STEM Enrichment Academy in running for Eureka Prize for keeping girls in STEM

STEM still seems to be a no-go area for school aged girls with a majority opting to discontinue studies in the area.

But a Flinders Uni program to encourage girls to stay the course with STEM has kicked goals and won the team that came up with it a nomination for Eureka Prize for science.

More than 90 per cent of female participants in a Flinders University Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Enrichment Academy have gone on to study the subjects in their senior year of high school, with the program successfully reversing young girls’ negative attitudes towards a career in the booming sector.

Since its establishment in October 2018, the STEM Enrichment program has reached 531 Year 9 girls in South Australia, with excellent participation rates across all three enrichment days, it’s design and technology series and STEM conferences.

The Global Gender Gap Report (2020) found a 31.4 per ccent average pay gap between men and women in the global STEM workforce, which could take almost 100 years to close based on current trends, not good.

Australia’s record also needs to improve, with the country listed only 44th out of 153 countries on the 2020 Global Gender Gap Index.

Director of the STEM Enrichment Academy, Associate Professor Maria Parappilly, says research has shown that science becomes less challenging for young women participating in the STEM Academy, helping them to develop positive attitudes towards careers in scientific fields.

“We’re extremely delighted to see the sheer impact of our program on the girls, driving participant enrolment (a staggering 91 per cent) in year 11 STEM subjects, including girls from regional SA.”

“The results from the 2021 STEM Enrichment conference highlight the significant impact enrichment initiatives can have on young women to consider careers in STEM, by engaging them in informative and inspiring activities that underline the benefits and opportunities of such an education.”

“There are limits on undertaking these activities at school, as the curriculum covers a large spectrum and resources are finite, so if we want more girls to consider STEM, we need to create positive interventions that enrich and empower our girls.”

“Create more hands-on activities, allow them to perform science rather than making them to listen to the lectures and long panel sessions.”

In addition to providing enrichment programs for students, the Flinders STEM Enrichment Academy also ran teacher professional development workshops in physics, mathematics, and technology subjects.

“Our research findings show that hands-on enrichment activities were favoured by both students and teachers, and positively shifted student attitudes towards science, getting the girls to think about science through cool activities.”

STEM Enrichment Program Facts

• 221 students attended the 2019/21 STEM Enrichment conferences
• 280 students were enriched through the Real Science Enrichment Days program
• 11 Professional Development sessions were offered to teachers, focussing primarily on physics and engineering
• 8–14 teachers attended each Professional Development session
• Total of 85 teachers participated in the Professional Development workshops