation for the slam dunk – I also look to improve upon a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new system</a> we have developed offering a more scientific approach toward how judges score slam dunks. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H854e_GFV_U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A basketball player breaks down the science of how he does a slam dunk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growing up, I remember seeing “style, athleticism and creativity” mentioned during NBA broadcasts as factors for slam dunk judges to consider. But it wasn’t until I embarked upon my journey to become a researcher that I began to wonder if the slam dunk judges might be using more sophisticated criteria. </p>
<p>As my colleague Evan Rollins and I wrote in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233/JSA-190242">peer-reviewed paper</a> published in 2019 in the <a href="https://journalofsportsanalytics.com/">Journal of Sports Analytics</a>, dunk scores – <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2022-att-slam-dunk">now given on a scale of 6 to 10</a> – are not always awarded as fairly and consistently as you might hope or expect.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a screen that depicts Slam-Dunk Champions Guidelines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Image captured from the NBATV broadcast of 1987 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Source: NBA.</span>
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<h2>How dunks get scored</h2>
<p>I created a database to capture data from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWv5aFyC0z2v0bV1DpOD5XLAIU-a45BB1">every dunk I could find</a> for contests going all the way back to 1984. As of February 2022, the database contains information on more than 700 dunks.</p>
<p>Only about 45% of a player’s dunk score is based on what they do with their body or the ball, our analysis found. We found about 28% of a dunker’s score is based on factors that have nothing to do with the actual dunk, such as whether or not the contest took place in the hometown of the dunker or the dunker’s team. When a dunker’s team or hometown hosted the contest, their dunks were often scored higher than they would have been if the contest were held somewhere else.</p>
<p>Other factors included the player’s popularity – as measured by the number of mentions in the media. But a player’s popularity is often based on the player’s skill, so we don’t know if player popularity is a cause of – or simply correlated with – scoring high on a slam dunk.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A basketball player does a slam dunk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slam dunks are an impressive feat in basketball.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/antonius-cleveland-of-the-hawks-dunk-the-ball-during-the-news-photo/1371250899?adppopup=true">Jenny Evans/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The influence of non-dunk-related factors made me want to discover new methods to judge and score slam dunks. My pursuit led me to the World Dunk Association, which was started in 2020 by <a href="https://www.zianimalacademy.com/en/kadour-ziani/">Kadour Ziani</a>, a retired professional dunker, and <a href="https://damln.com/">Damian Le Nouaille-Diez</a>, a software engineer, author and entrepreneur. Turns out Kadour and Damian had devised a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">system to classify dunks</a> that was very much like the one Evans and I published in 2019. </p>
<p>As our association continues to work on <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new and better ways</a> to enable judges – and the general public – to score dunks, here are five things to keep in mind whenever you watch a slam dunk contest.</p>
<h2>1. Disregard things that are not part of the actual dunk</h2>
<p>Be careful of theatrics such as <a href="https://youtu.be/0WUeB6oXlZs?t=447">singing choirs</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/x0t_zZGrf1Y?t=37">clever passes from a teammate</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/lpxA0woG-Ow?t=13">changing</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/3P4syCF4D2A?t=372">jerseys</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/gzR01hZc4pI?t=14">other features</a> that do not meaningfully alter how the dunker executes ball movements and body actions. </p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/QKJtHJBFUdw?t=27">Jumping over a</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/hzZq1QOOeNY">celebrity</a> is no different from jumping over an ordinary person of the same height. All these activities are exciting and entertaining, but they do not reflect what the dunker actually does. </p>
<h2>2. Flight: Elevation, distance and obstacles</h2>
<p>Flight involves how high the dunker jumps, how far they jump and – if they jump over something – the size of an obstacle they jump over.</p>
<p>A simple way to check how high the dunker jumps is by looking for the highest point of their head relative to the bottom of the net and basket. This is easier than checking distance between the hips and the floor, because the dunk happens so quickly and jerseys can make it hard to visually locate the hip.</p>
<p>Distance is simply how far the point of takeoff is from the basket.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/1EfYwBb2iho?t=100">Jumping over obstacles is impressive</a> because it makes all other parts of the dunk more difficult. However, always check whether the dunker <a href="https://youtu.be/DqNaPewELqc?t=4">pushes off</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/ahmWFI8lKLQ?t=36">the obstacle</a> while jumping over it because pushing up increases the upward force and, when done properly, will allow them to elevate higher than they are truly able to jump. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two judges hold up score cards amid a crowd of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes players will perform tricks while in the air.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-george-w-bush-holds-up-a-10-as-he-judges-a-slam-news-photo/51725075?adppopup=true">Mike Theiler/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Style: Watching what is done in the air</h2>
<p>Once airborne, dunkers perform tricks with the ball and gymnastics with their bodies.</p>
<p>Watch for whether their overall bodily movements are smooth and extended or jerky and abbreviated. Fully outstretching arms and extended, smoother movements demand greater strength and flexibility to maintain control of the ball and body while airborne. If a dunker has trouble maintaining control of the ball and their body in the air, the arms and legs will be less extended and movements will be abbreviated.</p>
<h2>4. Power: Watching the finish</h2>
<p>Watch for a powerful and clean finish in which the ball is dunked at a high velocity without bumping the rim. On more <a href="https://youtu.be/-OJMLCF5oK4?t=10">powerful dunks</a> there will also be greater movement of the net side to side or upward out of the basket.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-OJMLCF5oK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vince Carter performing a powerful 360 windmill dunk in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Innovation: Enjoy it</h2>
<p>Dunkers can invent new <a href="https://youtu.be/FTOUnB27pVE">ball movements</a> and introduce never-before-seen <a href="https://youtu.be/e4Au8Y_0ZN0">variations</a>. Sometimes they dream up entertaining ways to showcase their abilities, such as <a href="https://youtu.be/HnBCN53rO2g?t=78">slapping a sticker high on the backboard</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/fBYLPU_DxX8?t=159">grabbing a stuffed animal hanging</a> from the rim with their mouth or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHSdvLILMFY&t=59s">blowing out a lit birthday candle</a> that is on the rim as part of the dunk.</p>
<p>Whereas the 2022 slam dunk contest has been called “<a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nba/nba-all-star-game/social-media-rips-nba-dunk-contest/95-f045e947-1a3f-4014-bf64-c923e33cd1f2">the weakest ever</a>,” some, such as Shaquille O'Neal, are saying that Mac McClung may have “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1158357296/mac-mcclung-nba-all-star-slam-dunk-contest-shaq-highlights">saved the contest</a>” in 2023.</p>
<p>Indeed, McClung dazzled – but he was not alone. The other contestants – Trey Murphy III, Jericho Sims and Kenyon Martin Jr. — put on a show as well, performing athletically demanding dunks. Notably, 10 of the 12 total dunks in 2023 were made on the first try, far greater than four of 12 in 2022. Although McClung won with an <a href="https://youtu.be/-gD4iASNf9k">array of amazing dunks</a>, Murphy’s <a href="https://youtu.be/OlPStUoWXeY">180 two-handed tomahawk-to-windmill</a> with a reverse finish should not be overlooked.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GN2OCU8Si-k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights for Trey Murphy from the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My favorite dunks are the ones – just like the ones I used to watch as a kid – that inspire me to go to the court and create my own.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article <a href="https://theconversation.com/dunkology-176688">originally published on Feb. 18, 2022</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Barber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NBA player Mac McClung may have just ‘saved’ the annual dunk contest, but scoring methods could still be improved, a dunking expert says.Justin Barber, Clinical Research Manager, University of KentuckyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1993702023-02-16T22:48:25Z2023-02-16T22:48:25ZTwo decades of stagnant funding have rendered Canada uncompetitive in biomedical research. Here’s why it matters, and how to fix it.<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510657/original/file-20230216-28-ouv28s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C45%2C4805%2C2828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada needs to revitalize its scientific mojo, and to do so must improve research funding.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You may imagine that the hard part of being a Canadian scientist is having a bright idea. However, while curiosity, persistence and inventiveness are prerequisites for scientific success, the major obstacle to being a biomedical scientist in Canada is obtaining research funding. </p>
<p>Canadian biomedical scientists receive funding to hire scientific staff and buy experimental materials by applying for federally funded grants from the <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/193.html">Canadian Institutes of Health Research</a> (CIHR). </p>
<p>To purchase their high-tech tools (infrastructure), researchers apply for grants from the <a href="https://www.innovation.ca/">Canada Foundation for Innovation</a> (CFI). These <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-fundamental-science-review/en">grant agencies are underfunded</a>, and some of their programs are poorly designed, with <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/53379.html">funding success rates so low</a> scientists must apply repeatedly to obtain funding that is financially inadequate. </p>
<p>As a result, Canadian scientists may feel like they spend more time writing grant applications than doing research. The reality is that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg0899">stagnant funding is holding back Canadian science</a>.</p>
<p>Securing CIHR grants has become impractically competitive. Most applications require multiple revisions and resubmissions, often imposing an interval of one to two years between first submission and funding. Since funding from a CIHR project grant only lasts five years, the life of the lab — and the jobs of Canadian scientists — are recurrently in jeopardy. </p>
<h2>Core funding issues</h2>
<p>Let’s review the core problems with the funding of Canadian science. Stagnation in Canada’s biomedical grant funding reflects the fact CIHR’s funding from the Government of Canada <a href="https://can-acn.org/science-funding-in-canada-statistics/#CIHR_Grant_application_success_rates_2000-2021">has not increased since 2006 (in constant dollars, year 2000) and is not predicted to increase by 2025</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bar graph showing static spending levels over six years" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510677/original/file-20230216-20-ms9knt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graph of planned spending over time illustrates that CIHR funding is flat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52738.html#5.1">(CIHR data)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The United States is a relevant comparator because it is home to many of the world’s leading scientists. Canadian scientists, if not funded, often relocate to the U.S. Compare America’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2020-21 budget of <a href="https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/budget#:%7E:text=The%20NIH%20invests%20most%20of,research%20for%20the%20American%20people.">US$45 billion</a> (roughly C$60 billion) to CIHR’s C$1.2 billion. America’s NIH budget is 50-fold that of Canada’s CIHR budget, but the U.S. population is only nine-fold greater than ours. </p>
<p><a href="https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm">Canada’s spending on research and development</a>, as a percentage of gross domestic spending, is also smaller than the U.S.’s. </p>
