Despite an international deficit of scientists and engineers and research showing most children find science interesting the students who take post-16 STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) subjects fall into roughly the same gender ethnic and social groups as they did 20 years ago. As well as increased training this highlights an imperative to develop better recruitment and retention strategies for under-represented groups.
We focussed on identifying retention issues and initial career aspirations in first year STEM students to enhance support in these areas. Students at 3 HEIs were challenged to articulate their understanding of what professional scientists routinely do including a ‘Draw a Scientist’ task. Drawn images provided a rich and complex data set that revealed a range of misconceptions including gender biased stereotypes.
Implications for student support progression and retention will be discussed especially for under-represented groups such as women who remain a minority within many STEM professions.
