Fredrik Jensen

The Role of Out-of-School Experiences and Targeted Recruitment Efforts in Norwegian Science and Technology Students’ Educational Choice

Understanding young peoples educational choice is of interest in order to recruit sufficient numbers of young people to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In this article, questionnaire data (closed and open-ended questions) from 5,007 Norwegian first-year students in all STEM higher-education disciplines are utilised to describe the role of out-of-school experiences and targeted recruitment efforts in the choice to enter an STEM higher-education programme. Out-of-school experiences were described as the more inspirational by our respondents, contributing to a stable interest for and identification with the STEM field through a long-term educational choice process. Among such experiences, popular science and also fiction or drama with a science component were rated high, whereas museums and science centres were rated lower. Popular science as well as leisure-time activities and experiences in nature were also frequently referred to in open questions. Targeted recruitment efforts are important mainly near educational decision points. The higher-education institutions’ own websites were rated as far more inspirational than campaign websites from official authorities, professional organisations, etc. Commercials, company visits and school counsellors received low ratings as sources of inspiration for an STEM choice, whereas education expositions and visits to or from a higher-education institution were rated somewhat higher. The results suggest that stakeholders wishing to improve STEM participation might consider partnerships with educational institutions, popular science, the media and organisations offering outdoor activities for children and adolescents, in designing information and outreach to improve STEM participation.

Short Stories of Educational Choice: In the Words of Science and Technology Students

In this chapter, we analyse written responses from science and technology students in Denmark, Norway and England to the open-ended question “Please describe how you came to choose this course”. Seven hundred eighty-four responses collected with the IRIS questionnaire instrument were analysed through a thematic approach and described in relation to expectancy-value theory for educational choice. Expressions of interest and intrinsic motivation dominated the responses, but utility value, expectation of success and attainment value were also among the motivations described. Concerning the sources of interest and enjoyment with science and technology, respondents referred to school experiences, family influence, popular science and outreach. Our results indicate that building and maintaining adolescents’ interest through presenting a variety of science and technology contents and contexts both in and outside of school is essential for making these subjects a real option for many students. Outreach and recruitment efforts may have an important role particularly in connection with educational decision points. The great emphasis respondents put on personal interest and enjoyment is discussed in relation to late modern ideals of self-realisation and identity development.

The Impact of Outreach and Out-of-School Activities on Norwegian Upper Secondary Students’ STEM Motivations

This chapter concerns the effects of initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of young people (women in particular) in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) education (Parts of this chapter have been reported in more detail in two journal publications: Jensen and Sjaastad (Int J Gender Sci Technol 5(3): 317–337, 2013) and Jensen and Boe (Int J Sci Math Educ 11(6):1437–1461, 2013)). Science education research literature concerning the effects of recruitment initiatives, and results from studies of three specific Norwegian recruitment initiatives (CERN Masterclass, ENT3R and The Girls’ Day) are presented. I suggest that these initiatives have some factors in common that may contribute to the existing knowledge of what works when it comes to motivating adolescents to engage in science and mathematics. Success factors in recruitment initiatives include a variety of experiences that enhance the interest-enjoyment value the participants attach to STEM, their expectation of success in STEM, that display the utility value of STEM and the various employment opportunities, that reduce their perception of cost through creating mastery experiences in a safe learning environment, and that raise the attainment value of STEM. The latter is particularly related to personal meetings between participants and STEM tertiary students and/or professionals who act as models of STEM identities and who may help participants define their own identities as (potential) STEM students and practitioners. Finally, important success factors in recruitment initiatives include development of the initiative over time and (where possible) prolonged ‘exposure’ of the participants, as in the case of the ENT3R project described in this chapter.