<h2>Grant competition success rates</h2>
<p>The success rate in CIHR grant competitions has declined from 31 per cent in 2005 to <a href="https://can-acn.org/science-funding-in-canada-statistics/">around 15 per cent in 2020</a>. </p>
<p>CIHR evaluates applications on a <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/4656.html#2.5">scale of zero to 4.9</a>, corresponding to categories of poor, fair, very good, excellent and outstanding. Currently, CIHR grants are rarely funded unless the voted score is outstanding (rated 4.4 to 4.9). Usually only the top 18 per cent of all grants — <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/53379.html">fewer than one in five</a> — are funded, and virtually all grants rated excellent are rejected. </p>
<p>This low-success endeavor is a demoralizing waste of time for the 82 per cent of scientists who are rejected and for the peer-review volunteers — unpaid colleagues who spent weeks reviewing the applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="chart showing CIHR grant rating categories" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510643/original/file-20230216-16-vhukiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost all grants scored by CIHR as excellent go unfunded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/4656.html#2.5">(CIHR data)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once funded, challenges remain. All CIHR awarded project grants are now subject to a <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52564.html">23.5 per cent across-the-board funding cut</a>. This cut allowed CIHR to fund 87 additional grants per competition from 2018 to 2020, however the value of a five-year project grant shrank from $950,000 to $725,000. </p>
<p>These cuts mean scientific staff must take pay cuts or be terminated, and the approved research can only be partially completed.</p>
<h2>Fixing funding</h2>
<p>Canada needs to revitalize its scientific mojo and <a href="https://www.tvo.org/video/has-canada-lost-its-science-game">to do so must improve research funding</a>. There are several steps that would improve science funding in Canada.</p>
<p><strong>1. Implement the Fundamental Science Review recommendations</strong></p>
<p>The fix for Canadian science was well enunciated by the <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-fundamental-science-review/en">Fundamental Science Review, also known as the Naylor Report, in 2017</a>. This report recognized that underfunded Canadian science was falling behind. </p>
<p>It noted that federal underfunding is exacerbated by CIHR’s practice of earmarking substantial portions of its limited funds to targeted proposals that address governmental priorities, rather than funding research and discovery science. </p>
<p>The report made simple recommendations to improve Canadian research: “Rapidly increase its investment in independent, investigator-led, research to redress the imbalance caused by differential investments favouring priority-driven, targeted research.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people sitting on blue storage drawer units in a V formation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509333/original/file-20230210-28-7wuu5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the author’s research team at the Archer laboratory at Queen’s University.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://deptmed.queensu.ca/research/teams/dr-archers-lab">(Author provided)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also recommended “formation of an independent advisory committee on basic research and industrial innovation, comprised of leaders in research and industry” (not government employees). Our government currently makes many top-down science funding decisions without a strategic scientific plan or an external scientific committee to advise them. An independent advisory committee would reduce political interference in science. </p>
<p>The Naylor report’s recommendations have not been fully implemented, but would transform Canadian research. This would require commitment of an additional 0.4 per cent of the Government of Canada’s annual budget to our science sector. </p>
<p><strong>2. Fund salaries for scientists who run infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>In the meantime, CFI and CIHR could each implement “researcher-centric” changes. </p>
<p>CFI could accompany its infrastructure grants with funding for the scientists who are needed to operate these complex research platforms. </p>
<p>CFI grants are used to purchase the multi-million-dollar tools needed to conduct research at the cutting-edge, such as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2013-304340">NextGen gene sequencers</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2021.0110">super resolution confocal microscopes</a>. <a href="https://www.innovation.ca/sites/default/files/2021-10/CFI-IF-2020-By-the-numbers.pdf">CFI has a 30 per cent funding success rate</a>, allowing purchase of infrastructure; but it does not pay for the scientists who run these scientific infrastructure platforms. </p>
<p>This makes it difficult to sustain a CFI scientific platform. </p>
<p><strong>3. Bring back the foundation grant program</strong></p>
<p>CIHR could resurrect its very successful foundation grant program. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a white coat in a lab" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510660/original/file-20230216-30-iobgib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Foundation grants allowed scientists to bundle all their research into a single, comprehensive application.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>CIHR understood that its most successful scientists usually required two to three project grants, and recognized the time drag that acquiring multiple project grants required. </p>
<p>They responded in 2014 with the foundation grant program. Foundation grants allowed scientists to bundle all their research into a single, comprehensive application which offered more funding (equivalent to two to three project grants) for a longer duration (seven years instead of five years for project grants). </p>
<p>This allowed researchers to spend more time on doing science and less on writing and reviewing grants. My foundation grant gave me the stability and flexibility to simultaneously study oxygen sensing, mitochondrial dynamics and to develop drugs to treat pulmonary hypertension, cancer and <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/how-covid-19-damages-lungs">COVID-19</a>.</p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51431.html">foundation grant program was unceremoniously terminated</a>, forcing grant holders to once again, apply for two to three simultaneous project grants. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-covid-19-damages-lungs-the-virus-attacks-mitochondria-continuing-an-ancient-battle-that-began-in-the-primordial-soup-192597">How COVID-19 damages lungs: The virus attacks mitochondria, continuing an ancient battle that began in the primordial soup</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Funding research pays off</h2>
<p>Researchers are key to Canada’s capacity to create a high-tech economy, build the biomedical sector and seed entrepreneurial activity. Researchers also support our academic health sciences centres and universities, making them internationally competitive. </p>
<p>Research has a great return on investment, with an estimated <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-high-return-on-investment-for-publicly-funded-research/">30 to 100 per cent of the expenditure on publicly funded research being returned to society</a>. Each research laboratory is a small business creating well-paying jobs, knowledge and intellectual property, which many commercialize. </p>
<p>In addition to launching medical innovations, patents and spin-off companies, Canada’s researchers teach university students, and many CIHR-funded clinician-scientists provide patient care in our hospitals. In all of these ways, investment in research is critical to making Canada healthy, wealthy and wise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen L Archer receives funding from CIHR and CFI. He previously received funding from NIH.</span></em></p>Researchers are key to Canada’s capacity to create a high-tech economy, build the biomedical sector and seed entrepreneurial activity, but they can’t do it without research funding.Stephen L Archer, Professor, Head of Department of Medicine, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1984072023-02-08T19:09:45Z2023-02-08T19:09:45ZPrejudice, poor pay and the ‘urinary leash’: naming and claiming Australia’s forgotten women scientists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508278/original/file-20230206-21-txnpsu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C5%2C1815%2C1260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bachelor of Science graduates at Adelaide University in 1890.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of University of Adelaide Library, University Archives</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jane Carey’s new book Taking to the Field explores a paradox: women have been excluded from Australian science for many social and political reasons, but were also present and active within it from its earliest days. It’s a story of extraordinary achievements as well as struggles to gain recognition and fair treatment.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: Taking to the Field: a History of Australian Women in Science - Jane Carey (Monash University Publishing)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>An array of fascinating and talented characters populates the book. One of the most controversial is <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/king-georgina-13025">Georgina King</a> (1845-1932). Among her many other investigations, she questioned the accepted wisdom that human evolution was driven by men. In 1902, she <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-525953704/view?sectionId=nla.obj-532274555&partId=nla.obj-525988602#page/n12/mode/1up">retold the narrative</a> with women at the centre, arguing they were first to walk upright and develop language. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508230/original/file-20230206-13-p7kjbu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1029&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Georgina King, circa 1910.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was a powerful challenge to the prevailing idea that women “were inferior because they were less evolved”. Her vision was before its time: it wasn’t until the 1990s that feminist archaeologists and other scholars took up the baton to argue for women as equal creators of human culture.</p>
<p>King’s work was plagiarised, and she was not fairly credited for what she had achieved. The more she objected, the more she was painted as unhinged and mad. It’s a familiar story even today.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-still-find-it-tough-to-reach-the-top-in-science-38776">Women still find it tough to reach the top in science</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Science and empire</h2>
<p>Carey provides a nuanced analysis of how early Australian science was entangled with <a href="https://www.allaboutscience.org/what-is-social-darwinism-faq.htm">social Darwinism</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics">eugenics</a> and genocide. She embeds the practices of collecting specimens and artefacts for scientific purposes in a nexus of colonial mastery and frontier violence. Importantly, she also notes the contributions made by Indigenous people, including women, in providing expert botanical, zoological, geological and other knowledge. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508235/original/file-20230206-27-27sr65.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A history of science might not usually include social activism. Carey describes how women were the backbone of science-informed social reform movements in the late 1800s and early 20th century.</p>
<p>Women were supposed to stay out of politics and concern themselves with the domestic sphere, but social reform was an acceptable arena for white, middle class women to exercise their talents. Their efforts established kindergartens, school medical services, sex education and family planning clinics across Australia. However, as Carey points out, these lofty ideals were also often driven by racist and eugenic motivations. </p>
<p>The emphasis on mothers and children’s welfare had a sinister and very political side. It was mobilised to support empire and “<a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/end-of-white-australia-policy">White Australia</a>”. Improving the lot of whites would keep at bay the rising tide of “degenerates” and the threat of <a href="https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/proper-mixed-up-miscegenation-among-aboriginal-australians">miscegenation</a> or “race-mixing”. </p>
<p>Australian women and women’s organisations participated in global networks promoting eugenics. The goal of keeping the race “pure” led directly to the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/bringing-them-home-report-1997">Stolen Generations</a> and <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/system/files/2021-10/DRC.9999.0079.0005.pdf">other atrocities</a>. </p>
<h2>Victim or pick-me girl?</h2>
<p>From the late 1800s, female scientists were herded into lower roles such as laboratory demonstrators, and paid less than their male counterparts for the same work. They were expected or forced to resign upon marriage. </p>
