scholarly journals Going beyond the one-off: How can STEM engagement programmes with young people have real lasting impact?

Author(s):  
Martin Archer ◽  
Jennifer DeWitt ◽  
Carol Davenport ◽  
Olivia Keenan ◽  
Lorraine Coghill ◽  
...  

<p>A major focus in the STEM public engagement sector concerns engaging with young people, typically through schools. The aims of these interventions are often to positively affect students’ aspirations towards continuing STEM education and ultimately into STEM-related careers. Most schools engagement activities take the form of short one-off interventions that, while able to achieve positive outcomes, are limited in the extent to which they can have lasting impacts on aspirations. We review various different emerging programmes of repeated interventions with young people, assessing what impacts can realistically be expected. Short series of interventions appear also to suffer some limitations in the types of impacts achievable. However, deeper programmes that interact with both young people and those that influence them over significant periods of time (months to years) seem to be more effective in influencing aspirations. We discuss how developing a Theory of Change and considering young people’s wider learning ecologies are required in enabling lasting impacts in a range of areas.</p>

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Archer ◽  
Jennifer DeWitt ◽  
Carol Davenport ◽  
Olivia Keenan ◽  
Lorraine Coghill ◽  
...  

A major focus in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) public engagement sector concerns engaging with young people, typically through schools. The aims of these interventions are often to positively affect students’ aspirations towards continuing STEM education and ultimately into STEM-related careers. Most school engagement activities take the form of short one-off interventions that, while able to achieve positive outcomes, are limited in the extent to which they can have lasting impacts on aspirations. In this paper, we discuss various different emerging programmes of repeated interventions with young people, assessing what impacts can realistically be expected. Short series of interventions appear also to suffer some limitations in the types of impacts achievable. However, deeper programmes that interact with both young people and those who influence them over significant periods of time (months to years) seem to be more effective in influencing aspirations. We discuss how developing a theory of change and considering young people’s wider learning ecologies are required in enabling lasting impacts in a range of areas. Finally, we raise several sector-wide challenges to implementing and evaluating these emerging approaches.


Author(s):  
Carol Davenport ◽  
Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi ◽  
Itoro Emembolu ◽  
Richard Morton ◽  
Annie Padwick ◽  
...  

AbstractThere 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.


Author(s):  
Valentyna Bohatyrets

The paper provides the framework for embracing multiculturalism as a source of national identity, a political ‘profession de foi’, and an engine for a government to gain positive outcomes, leading to better immigrant integration and economic advantages for any country in the world. Noteworthy, Canadian federal policy of multiculturalism, since its official adoption in 1971, is witnessed to work stunningly and in contrast to developments elsewhere – in Canada, public support for multiculturalism is seeing unprecedented growth. Currently, the diversity of the Canadian populace is increasing faster than at any time in its history; Canada’s ethnic makeup has notably altered over the time due to changing immigration patterns. According to the latest poll findings, 84% of Canadians agree with the statement that ‘Canada’s multicultural makeup is one of the best things about this country’; 61% of Canadians believe multiculturalism ‘strengthens national identity’. Moreover, released data from Environics reveals that 27% of Canadians believe ‘multiculturalism is the one characteristic about Canada that most deserves to be celebrated on its upcoming 150thanniversary. Undeniably, people around the world tend to view Canada as “good”. Importantly, the election of Justin Trudeau is viewed as an excellent opportunity to invigorate brand Canada. Noteworthy, brand Justin Trudeau is currently composed of his belief in and promotion of the values of tolerance, equality and diversity. While recognizing the value for society of the human dignity inherent in each individual, Trudeau’s government aims to push beyond mere tolerance to mutual understanding and respect. Keywords: Multiculturalism of Canada, immigration, digital diplomacy, brand, national identity, poll, ethnic groups


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Carroll ◽  
Monica David ◽  
Brian Jacobs ◽  
Kalvinder Judge ◽  
Barry Wilkes

Discovering a theory of change for health promotion in small- and medium-sized enterprises highlights important lessons about how successful workplace health interventions work and the conditions conducive to positive outcomes for ‘hard to reach groups’. In the evaluation of targeted health promotion initiatives carried out by the Workwell project in Sandwell, a theory of change has emerged that indicates the need for a sensitive understanding of the contexts of interventions and the importance of developing mechanisms appropriate to local conditions and stakeholder expectations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Moltrecht ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
Holly Alice Bear ◽  
Jessica Deighton ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs

