New research from King’s College London suggests that there’s a disconnect between young students’ enjoyment of science in school and their attitude about pursuing a professional career in the sciences. The ASPIRES research team surveyed more than 9,000 primary school age children, and found that at around the age of 10 or 11, attitudes about science begin to drop off. “Children and their parents hold quite complex views of science and scientists and at age 10 or 11 these views are largely positive,” notes research team leader Louise Archer. “Nevertheless, less than 17 percent aspire to a career in science.”
What do you think is happening in school to drive this trend, and do you believe that a similar phenomenon exists in the USA?
Via www.myscience.me.uk
In US News & World Report, William Broman, a current biomedical engineering major at George Washington University, offers a reality check about the financial burdens facing many college graduates in the form of hefty college loan payments. The data, he says, supports the notion that one of the quickest ways for graduates to eliminate their college debt is to enter a STEM field. “One way to get students interested in these fields is to inform them of the money they can make with their degrees,” Broman suggests. “Money entices people to work harder, and while money can’t buy happiness, it can buy a lot of the cool gadgets that youth are fascinated with.” Makes sense to me.
A democratic senator from Colorado thinks that an answer to the large, and growing, demand in this country for scientists and engineers could be addressed in part by granting temporary student visas to undocumented high school graduates who wish to pursue those subjects in college. Sen. Michael Bennet, a former Denver Public Schools superintendent, proposed The DREAM Act – an immigration overhaul bill — this week, saying that another of its benefits would be to lower the barriers to working in the U.S. to foreign graduates holding advanced degrees in science or math. “I’ve had a number of conversations with large- and small-business owners in Colorado who have made it clear that our visa system is putting them at a serious disadvantage,” Bennet said.
Massachusetts businesses that rely on workers with specific technical skills are finding that potential employees are in short supply. A lack of machinists, for example, and a dearth of mechanical engineers, are making it difficult for manufacturers to staff up. Some have observed that occupations traditionally considered “beneath” young college graduates are now requiring intelligent workers with problem-solving skills and the ability to work with their hands. “Those used to be skills that were passed down from generation to generation,” said Mary E. FitzGerald, human resources manager for Saint-Gobain Corp.’s ceramics and high performance refractory operations in Worcester, MA. “You just can’t find those skilled people anymore.”
Community colleges from across the nation are recognizing the need to spark students’ interest in STEM subjects early in their education as a way of enticing them into science-, technology-, engineering-, and math-related professions.