<p>A “<a href="https://insidestory.org.au/the-long-slow-demise-of-the-marriage-bar/">marriage bar</a>” for Commonwealth employees lasted until 1966 (and informally long after that). It’s worth reflecting on what marriage entailed for women before the rise of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism">second-wave feminism</a>. It meant, in general, that a woman was financially dependent on her husband. She was obliged to relinquish her identity as an adult human being to serve the needs of her husband and children. </p>
<p>Women lost not only their surname but their first name too: they became “Mrs Joe Bloggs”. They lost their bodily autonomy, being expected to provide sexual services to their husband. Rape in marriage was <a href="http://www.auswhn.org.au/blog/marital-rape/">legal until 1976 </a>in South Australia and later in other states. (At high school in the early 1980s, I was taught that it was a sin to deny a husband his conjugal rights). </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1145&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1145&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1145&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508231/original/file-20230206-21-xew3l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">News of Ethel McLellan in 1931.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trove</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For those not forced out by marriage, cracking the glass ceiling was often impossible. The case of <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mclennan-ethel-irene-15527">Ethel McLennan’s</a> rejection for the post of professor of botany at Melbourne University in 1937 highlights a problem that is every bit as prevalent today. The man chosen instead of her was, to quote one of her colleagues, appointed “on his promise rather than his established position”.</p>
<p>Despite such practices, many academic women in the 1930s and 40s were adamant that they had experienced no discrimination. Carey points to a 1941 survey, which suggests that university women had a “far lower perception of discrimination than those employed elsewhere”. </p>
<p>Carey notes that, at a time when universities were elite and expensive institutions to attend, these women were already very privileged compared to the bulk of their sisters. Over time, pay parity had increased, and many women continued to work after marriage. But they were sequestered in poorly-paid, low-ranked jobs, and in fields, such as botany, which had few men. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=985&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=985&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=985&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1237&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1237&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508232/original/file-20230206-19-idntfr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1237&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Margaret Blackwood pictured in 1944.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many, from the 1940s to the 1970s, explicitly rejected feminism, while also working to achieve social goods around education and health. Carey unpicks this contradiction. She quotes botanist <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blackwood-dame-margaret-12218">Margaret Blackwood</a> from 1980: “I am not a feminist or women’s libber … I do get stinking mad when I see prejudice against women, but it’s no good having a chip on your shoulder. You don’t get anywhere”.</p>
<p>Georgina King was evidence of that. But the choice was between being the victim or a pick-me girl, in today’s parlance. Neither is a winning position for women. </p>
<h2>The blokes take over</h2>
<p>In the decades after the second world war, Australian science became the field of men. The contribution of science to the war efforts increased its prestige; and although the numbers of women studying and gaining employment after the 1940s remained steady, they were now vastly outnumbered. Carey argues that numerous changes in this period led to the shape of science professions as we see them today. </p>
<p>Because of the marriage bar, promoting science careers to women was seen as a waste of time. In any case, job advertisements specified if they were for men or women; and until the 1970s, most of them were for men. </p>
<p>It was particularly difficult to get research positions, which, as Carey points out, made it hard for women to define themselves as scientists as they were not able to conduct research. As usual, teaching science was more accessible than being a scientist.</p>
<p>The radioastronomer <a href="https://csiropedia.csiro.au/payne-scott-ruby/">Ruby Payne-Scott</a> noted in the 1940s: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is probably more prejudice against employing women in mathematics and physics than in any other science except geology.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Payne-Scott’s research is foundational to the entire field of radioastronomy globally. When I first became aware of her work, her contributions as represented in Wikipedia were trivialised and underplayed in favour of her male collaborators. That has thankfully changed. Now she is celebrated by her former employer, CSIRO; but she was one of many forced out of science by marriage.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508233/original/file-20230206-27-kijojf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1087&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ruby Payne-Scott, Alec Little (middle) and ‘Chris’ Christiansen at the Potts Hill Reservoir Division of Radiophysics field station in about 1948.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica Chapman/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women dominated in fields like biology, botany and dietetics, which are still considered more appropriate for women than the “harder” sciences of physics, mathematics and engineering. </p>
<p>Carey documents how this division was predetermined by school subjects. Girls’ schools did not teach physics, while boys’ schools did not teach biology. In the 1940s and 1950s, this led to the numbers of women taking chemistry and physics in Victoria dropping radically.</p>
<p>In the universities, women were edged out of the positions they did hold even in the female-dominated fields, with some male professors actively trying to replace them with men.</p>
<p>By the 1950s, Carey says, the current gender divisions with women in the “soft” sciences and men in the “hard” sciences were entrenched. The post-war marriage boom further alienated women from science careers. If anything, the 1940s and 50s were more sexist than the pre-war decades. </p>
<p>There was a shortage of scientists; but anything was better than employing a woman. Men were preferentially appointed over more qualified women. Many senior scientists and science administrators began their careers in these decades; and these are the attitudes they were inculcated with.</p>
<p>Women also experienced discrimination because they had two jobs, as wives and mothers, and as employees. Their lower capacity to work at all hours was a black mark against them. Hence men derived the benefit of having their career supported by their partner’s domestic and emotional labour, and an absence of female competitors at work. </p>
<p>Women were (and still are) competing against this unfair advantage. It was not a social expectation that men shared domestic and family duties equally with women until the 1980s (and the current expectation that they do is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242525/">very different from reality</a>). This was no meritocracy or level playing field.</p>
<p>As Carey says of the post-war decades, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The fact that women were excluded so strongly, even in the face of the severe shortage of qualified scientific workers, is suggestive of the importance of masculinisation to the status and self-image of science in this period. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the face of science in Australia changed, the professions started to forget the earlier achievements of women in the field.</p>
<h2>The lack of toilets</h2>
<p>“The field” refers to a disciplinary area, but it also means the location of fieldwork – outside the laboratory, often in remote or difficult places, where scientists go to collect data.</p>
<p>Going into the field for women was a radical act. They were supposed to stay at home, or at most, in the lab or classroom. Their participation was also restricted by the lack of toilets – in Victorian Britain, this was called the “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-41999792">urinary leash</a>”, which limited the distances women could travel. Lack of toilets was used as an excuse for why women could not be employed, or work at field research stations. </p>
<p>In the 1950s, a woman who responded to a survey by Carey related how </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After rejection of several job applications with the excuse of ‘no toilets for women’ at our research station, I decided to study nutrition and dietetics, a predominantly female field.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many women were rejected for jobs because they were not held capable of fieldwork. As a young archaeologist, I heard these stories from more than one senior woman. This was even before factoring menstruation, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause into managing fieldwork, and without raising the constant threats of sexual harassment and violence. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508536/original/file-20230207-13-thrfjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It has been difficult for women scientists to leave the lab behind for fieldwork.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-keep-more-women-in-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-61664">How to keep more women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Fieldwork is a radical act</h2>
<p>Only in the last decade has it become possible to discuss these issues. Being in the field entails risks for women scientists because of the behaviour of men. There’s no getting around this.</p>
<p>Inevitably, reading a book like Taking to the Field invites us to contemplate how much has changed and how much remains to be done. As Carey says, there is power in “naming and claiming” forgotten women scientists. So many were relegated to work perceived as routine and repetitive, such as demonstrating, teaching, cataloguing stars, or programming computers. </p>
<p>Re-categorising these skills and knowledge enables their substantive scientific contributions to be recognised, as audiences have seen so compellingly in films like <a href="https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/pt.5.9081/full/">Hidden Figures</a>. Making these women visible again isn’t just about having more role models: it’s about feeling that science is a place where we belong.</p>
<p>Once again, there is a shortage of scientists, while the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/news/state-stem-gender-equity-2022">number of women in STEM fields</a> has barely increased over recent decades. The reasons are complex; but they can’t be addressed without understanding the deeper context provided by Carey’s invaluable analysis of Australian science.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Gorman is a member of the Women in Space Chapter of the National Space Society of Australia. She is a former mentor in the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs Space4Women programme.</span></em></p>A new book explores a paradox: women have been excluded from Australian science for many social and political reasons, but were also present and active in it from its earliest days.Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968322022-12-22T06:56:02Z2022-12-22T06:56:02ZNurses: attracting more men to the profession could help with talent shortage<p>Seldom has the state of the NHS workforce been more in the public consciousness. A global survey of nurses undertaken by the consultancy firm <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/around-the-world-nurses-say-meaningful-work-keeps-them-going">McKinsey</a> in the summer of 2022 highlighted the perilous state of the sector. The survey, which was conducted in France, Singapore, Japan, the US, Australia, Brazil and the UK, found that around one in four nurses was considering leaving the profession. Central to this desire was the burnout that was caused by being overworked and understaffed.</p>
<p>It’s a situation that has been widely discussed in the UK as a result of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64029578">first-ever strike</a> by members of the Royal College of Nursing in England. Data from <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey/april-2015---september-2022-experimental-statistics">NHS Digital</a> reveals that there are over 133,000 unfilled vacancies across NHS England, with about one in three of these vacancies for registered nurses. The extent of the crisis is underlined by the fact that this figure has grown by 19% on the same period last year.</p>
<p>The huge number of unfilled vacancies has led to an understandable call for a renewed focus on recruiting new nurses into the NHS. It’s an effort that would be greatly helped if the sector was as attractive to men as it is to women. Indeed, official <a href="https://www.rcn.org.uk/congress/congress-events/male-nurses#:%7E:text=There%20are%20currently%20over%20690%2C000,jobs%20in%20the%20United%20Kingdom.">data</a> from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows that just 11% of registered nurses in the UK today identify as men. </p>