BACKGROUND Digital interventions, including mobile apps represent promising means to provide effective mental health support to young people. Despite the increased availability of mental health apps, there is a significant gap for this age group, especially for younger children. Research investigating the effectiveness and development process of child mental health apps is limited, and the field faces persistent issues in relation to low user up-take and engagement, which is assumed to be a result of lacking interdisciplinary approaches. OBJECTIVE We present the development and design process of a new mental health app for children that targets their emotion regulation abilities. We describe the creation of a new interdisciplinary development framework, to guide the design process, and explain how each activity informed different app features. METHODS The first two stages of the framework employed a variety of methods, including: 1) classroom observations, 2) public-engagement events with the target group (N=21), 3) synthesis of the existing evidence as part of a meta-analysis, 4) a series of co-design and participatory workshops with young users (N=33), clinicians (N=7), researchers (N=12), app developers (N=1) , designers (N=2), and lastly 5) testing of the first high-tech prototype (N=15). RESULTS For the interdisciplinary framework we drew on methods derived from the medical research council framework for complex interventions, the patient-clinician-framework and Druin’s cooperative inquiry. The classroom observations, public-engagement events, and synthesis of the existing evidence informed the first key pillars of the app and wireframes. Subsequently, a series of workshops shaped and reshaped the content and app features, including games, psychoeducational films, and practice modules. Based on the prototype testing sessions we made further adjustments to improve the app. CONCLUSIONS Although mobile apps could be highly suitable to support young people’s mental health on a wider scale, there is little guidance on how these interventions could be designed. The involvement of the different methods and especially the young users was very valuable. We hope that the interdisciplinary framework and multiple methods that we applied will be helpful to others who are also aiming to develop suitable apps for young people.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (336) ◽  
pp. 121-131
Author(s):  
Elena Viktorovna Matveeva ◽  
Alexander Mitin ◽  
Daria Trofimova

In the article, the authors pay attention to the issue of value preferences of Russian youth on the example of the one of the regions of the Russian Federation – the Kemerovo region - Kuzbass. The problem of political activity of young people is considered through the system of current legislation on youth, socialization and directly value orientations and preferences of young people. The main legal acts regulating youth policy in the Russian Federation are marked. As an empirical basis a number of methodological approaches were used-the system approach (D. Easton, G. Almond), the normative-value approach of J. Rawls, a method of expert interviews and questionnaire survey. The article shows the inconsistency of the value beliefs of modern youth, which is caused by the Russian model of democratic development.


2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Penny Harwood ◽  
Caroline Davey

In the context of an increasingly pluralist and in some ways troubled society, work was undertaken to investigate the role of formal education and non-educational organisations in building good citizenship in girls and young women (9-19 years old). Different stages in the developmental process are identified, and the paper describes a number of ways in which experiential and attitudinal information was obtained from the range of respondents: these included a Citizen's Forum and quantitative omnibus research. Methodologies to involve the young people in focused and relevant debate during the one-day Forum were developed and are discussed.


Author(s):  
Mirosław Brzozowy ◽  
Katarzyna Hołownicka ◽  
Jacek Bzdak ◽  
Pietro Tornese ◽  
Francisco Lupiañez-Villanueva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mette Høgh Stæhr ◽  
Lisbeth Madsen

ResumeDet pædagogiske arbejde med børn og unge i fritidsinstitutionerne har de senere år politisk, økonomisk, kompetenceudviklingsmæssigt og forskningsmæssigt været nedprioriteret til trods for institutionernes samfundsmæssige rolle og betydning for børn og unge. Denne artikel diskuterer, hvilken betydning dette har for den faglige ekspertise på området. Gennem analyse af empiri indsamlet i forbindelse med et projekt vedrørende kompetenceudvikling på det fritidspædagogiske område, beskriver artiklen den faglige udvikling i praksis, hvilken viden henholdsvis pædagoger, ledere og organisationer fremhæver som essentiel, hvad dette kan være et udtryk for, og hvorfor netop denne viden sættes i tæt relation til drøftelser vedrørende pædagogisk ekspertise samt kvalitet i fritidsinstitutionerne. Med afsæt i analyser fra en gennemført undersøgelse er artiklens pointe, at pædagogisk kvalitet i fritidsinstitutionerne tager udgangspunkt i pædagogfaglig viden og situationsbunden kundskab om børne- og ungegruppers divergerende hverdagsliv, institutionsliv og interessefællesskaber. Abstract Pedagogical expertise and quality in leisure institutionsWithin the last few years social pedagogical work among children and young people in after school clubs and -centers have not been prioritized politically and economically, with regard to continuing education and when it comes to research despite the societal role and importance these institutions have for the development of children and young people. The article discusses the possible consequences this has had for professional expertise in the field through an analysis of empirical data collected in relation to the project: ‘development of professional courses to professionals working within the field of after school clubs and centres.’ The article takes the reader through a description of the field within the last few years to an analysis of the knowledge that pedagogues, leaders and various organizations evaluate as needed. We will point out that good quality must be found in the relation between knowledge on the one side and capable professionals on the other.


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