A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers

Carol Davenport; Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi; Itoro Emembolu; Richard Morton; Annie Padwick; Antonio Portas; Jonathan Sanderson; Joe Shimwell; Jane Stonehouse; Rebecca Strachan; Leanne Wake; Gary Wells; John Woodward

doi:10.1007/s11165-019-09909-6

A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers

Carol Davenport, Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi, Itoro Emembolu, Richard Morton, Annie Padwick, Antonio Portas, Jonathan Sanderson, Joe Shimwell, Jane Stonehouse, Rebecca Strachan, Leanne Wake, Gary Wells, John Woodward

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

There is concern about the low numbers and diversity of young people choosing careers and study subjects in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at university and beyond. Many interventions aimed at addressing this issue have focused on young people aged 14+ years old. However, these interventions have resulted in little improvement in the numbers and diversity of young people progressing into STEM careers. The aim of this study is to ask “What are the affordances of a Theory of Change (ToC) for increasing the diversity and number of young people choosing a career in STEM post-18?” An innovative ToC is introduced which provides the theoretical underpinnings and context for the complex mix of interventions necessary to lead to a significant change in the number and diversity of those choosing STEM careers. Case studies of interventions developed using the ToC are presented. This approach, and associated ToC, is widely applicable across STEM, education and public engagement fields.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	997–1011
Number of pages	15
Journal	Research in Science Education
Volume	51
Issue number	4
Early online date	8 Jan 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-019-09909-6
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2021

Keywords

children and young people
diversity
STEM education
careers
Theory of Change
Science Capital

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10.1007/s11165-019-09909-6Licence: CC BY

RISE-D-19-00104_R2Accepted author manuscript, 1.77 MB
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Davenport, C., Dele-Ajayi, O., Emembolu, I., Morton, R., Padwick, A., Portas, A., Sanderson, J., Shimwell, J., Stonehouse, J., Strachan, R., Wake, L., Wells, G., & Woodward, J. (2021). A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers. Research in Science Education, 51(4), 997–1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-019-09909-6

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title = "A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers",

abstract = "There is concern about the low numbers and diversity of young people choosing careers and study subjects in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at university and beyond. Many interventions aimed at addressing this issue have focused on young people aged 14+ years old. However, these interventions have resulted in little improvement in the numbers and diversity of young people progressing into STEM careers. The aim of this study is to ask “What are the affordances of a Theory of Change (ToC) for increasing the diversity and number of young people choosing a career in STEM post-18?” An innovative ToC is introduced which provides the theoretical underpinnings and context for the complex mix of interventions necessary to lead to a significant change in the number and diversity of those choosing STEM careers. Case studies of interventions developed using the ToC are presented. This approach, and associated ToC, is widely applicable across STEM, education and public engagement fields.",

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Davenport, C, Dele-Ajayi, O, Emembolu, I, Morton, R , Padwick, A , Portas, A , Sanderson, J , Shimwell, J , Stonehouse, J , Strachan, R , Wake, L, Wells, G & Woodward, J 2021, 'A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers', Research in Science Education, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 997–1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-019-09909-6

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AU - Davenport, Carol

AU - Dele-Ajayi, Opeyemi

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AU - Padwick, Annie

AU - Portas, Antonio

AU - Sanderson, Jonathan

AU - Shimwell, Joe

AU - Stonehouse, Jane

AU - Strachan, Rebecca

AU - Wake, Leanne

AU - Wells, Gary

AU - Woodward, John

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) under a Catalyst Fund Grant (PD006) and the Reece Foundation.

PY - 2021/8/1

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N2 - There is concern about the low numbers and diversity of young people choosing careers and study subjects in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at university and beyond. Many interventions aimed at addressing this issue have focused on young people aged 14+ years old. However, these interventions have resulted in little improvement in the numbers and diversity of young people progressing into STEM careers. The aim of this study is to ask “What are the affordances of a Theory of Change (ToC) for increasing the diversity and number of young people choosing a career in STEM post-18?” An innovative ToC is introduced which provides the theoretical underpinnings and context for the complex mix of interventions necessary to lead to a significant change in the number and diversity of those choosing STEM careers. Case studies of interventions developed using the ToC are presented. This approach, and associated ToC, is widely applicable across STEM, education and public engagement fields.

AB - There is concern about the low numbers and diversity of young people choosing careers and study subjects in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at university and beyond. Many interventions aimed at addressing this issue have focused on young people aged 14+ years old. However, these interventions have resulted in little improvement in the numbers and diversity of young people progressing into STEM careers. The aim of this study is to ask “What are the affordances of a Theory of Change (ToC) for increasing the diversity and number of young people choosing a career in STEM post-18?” An innovative ToC is introduced which provides the theoretical underpinnings and context for the complex mix of interventions necessary to lead to a significant change in the number and diversity of those choosing STEM careers. Case studies of interventions developed using the ToC are presented. This approach, and associated ToC, is widely applicable across STEM, education and public engagement fields.

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A Theory of Change for improving children's perceptions, aspirations and uptake of STEM careers

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