<h2>Gender stereotypes</h2>
<p>This matters in a number of ways. First, men can often suffer from discrimination when applying to or working in stereotypically female roles. Indeed, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/irel.12318">research</a> has shown that men receive about 40% fewer requests for interviews when applying for jobs in female-dominated sectors. </p>
<p>These gender-based stereotypes <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797620929297">emerge</a> as early as five years of age, with children associating certain professions with men and others with women – and they are incredibly hard to shift. To do so will require a rethink about how nurses are portrayed both in the media and in communication between the industry and the wider public.</p>
<p>We have seen in <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-12-0266">attempts</a> to increase the number of women studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects, and participating in those industries, that having a strong supply of role models significantly increases participation by women. Just as those efforts have had to confound the stereotype that science and engineering were male disciplines, so too do we need a concerted effort to show that men can thrive as nurses as well.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/Faculty/Glenn_Loury/louryhomepage/teaching/Ec%20237/Akerlof%20and%20Kranton%20(QJE)%202000.pdf">Research</a> shows that going against gender norms carries a social and emotional cost, but whereas there has grown to be less stigma associated with women when they perform “men’s” jobs, the same is not the case when men perform “women’s” jobs. This is confounded by the <a href="https://nursinglicensemap.com/blog/male-nurses/">stereotyping</a> often associated with male nurses as either effeminate or homosexual (or failed doctors). </p>
<p>Not only is the healthcare sector facing a chronic skills shortage today, but it is also <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm">estimated</a> that the number of jobs in the sector will grow by 13% by 2031. While there has been a justifiable focus on Stem subjects as underpinning the jobs of tomorrow, jobs in healthcare promise to be more important than ever due to the ageing society and general trend towards greater spending on healthcare. If the industry is to meet those needs, it cannot afford to overlook half of the population.</p>
<p>The successful efforts to increase female participation in Stem point to several approaches that could be adopted to do likewise for male participation in health-related roles. </p>
<p>For instance, healthcare organisations and universities should actively target men for vacancies and training opportunities. This should be done in conjunction with providing more positive male role models. The potential of this was highlighted by a recent NHS campaign, called <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/2019/02/young-male-nursing-applicants-surge-after-we-are-the-nhs-recruitment-campaign/">We are the NHS</a>, which resulted in a record number of male school leavers applying to be nurses. The campaign was backed by actor Charles Venn, who plays a nurse in the BBC series Casualty.</p>
<p>It’s an outcome that needs to be built upon, with investment to back up such campaigns. For instance, in the US, <a href="https://www.aamn.org/scholarships">The American Association for Men in Nursing</a> offers scholarships for men who have embarked on a career in nursing, but while this is encouraging, it is not at the same level as the financial support offered to Stem-related projects.</p>
<p>Getting more men into nursing has clear benefits for both the NHS and for society as a whole, but achieving it will require a truly national effort. We’ve shown what’s possible with the drive to get more women into Stem. Now we need to replicate that to ensure men feel that nursing is a career for them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zografia Bika currently receives EU funding from the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme (2018-2023) called 'Increase Valorisation Sociale' ('social value' in French) that offers micro-enterprise and employment-support services to those furthest from the labour market, who are often 'invisible' and face various complex barriers to work.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adi Gaskell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a huge and growing number of unfilled nurse vacancies in the NHS. But there is a solution.Adi Gaskell, Senior Research Associate, University of East AngliaZografia Bika, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1953622022-11-28T01:22:38Z2022-11-28T01:22:38ZVisually striking science experiments at school can be fun, inspiring and safe – banning is not the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497500/original/file-20221128-18-3ldy04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C0%2C5415%2C3673&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexandr Grant/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To a young mind, science can be magical. Perhaps you remember a visually striking or seemingly inexplicable scientific demonstration from your own youth?</p>
<p>A liquid spontaneously and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7pfoy2iKFM">unexpectedly changes colour</a>. A banknote is set <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucrRDTdoFUA">alight without being burnt</a>. A column of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrHi-cc6F9E&t">colourful bubbles shoots into the air</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ucrRDTdoFUA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Scientists and science teachers often make use of dramatic demonstrations to capture the attention of young, impressionable minds, to inspire and to teach. But sometimes these experiments go wrong.</p>
<p>In September, <a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/explosion-at-outreach-event-under-investigation-after-18-people-injured-in-spain/4016397.article">a public display in Girona, Spain</a> involving liquid nitrogen in large metal barrels failed, causing injuries to the presenters and the audience. </p>
<p>In October, a teacher and a student in the US state of Virginia were airlifted to hospital after a <a href="https://www.nbc12.com/2022/10/19/student-remains-hospitalized-after-dinwiddie-school-fire/">methanol fire demonstration caused an explosion</a>.</p>
<p>And last week, a demonstration known as the “carbon snake” <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/maybe-it-needs-to-be-prohibited-school-experiment-has-hurt-children-before-20221122-p5c0c5.html">injured several schoolchildren in Sydney</a>, leading to the suggestion that such experiments should be banned.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bowl with sand and a dark curled burnt object on top" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497502/original/file-20221128-26-a2cao1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Burning sugar and baking soda produces the ‘carbon snake’, a classic demonstration of several chemical reactions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vins Contributor/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Demonstrations are a valuable teaching tool</h2>
<p>Our rapidly changing, technologically complex world benefits greatly from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-communication-is-more-important-than-ever-here-are-3-lessons-from-around-the-world-on-what-makes-it-work-147670">scientifically informed and engaged population</a>.</p>
<p>A key aspect of achieving a “science-savvy” community is inspiring our children to <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-need-help-to-save-nature-with-a-smartphone-and-these-8-tips-we-can-get-our-kids-on-the-case-192622">value and connect with science</a>. Demonstrations can be inspirational and memorable.</p>
<p>They are valuable tools to link young people with science, but a careful line must be walked to balance spectacle with the expectation that school is a safe place. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-education-the-key-to-a-better-public-debate-2474">Science education the key to a better public debate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Demonstrations have been used in <a href="https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/history-christmas-lectures">science education for centuries</a>, and shown to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-1005">enhance education when students are actively engaged in the experiment</a>.</p>
<p>Scientific demonstrations are the living embodiment of science as an observational practice: seeing is believing.</p>
<p>Participating in an experiment provides direct, lived experience of <a href="https://hooktraining.com/defence-of-science-demonstrations/">scientific principles in action</a>, while also affording an element of mystery and intrigue. This intrigue can open a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">curiosity-driven</a>, questioning mindset that is central to building hypotheses, understanding, and applying the scientific method.</p>
<h2>Not just ‘scientific theatre’</h2>
<p>For effective learning it is crucial that a demonstration is more than scientific theatre.</p>
<p>Recreating an <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00978">ancient alchemical pyrotechnic based on honey</a> gives a brilliantly violent burst of flames. On its own, this is just noise, flash and smoke. It becomes much more when discussed in the context of the origins of medicine, the development of gunpowder, the ratio of chemicals needed for optimal reaction, and the contribution of alchemy to modern science.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Video showing a plate above a bunsen burner spontaneously burst into flame" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497507/original/file-20221128-305-ulnp1d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Honey, potassium nitrate, and sulphur provide a demonstration of a brilliant alchemical pyrotechnic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, this is also a potentially dangerous experiment, and should only be attempted by a suitably cautious chemist, with appropriate preparation and assessment of risk.</p>
<p>Assessing risk is an act of imagination. The worst possible outcomes must first be considered before controls are applied to make the activity as safe as possible.</p>
<p>Risk assessments are typically managed through the application of the hierarchy of controls to reduce or eliminate the dangers of an activity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rainbow-coloured inverted pyramid listing a series of practices for safety" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497497/original/file-20221127-16-uzll7g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The hierarchy of controls as defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_hazard_controls#/media/File:NIOSH%E2%80%99s_%E2%80%9CHierarchy_of_Controls_infographic%E2%80%9D_as_SVG.svg">NIOSH/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You might be surprised to see that personal protective equipment (think lab coats, gloves and safety glasses) only come into play at the final step in this process. These are among the first things that come to mind when we think “safety”. But they are most effective only after other elements of control have been implemented before them.</p>
<p>Introducing some controls can be challenging, like finding a suitable substitute for a hazardous material that is uniquely suited to a particular chemical reaction.</p>
<p>But engineering controls, such as increasing the distance between viewer and demonstration, are simple and usually highly effective.</p>
<p>Once we establish the risks and have considered their likelihood and potential consequences, we can decide whether the activity is worth pursuing.</p>
<h2>Training, not banning</h2>
<p>Universities and professional scientific bodies have a role to play in providing training, professional development and mentoring to teachers. </p>
<p>This is especially important for teachers who may be <a href="https://theconversation.com/too-many-teachers-teaching-outside-their-area-of-expertise-39688">teaching outside their direct area of training</a> and who may not have the hands-on experience of experimental risk assessment or chemical handling. </p>
<p>In addition to workplace-specific risk-assessment processes, the American Chemical Society has many <a href="https://institute.acs.org/lab-safety/education-and-training/safer-experiments.html">resources available for school teachers</a>, including highly useful <a href="https://institute.acs.org/content/dam/pldp/center/lab-safety/publications/divched_2018_safetyflyer2pager_proof1.pdf">safety guidelines for chemical demonstrations</a>.</p>
<p>These guidelines show the depth of thought and preparation required before conducting a demonstration in front of others. </p>
<p>Time will tell what factors were responsible for the incidents mentioned above. In the meantime, teachers should be empowered to share the wonder and visual impact of science through demonstrations to their classes.</p>
<p>And while <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/why-i-teach-my-students-about-scientific-failure">failed experiments are an important part of learning how to do science</a>, they can and must be safe.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-is-lava-made-190431">Curious Kids: how is lava made?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathan Kilah has received funding from Inspiring Australia to run 'Chemistry of Fireworks' lectures and pyrotechnic displays, funding from the Festival of Bright Ideas for fire and chemical reaction based scientific demonstrations, and funding and administrative support from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Rutledge has received funding for travel and administrative support from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute NSW to present the Nyholm Youth Lectures at high schools across NSW. His lectures included live chemistry demonstrations with student participation.</span></em></p>Inspiring our children to value and connect with science is key to improving society – and there are ways to do this safely in the classroom.Nathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of TasmaniaPeter Rutledge, Professor of Chemistry, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1919902022-11-10T13:43:35Z2022-11-10T13:43:35ZDisparities in advanced math and science skills begin by kindergarten<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492335/original/file-20221028-40936-xe5ijo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C18%2C5975%2C3992&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child's family background has a lot to do with how advanced their math knowledge is in kindergarten.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/side-view-of-a-cheerful-african-american-4-5-years-royalty-free-image/1310735857">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills occur far earlier in the U.S. than previously known. Our new study finds that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00169862221128299">13% of white students and 16% of Asian students</a> display advanced math skills by kindergarten. The contrasting percentage for both Black and Hispanic students is 4%.</p>
<p>These disparities then continue to occur throughout elementary school. By fifth grade, 13% of white students and 22% of Asian students display advanced math skills. About 2% of Black students and 3% of Hispanic students do so. Similar disparities occur in advanced science skills. </p>
<p>What explains these disparities? Factors that consistently explain these disparities include the family’s socioeconomic status – such as parental education and household income – and the student’s own understanding of math, science and reading during kindergarten. </p>
<p>We observed these findings in analyses of a nationally representative sample of about 11,000 U.S. elementary school students. The students were followed from the start of kindergarten until the end of fifth grade.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/digest/employment">Fewer than 10%</a> of U.S. scientists and engineers are Black or Hispanic. </p>
<p>Racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills are constraining the country’s <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/134/2/647/5218522">scientific innovation</a> and <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12984/expanding-underrepresented-minority-participation-americas-science-and-technology-talent-at">economic competitiveness</a>. Students who display advanced math skills early are more likely to later obtain doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields – collectively called STEM – and to become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aeri.20190457">scientists</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjy028">inventors</a>. </p>
<p>Yet little has been known about how early racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills emerge. This information could help inform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216673449">efforts to support students of color</a> at a <a href="https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jgcc_stemstartsearly_final.pdf">key</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">time</a> of child development.</p>
<p>Currently, most efforts by <a href="https://www.air.org/event/using-research-inform-policies-and-practices-stem-education">researchers</a> and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/204/text">policymakers</a> to address Black and Hispanic underrepresentation in STEM begin in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9493-3">high</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2020.0004">school</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.029">college</a>. Yet minority students’ <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12837">interest</a> in STEM careers begins to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21231">decline</a> by middle school, with many students viewing scientists as stereotypically white.</p>
<p>Recent work suggests that racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math skills are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X19864116">increasing in size</a> in the U.S. by the upper elementary grades. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We were able to identify the factors that mostly explained disparities in advanced math or science skills between Hispanic and white students during elementary school. These factors included the family’s socioeconomic status, the student’s emerging bilingualism, and the student’s early knowledge about math, science and reading. However, these same factors explained only some of the disparities between Black and white students.</p>
<p>Other factors we did not study could be involved, including the greater likelihood of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323031049">Black students</a> to attend <a href="https://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/FryerLevittFallingBehind2004.pdf">lower-quality</a> <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/poor-black-children-are-much-more-likely-to-attend-high-poverty-schools-than-poor-white-children/">schools</a>. The emerging bilingualism of many Hispanic students may help facilitate advanced STEM skills through greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.12.007">mathematical reasoning</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2014.07.005">procedural learning</a> and problem-solving. </p>
<p>To increase STEM representation in high school, college and the workforce, efforts by educators and policymakers to support talented students of color may need to begin by the elementary grades.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul L. Morgan receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. </span></em></p>By kindergarten, white and Asian students are three to four times as likely as Black and Hispanic students to display advanced math skills.Paul L. Morgan, Harry and Marion Eberly Fellow, Professor of Education and Demography, Department of Education Policy Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886002022-09-25T20:03:19Z2022-09-25T20:03:19ZWe studied 309,544 patent applications – and found inventing is still a man’s world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485752/original/file-20220921-27-1wjkec.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C68%2C5015%2C3295&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are women as successful as men in securing a patent for their invention? </p>
<p>We set out to investigate gender bias in patent outcomes at IP Australia – the government agency responsible for administering intellectual property rights.</p>
<p>To do so, we <a href="https://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/04-Huang-Patrick-Finch.pdf">analysed</a> 309,544 patent applications from across a 15-year period (2001-2015), and categorised close to one million inventors’ names based on whether they sounded male or female.</p>
<p>We found that having a male-sounding first name increases the odds of securing a patent. This gender bias can have serious implications for women’s health, female career progression and equity policies in STEM. But what’s causing it?</p>
<h2>Women are increasingly applying for patents</h2>
<p>Patents provide a 20-year monopoly over a new invention and are a well-known measure of the output from STEM-based industries. </p>
<p>Global studies show the number of patent applications from female inventors (while still lower than the number from men) has grown significantly over the past 20 years. What has been less clear is whether these applications convert to granted patents. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proportion of female inventors associated with patent applications worldwide has grown from 1915 to 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Intellectual Property Office UK, Gender Profiles in Worldwide Patenting: An Analysis of Female Inventorship (2019 edition)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4120">Studies</a> of data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office unfortunately reveal inventors with a female-sounding first name are less successful at having their patent granted than those with a male-sounding first name. </p>
<p>This is irrespective of the technical field and the gender of the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3828216#:%7E:text=We%20find%20evidence%20that%20the,the%20examiner%20of%20the%20application.">patent examiner</a>, and despite evidence that female inventor patents are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1508287">just as good</a> as male inventor patents. </p>
<p>We wanted to investigate whether a similar gender bias exists for patents filed at IP Australia, where most applications come from non-residents. Inventors who plan to operate internationally will often file in multiple jurisdictions, including filing in Australia. </p>
<p>So unlike studies of the US Patent and Trademark Office, where the majority of patents come from US residents, a study of patents at IP Australia reflects more worldwide applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A profile of 2020 patent applications to IP Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IP Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A gender gap persists</h2>
<p>Our analysis of 309,544 patent applications submitted over 15 years found 90% of applications had at least one male inventor. Just 24% had at least one female inventor (typically as part of a mixed-gender team).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The percentage of applications per year, per team composition (male, female, ambiguous, unidentified).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We then examined whether these applications converted into a successful patent grant. We found inventors with a female-sounding first name had slightly lower odds of having their patent granted.</p>
<p>Also, as the number of males on a team increased, so did the odds of the team being granted a patent – whereas adding a female had a negligible impact. In other words, bigger teams of inventors had more patent success, unless the additional inventors had female-sounding names.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graph shows the pattern that emerges when you vary the composition of a single-gender team. You can see more men increases chances of success, whereas more women does not.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>But why is it like this?</h2>
<p>One question for us was whether this gender disparity could be explained by the types of fields patents were being granted in, and whether women simply work in less “patentable” fields such as life sciences.</p>
<p>We found more than 60% of female inventors were clustered in just four of 35 technical fields (the 35 science categories recognised in patents). These were all in the life sciences: chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical technology. </p>
<p>We also found patents in three of these fields had a lower-than-average success rate. In other words, it’s generally harder to get a patent in these fields, regardless of whether you’re a woman or man.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, even after we statistically controlled for the effect of participating in a less successful field, we still found a gender disparity – male-named inventors did better than female-named inventors. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An old-timey depiction of a male inventor in black and white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are responsible for some of the greatest inventions, yet inventorship remains a male-dominated field. We’ll have to fight historical biases against women if this is to change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Women in STEM must be supported</h2>
<p>The implications of women falling out of the patent system are significant for a number of reasons. For one, patents with female inventors are more likely to focus <a href="https://theconversation.com/too-few-women-get-to-invent-thats-a-problem-for-womens-health-162576">on female diseases</a>. </p>
<p>Also, getting a patent can be important for career progression and for securing investment capital. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-talented-kids-from-low-income-families-become-americas-lost-einsteins-89126">research has</a> shown a lack of female inventors today impacts the rate at which girls aspire to be the inventors of tomorrow. </p>
<p>The next step in our research is to find out why there is a gender gap in successful patent applications. </p>
<p>We don’t believe it’s a simple case of gender bias at the patent office. We suspect the issues are complex, and related to the systemic and institutional biases that hold back women’s progress in STEM more generally. </p>
<p>Country and cultural differences may also be at play, particularly since more than 90% of patent applications received by IP Australia come from non-Australian inventors (and overwhelmingly from the United States). </p>
<p>We want to look deeper into our results to figure out what’s driving the gender disparity, and what we can do to support female inventors. </p>
<p>The first step in fixing a problem is acknowledging it exists. We hope our research starts a conversation that prompts people to reflect on their own biases. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/caring-or-killing-harmful-gender-stereotypes-kick-in-early-and-may-be-keeping-girls-away-from-stem-169742">Caring or killing: harmful gender stereotypes kick in early — and may be keeping girls away from STEM</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although female inventorship has grown over the years, 15 years’ worth of patent outcomes from IP Australia suggests inventing is still a luxury for women.Vicki Huang, Senior Lecturer, Intellectual Property, Deakin UniversityCameron Patrick, Statistical Consultant, The University of MelbourneSue Finch, Statistical Consultant, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908392022-09-20T22:55:04Z2022-09-20T22:55:04ZMore women are studying STEM, but there are still stubborn workplace barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485231/original/file-20220919-67457-2t01r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C280%2C7441%2C4638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/GzDrm7SYQ0g">ThisisEngineering RAEng/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, the Australian government released the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/stem-equity-monitor">STEM Equity Monitor 2022</a> – the nation’s annual scorecard on gendered participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. </p>
<p>These data are more relevant than ever. Australia is facing unprecedented <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-education-or-immigration-the-answer-to-our-skills-shortage-we-asked-50-economists-189388">skills shortages</a> in critical areas – we need highly qualified people to help address our economic, environmental, and technological challenges.</p>
<p>Future careers in all sectors will rely heavily on STEM skills. But a lack of diversity means we have a limited workforce, and it’s missing a broad range of perspectives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-more-engineers-and-more-of-them-need-to-be-women-130282">Australia needs more engineers. And more of them need to be women</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does the scorecard say?</h2>
<p>We start with some positive news – the number of women enrolling in university STEM courses increased by a whopping 24% between 2015 and 2020, compared with a 9% increase among men. There was a more gradual rise in vocational STEM enrolments, where only 16% are women. </p>
<p>Women’s workforce participation is gradually increasing too. The proportion of STEM-qualified jobs held by women was 15% in 2021 – that’s an increase of 2% in just 12 months.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two charts showing comparison between women's and men's participation in STEM workforce" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But just 23% of senior management and 8% of chief executive officers in STEM industries are women. On average, women are paid 18% less than men across all STEM industries – although this gap closed by 1% last year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three charts demonstrating the gender pay gap in all STEM, all health and all industries" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although we are doing a better job at attracting women to some university STEM courses, very few women are still going for vocational STEM education. And there’s far too little attention paid to actually <em>keeping</em> STEM-qualified women in the workforce.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/May%202021/document/stem-equity-monitor-highlights-report-2021_0.pdf">five-year study of STEM graduates</a> from the year 2011 found that by 2016, only 1 in 10 STEM-qualified women worked in a STEM industry, compared with more than 1 in 5 STEM-qualified men. Data on other gender identities were not collected.</p>
<p>The huge difference in retention rates should come as no surprise when we consider the gendered roles our society enforces, and the vastly different experiences people face, both in workplaces and in society at large.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1556431859046764545"}"></div></p>
<p>It is important to acknowledge the major gaps in these data, for example on other gender identities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic factors, disability, and race. Broadening the data captured will enable us to better understand the full impact of the many intersecting barriers to participation that people face.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/educators-can-help-make-stem-fields-diverse-over-25-years-ive-identified-nudges-that-can-encourage-students-to-stay-178578">Educators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I've identified nudges that can encourage students to stay</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We need structural workplace changes</h2>
<p>Businesses suffering chronic skills shortages can’t keep focusing on programs designed to grow the pipeline, in the hope that the system will fix itself. We need structural workplace changes.</p>
<p>One avenue is to introduce more flexible work options and broaden access to paid parental leave. <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020-21_WGEA_SCORECARD.pdf">According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a>, gender-equal primary carer’s leave was offered by 3 in 5 employers in 2020-21. </p>
<p>Thanks to a concerted effort by many employers, 12% of this leave was taken by men last year, almost twice as much as the year before. This figure was even higher (20%) in management roles.</p>
<p>Bias, discrimination, and sexual harassment are major factors that drive people from workplaces. Solving these issues receives too little funding and attention.</p>
<p>Workplace sexual harassment costs Australia A$3.5 billion per year and inflicts a terrible personal toll on those affected. Women are more likely to be sexually harassed than men, and people from racial minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ individuals suffer disproportionately.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctic-stations-are-plagued-by-sexual-harassment-its-time-for-things-to-change-189984">Antarctic stations are plagued by sexual harassment – it's time for things to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>According to the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020">Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report</a>, sexual harassment is more prevalent in male-dominated industries. The Australian government recently committed to implementing all 55 recommendations of that report – a significant, positive step.</p>
<p>Businesses must urgently put robust systems in place to prevent discrimination, bias, and sexual harassment. There are many excellent tools available to guide this work, for example these provided by the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/education/employers">Australian Human Rights Commission</a>, <a href="https://cew.org.au/respect-its-everyones-business/">Chief Executive Women</a>, the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/take-action">Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a>, <a href="https://workplace.ourwatch.org.au/">Our Watch</a>, and the <a href="https://www.atse.org.au/news-and-events/article/diversity-and-inclusion-toolkit/">Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering</a>. </p>
<h2>Crashing barriers</h2>
<p>Ultimately, we need rigorous and well-resourced initiatives to reduce barriers to workforce participation. My office has created a <a href="https://womeninstem.org.au/national-evaluation-guide/">national evaluation guide for STEM equity programs</a> for this purpose.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Several charts showing the proportion of women receiving research grants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are underrepresented in teaching and research roles in STEM.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than the usual PR campaigns and cupcake drives, we need investment in evidence-based solutions to address systemic issues affecting people who face discrimination in the workforce. </p>
<p>Nothing short of strong, decisive, and coordinated action from governments and the business sector will shift this pattern. The Australian government has already committed to this path, by <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/husic/media-releases/paving-pathway-diverse-science-and-tech-workforce">announcing</a> a review of existing government women in STEM programs.</p>
<p>This review will determine the impact of these programs, to drive future investments into measures that are proven to strengthen Australia’s STEM workforce. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1566988923381121026"}"></div></p>
<p>The key to diversifying STEM workplaces is respect – and reducing power differentials that appear along gendered, cultural and other lines.</p>
<p>Greater respect for every person will build a stronger, more cohesive society ready to tackle future challenges. And it will ensure that Australia’s fast-growing sectors – like space, advanced manufacturing, quantum technologies and cybersecurity – are well supported by a qualified workforce into the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-law-on-workplace-gender-equality-is-under-review-heres-what-needs-to-change-172406">A law on workplace gender equality is under review. Here's what needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador, Lisa Harvey-Smith receives funding from a Commonwealth grant. </span></em></p>With unprecedented skills shortages looming in Australia, more than ever we need gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Here’s what needs to happen.Lisa Harvey-Smith, Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1909212022-09-20T20:19:57Z2022-09-20T20:19:57Z‘I’d just like to get on with my job’ – the barriers facing science teachers in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485444/original/file-20220920-18498-mcc5ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C52%2C4992%2C3218&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-students-laboratory-lab-science-classroom-721325539">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The current <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/crisis-building-for-years-half-of-teachers-plan-to-leave-profession-as-shortages-bite-20220802-p5b6pw.html">teacher shortage</a> in Australia has been building for <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/australian-teacher-workforce-data/key-metrics-dashboard">years</a>. </p>
<p>The pipeline of new teachers entering the profession is inadequate, and attrition rates are high, particularly in <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/teacher-shortage-risks-stunting-students-in-maths-science-researchers-warn-20220706-p5azfw.html">science and mathematics</a>.</p>
<p>Shortages have led to more teachers teaching subjects “out of field”. Recent <a href="https://www.agta.asn.au/files/News/2022/toof/AustralianNationalSummitReport-PART%20A-D4.pdf">estimates</a> show 29% of science classes are taught by someone who is not trained as a science teacher. </p>
<p>The lack of suitably science qualified teachers is a big problem. Not only is science a huge part of the education system, scientific skills lie at the heart of some of our <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/newsroom/articles/stem-jobs-growing-almost-twice-fast-other-jobs">most in-demand jobs</a>, from engineering to agriculture and information technology. </p>
<p>They are also necessary to understanding and finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems, like climate change. </p>
<h2>Our survey</h2>
<p>In June and July 2022, we <a href="https://www.stansw.asn.au/common/Uploaded%20files/Organisation%20Documents/2022/NSW%20Parliament%20Inquiry%20on%20Teacher%20Shortages%20-%20Submission%20(3).pdf">surveyed</a> more than 300 primary and high school science teachers about their work and workloads. </p>
<p>The research was done with the Science Teachers Association of NSW and respondents came from a mix of government, private and Catholic schools. We found: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>48% of respondents said there was at least one permanent vacancy for a science teacher in their school </p></li>
<li><p>84% said science classes had been taught by a non-science teacher in the previous week</p></li>
<li><p>57% said their school had at least one science teacher with less than one year of teaching experience.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-choosing-a-science-subject-in-years-11-and-12-heres-what-you-need-to-know-164778">Thinking of choosing a science subject in years 11 and 12? Here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘We need more time’</h2>
<p>Teachers also reported they were burnt out, saying they were “exhausted” by all the administration involved in their jobs. As one teacher told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our roles are added to regularly and nothing is taken away to compensate for the extra requirements. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>They reported not having time for a recess or lunch break and working out of hours during at home in the evening. As another reported: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We need more time to plan, review and improve effective and engaging lessons NOT more administrative tasks.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Research has already shown teachers work long hours due to an <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-nsw-teachers-working-long-hours-to-cope-with-administrative-load-99453">increasing administrative burden</a>. To meet regulatory requirements, teachers have to document things including detailed professional development, maintaining their <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/about-us/careers-at-education/roles-and-locations/roles-at-education/teaching/nesa-accreditation">accreditation</a> and student records. Some of this is necessary but the volume has become unmanageable.</p>
<p>On top of this general administration burden, science teachers also also need to manage science supplies, test experiments and submit risk assessments for them. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-great-education-ministers-agree-the-teacher-shortage-is-a-problem-but-their-new-plan-ignores-the-root-causes-188660">It's great education ministers agree the teacher shortage is a problem, but their new plan ignores the root causes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘There will be gaps’</h2>
<p>Science teachers lamented that there was no back-up for their skills of expertise in schools. </p>
<p>More than 80% of those surveyed said they had difficulty in finding science teachers to cover their classes when when they are sick, on leave or need to attend compulsory professional development. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is not just that classes are being covered by non-science teachers but that we have to cover classes in other faculties […].</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Respondents reported concern for students as some classes were not being taught by qualified science teachers and schools were merging classes, to cope with staff absences. As one teacher warned:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There will noticeable gaps in the level of skills and critical thinking required of senior science students because of the disruption of teacher shortages.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What will keep science teachers teaching?</h2>
<p>If we want to attract and retain talented science teachers we need to reduce teachers’ administrative workload to give them more time to plan and teach. </p>
<p>Real actions to help science teachers would include funding lab technicians and administrative staff to support non-teaching duties.</p>
<p>We should also give science teachers access to compliance and risk assessment technologies. These will make it easier for science teachers to meet regulations around health and safety.</p>
<p>Science teachers need extra support to do their jobs because providing real science experiences that foster deep learning needs complex planning to keep students safe. </p>
<p>Our science teachers are passionate and enthusiastic professionals who love what they do. As one teacher told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I adore my job, I adore my kids [but] we now are so bogged down in paperwork and bloody reporting that our passion and enthusiasm for the job is burning out faster than a candle in a wind tunnel.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey-Ann Palmer is affiliated with the Science Teacher's Association of NSW.</span></em></p>A new survey finds science classes are frequently being taught by non-science teachers.Tracey-Ann Palmer, Lecturer, Initial Teacher Education, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1907242022-09-20T12:37:56Z2022-09-20T12:37:56ZStressed out, burned out and dropping out: Why teachers are leaving the classroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484697/original/file-20220914-11733-ybu2z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5114%2C3412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High teacher turnover hurts students and negatively affects learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/asian-teacher-teaching-math-to-students-in-royalty-free-image/135205438?adppopup=true">Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Many school districts across the United States are in the midst of a crisis: a teacher shortage. Part of the problem is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are other reasons why teachers are leaving their jobs at higher rates than before. On Aug. 29, 2022, <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/teacher-turnover/">SciLine</a> interviewed <a href="https://tuan-d-nguyen.github.io/home">Tuan Nguyen</a>, an assistant professor in the College of Education at Kansas State University, about why teachers are quitting and what can be done to slow or stop the trend.</em></p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/747011579" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tuan Nguyen talks to SciLine about teacher burnout.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Below are some highlights from the discussion. Please note that answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em> </p>
<p><strong>Can you share some data on typical rates of teacher turnover?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> Before the pandemic, about 15%, 16% of teachers turn over every year. About half of that is teachers switching from one school to another, and then the other half, about 7%, 8%, is teachers leaving the profession every year. </p>
<p><strong>What is known about why teachers leave their jobs?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> Generally, there are three main buckets, or categories, as to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100355">why teachers leave their jobs</a> for other schools or leave the profession. </p>
<p>One is what’s known as the personal factors … things related to the teachers, their characteristics, such as their age, race, ethnicity and gender, their qualifications. </p>
<p>Another bucket is related to schools, such as … school characteristics and school resources, working conditions. </p>
<p>And the last area is known as external factors. These are things that are happening at the national or state level that are somewhat beyond the school control. We think about NCLB – <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/12/08/458844737/no-child-left-behind-an-obituary">No Child Left Behind</a>. </p>
<p><strong>How does teacher turnover affect student learning?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> We know that teachers are the most critical factor of student learning, and that when we have high teacher turnover, that is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420905812">detrimental to student learning</a>. </p>
<p>What you have here is the loss of teaching knowledge and expertise. Districts also have to spend additional resources in order to recruit and train new teachers … usually a novice teacher or a teacher who is underqualified. And we know from research that underqualified teachers and novice teachers are <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-teachers-leave-or-dont-a-look-at-the-numbers/2021/05">more likely to leave the profession</a>. </p>
<p>So then what you get is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102079">this cycle of churn</a>, where you have teachers leaving, replaced with new or underqualified teachers, who themselves are more likely to leave. And that leads to more turnover next year.</p>
<p><strong>What makes teachers likelier to stay in their jobs?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> There are many things that we can actually do to help teachers stay where they are.</p>
<p>One is <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/teachers-paid-covid-retention-bonuses-staff-shortages-covid-19-pandemic-1666872">retention bonuses</a>, so that if they stay for one or two years, then they get an additional bonus on top of their salary. </p>
<p>Many teachers <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_211.60.asp">are not paid very well</a>. They have to moonlight. They have to have a second or a third job. And now they’re asked to <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/08/25/inflation-means-teachers-who-buy-their-own-supplies-have-to-spend-more-or-ask-for-help/">buy equipment and resources from their own pocket</a> in order to do that job. That doesn’t really incentivize teachers to stay. </p>
<p><strong>Is there any research on how the pandemic – including health risks, the switch to remote learning and new pressures from parents – has affected teachers’ job satisfaction?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> National surveys have shown that a significant portion of teachers – 55% – said that they would like to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1076943883/teachers-quitting-burnout">leave teaching as soon as possible</a>. So even if those 55% do not leave their job, and we haven’t seen evidence of that, what that tells me is that teachers are stressed out and they’re burnt out. </p>
<p><strong>What policies can make teaching a more attractive long-term career and reduce teacher turnover?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuan Nguyen:</strong> We have to think about making salary competitive so that it’s comparable to other professions, but also make targeted policy decisions and incentives for hard-to-staff schools and subjects. </p>
<p>For instance, we know that economically disadvantaged schools tend to have <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/why-do-high-poverty-schools-have-difficulty-staffing-their-classrooms-with-qualified-teachers/">a really hard time attracting teachers</a>. </p>
<p>We also know that STEM teachers, special education teachers and bilingual education teachers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.4959">are in high demand</a>. We need those folks. So we need to make targeted incentives to get those folks into teaching, right?</p>
<p>We also need to raise the prestige and respect of teachers and the teaching profession. You know, thinking about how we can provide career ladders or promotions to teachers so that they can continue and build on their craft. There are many, many things that we can do. And I’m optimistic that … we can do some of those if we can align our interests and think about policy solutions that can solve some of these problems.</p>
<p><em>Watch the <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/teacher-turnover/">full interview</a> to hear about the teacher shortage crisis.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://sciline.org/">SciLine</a> is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tuan D. Nguyen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not just COVID-19. Low salaries, subpar working conditions and lack of resources in the classroom are three of the reasons why teachers are abandoning the profession.Tuan D. Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Education, Kansas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785782022-09-12T12:13:26Z2022-09-12T12:13:26ZEducators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I’ve identified nudges that can encourage students to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483056/original/file-20220906-26-49l9q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7951%2C5297&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting studies to the real world, mentoring and building community make all the difference.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-dancing-celebrating-in-the-university-royalty-free-image/1282170217">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jen, a student I taught early in my career, stood head-and-shoulders above her peers academically. I learned she had started off as an engineering major but switched over to psychology. I was surprised and curious. </p>
<p>Was she struggling with difficult classes? No. In fact, Jen’s aptitude for math was so strong, she had been recruited as an engineering prospect. In her first year, her engineering classes were filled with faces of other women. But as she advanced, there were fewer and fewer women in her classes – until one day, she realized she was the only woman in a large lecture class of men. </p>
<p>Jen began to question if she belonged. Then she started to wonder if she cared enough to persist in engineering. Her quest to understand what she was feeling brought her to my psychology class.</p>
<p>Jen’s experience in engineering shows that human behavior is driven by a few fundamental social needs. Key among them is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">need to belong</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68">need to feel competent</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037637">need for meaning or purpose</a>. These three motivations influence whether people approach or avoid a range of social situations, including academic ones. </p>
<p>What Jen experienced in engineering is called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(02)80009-0">social identity threat</a> – negative emotions aroused in situations where individuals feel their valued identities are marginalized or ignored. It raises doubts about belonging and depletes interest, confidence and motivation. In the long run, social identity threat may lead individuals to withdraw from activities altogether. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=zCt9j34AAAAJ">social psychologist</a> and the founder of the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/">Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst</a>. For the past two decades, my research has focused on evidence-based solutions: How do we create learning and work environments that fulfill young people’s feeling of belonging, nurture self-confidence and connect their academic and professional pursuits to purpose and meaning? I’m particularly interested in the experiences of girls and women, students of color and working-class college students.</p>
<h2>Connecting to the real world</h2>
<p>With my team, I have been designing and testing interventions in classrooms, labs and residence halls to see if they protect young people against social identity threat in science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – environments. My work shows that, just as a vaccine can protect and inoculate the body against a virus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2011.607313">features of learning environments can act as “social vaccines”</a> that protect and inoculate the mind against noxious stereotypes. </p>
<p>In one study, we found that when teachers highlight the social relevance of math and connect it to social good, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">it makes a big difference to students</a>. We followed almost 3,000 adolescents taking eighth grade algebra and tracked their progress for one academic year. Some teachers in our study illustrated abstract concepts using socially meaningful examples. For instance, exponential decay was explained using depreciation of car values or the dilution of medicines in the bloodstream. Others taught such concepts using abstract equations only. </p>
<p>We found students got excited and motivated when they could apply abstract math to socially meaningful problems. They got better grades, reported math was important to them personally and were more active participants in class. We also found that students working in small collaborative peer groups got better end-of-year grades than those working alone. These benefits were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">especially noticeable for kids of color</a>.</p>
<h2>The importance of role models</h2>
<p>Another low-cost but powerful “social vaccine” is to introduce young people entering a STEM college program to a fellow student who is a couple of years older and shares their identity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two college age women sitting in front of a computer, one explaining something to the other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Near-peer mentoring can yield dramatic results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/smiling-student-discussing-with-friend-in-computer-royalty-free-image/1339976329">Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>We conducted a field experiment in which 150 first-year women interested in engineering were randomly assigned a female peer mentor, a male peer mentor or no mentor. Mentoring relationships were limited to mentees’ first year of college. Mentees’ academic experiences were measured each year through college graduation and one year after graduation.</p>
<p>We found that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">one-year mentoring relationship with a female peer mentor</a> preserved first-year women students’ emotional well-being, feeling of belonging in engineering, confidence, motivation to keep going and aspiration to pursue postgraduate engineering degrees. Women with male mentors or no mentors showed a decline on most of these metrics. Women who had female peer mentors were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">significantly more likely to graduate with STEM bachelor’s degrees</a> compared with those who had male peer mentors or no mentors. A follow-up study that is under review shows that these benefits endured four years after the mentoring intervention ended. </p>
<h2>A community of peers</h2>
<p>First-generation college students are <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED580935">twice as likely to leave college</a> without earning a bachelor’s degree than students whose parents have college degrees. My team and I combined a cocktail of ingredients to create a strong social vaccine to protect this group of young people. Participants were selected from three incoming classes of first-year students at the University of Massachusetts who were interested in biology. All were working-class, and the majority were students of color.</p>
<p>Eligible students were invited to apply to a living-learning community. From the applicant pool, we randomly selected 86 students to become “BioPioneers,” while the remaining 63 students comprised our no-intervention control group. </p>
<p>BioPioneer participants lived together in the same residential college. They took introductory biology and a seminar as a group. Participants in the no-intervention group took introductory biology in a large lecture class with the general student body. The same instructor taught both classes – the course content, teaching style, assignments and grading system were identical for BioPioneers and the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>We brokered authentic relationships between BioPioneers and faculty instructors and academic advisers. We also provided BioPioneers access to student mentors two years ahead of them in the same major. </p>
<p>Results showed that BioPioneers students developed a stronger sense of belonging in biology than students in the no-intervention group. They were more confident about their science ability, less anxious and more motivated to persist. They also received better grades in biology than the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>One year after the program ended, 85% of BioPioneers participants remained biological science majors compared with 66% of students in the no-intervention group. We also compared BioPioneers with a group of 94 honors students, mostly from middle-class and upper-middle-class families, who were in a different living-learning community. We found BioPioneers closed the achievement gap between first-generation students and honors students in terms of belonging, confidence and retention in biology majors. We are currently preparing to submit our findings to a peer-reviewed journal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Seven diverse college students studying together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">STEM graduates will be tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/college-students-studying-together-royalty-free-image/55962362">Andersen Ross Photography Inc/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>I’ve begun to see a pattern in 25 years of research. When educators <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">connect science and engineering to social good</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021385">build relationships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1422822112">create communities</a> that intentionally draw in people who are usually invisible, we automatically attract and advance the talents of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. </p>
<p>In my view, not only is this the right thing to do morally, but research shows that <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691138541/the-difference">diverse viewpoints invigorate problem-solving</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter">reduce the impact of personal biases</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200841119">promote higher-impact scientific discoveries</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nilanjana Dasgupta receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Reboot Representation, a coalition of technology companies working to close the gender gap in technology. She is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Advancing Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM Organizations. </span></em></p>Research shows underrepresented people in STEM studies thrive in learning environments that address their need to belong, feel competent and find meaning in their work.Nilanjana Dasgupta, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878272022-08-29T12:39:04Z2022-08-29T12:39:04ZStudents perceive themselves as a ‘math person’ or a ‘reading person’ early on – and this can impact the choices they make throughout their lives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478943/original/file-20220812-22-6ckiqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5499%2C3647&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Psychologists aren't sure which factors drive students to form specific academic identities, but these identities can affect career choices. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-using-calculator-to-work-out-math-problem-royalty-free-image/1200911157">Tom Werner/DigitalVision via GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>As kids progress through school, they tend to increasingly perceive themselves as either a “math person” or a “language person,” even if they’re good at both, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000340">a 2022 study</a> I led.</p>
<p>My colleagues and <a href="https://siruiwan.github.io/">I</a> were interested in why people pursue specific educational and career trajectories – like choosing a science, technology, engineering and mathematics major vs. a non-STEM major in college. We know that having a specific academic identity, like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000367">considering oneself a “math person,” is one of the reasons</a> people choose a corresponding career path. My team wanted to find out when some kids start to lean toward identifying this way.</p>
<p>We focused on math and language arts because they are the <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/">most common subjects</a> in the U.S. K-12 system; for example, the SAT has two main sections: English and math. There is also a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01529.x">gender stereotype</a> that reading is for girls and math is for boys.</p>
<p>My team analyzed data involving 142 independent samples across the world, featuring almost 211,000 students from 16 countries and regions. This data includes self-reported confidence and interest in math and language arts from students in different grades.</p>
<p>Our research indicates an age-related change in kids’ academic identity formation.</p>
<p>We found that during primary school, students who reported high confidence and interest in language arts were also likely to report high confidence and interest in math. But as students progress though the school years, this pattern gradually changes. In high school, students who reported high confidence and interest in language arts reported lower confidence and interest, on average, in math, and vice versa.</p>
<p>In other words, students become more likely to think that they’re either a math person or a reading person as they progress through their school years.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Students choose to pursue a specific career path for various reasons. One of the most common is that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029167">they believe they are good at doing a task</a>. Our research suggests that some students develop a misconception that they can only be either a math or a reading person as they move from primary to secondary school. </p>
<p>This misconception can have a dark side: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09524-2">Students might disengage from subjects that they perceive as their relative weaknesses</a> even when they are actually good at these subjects relative to other students. </p>
<p>An example is that many students, especially girls, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612458937">perform very well in math but do even better in verbal domains</a>. These students might view math as a relative weakness and avoid pursuing math-related educational and career paths.</p>
<p>In other words, the misconception found in our study can lead some students to miss out on educational opportunities.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Although viewing oneself as better in one domain than another likely carries costs, it may have benefits as well. It would be useful to understand these before our team can make strong recommendations to parents, teachers or policymakers for interventions. </p>
<p>Additionally, to support each student’s unique journey, parents, teachers and schools would benefit from a stronger understanding of how students come to think that one can only be good at either math or reading. Unfortunately, we still know little about the impact of contributing factors, such as the school environment.</p>
<p>A potential contributing factor that we considered in our study is tracking, or schools dividing students into groups by their perceived achievement. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000340">Our study</a> found that German students tend to believe they are good at only one of the two domains slightly earlier than U.S. students do, perhaps because <a href="https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html">academic tracking starts earlier in Germany than in the U.S.</a>.</p>
<p>Studying the implications of different educational practices on students’ academic beliefs is a line of research that my colleagues and I are currently pursuing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sirui Wan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students are less likely to think they can be good at both math and reading as they get closer to high school.Sirui Wan, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.