Jan
13
2021
0
STEM Barometer
By admin
Norway
Jan
12
2021
Newton Summit
By admin
Dec
18
2020
How Role Models Affect Role Aspirants’ Motivation and Goals
By admin
Country:
Norway
Abstract:
This PhD thesis researches the effects of role models on motivation and goals of the target group. Abstract and complete research paper can be found via the link above.
Dec
18
2020
Jensen & Vetleseter (2013) - The influence of a two-day recruitment event on female upper secondary students motivation for STEM education
By admin
Country:
Norway
Abstract:
This paper reports on how female students’ motivation for higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) was influenced by the recruitment event The Girls’ Day at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In the event, high-achieving females in their last year of upper secondary school visited the university for two days filled with lectures, introduction to study programmes, and interaction with STEM students. Questionnaire and focus group data were collected at several times after the event. The findings indicate that the event influenced the participants’ STEM motivations by affecting their expectation of success and subjective value of STEM tertiary education. Meeting university STEM students was emphasized as the most important factor. These students provided ‘trustworthy’ information, and served as achievable role models helping the participants to see themselves as future STEM students. The majority of the participants rated the costs (in terms of required effort) of studying STEM higher after the event than they did before, but this did not weaken their expectation of success. While learning about the difficulty and required effort, the participants were also introduced to strategies for coping with these costs: study groups, tutor support, and ‘it is tough for everyone’ attitudes.
Dec
18
2020
Jenter og Teknologi ('Girls and Technology')
By admin
Short summary:
Norwegian companies are reporting shortages of technically skilled workers, engineers and scientists, all fields in which women are severely underrepresented. The 'Girls and Technology' programme aims to increase women's participation in these fields through the use of role-models. Originally founded as a local initiative in 2003, it has contributed significantly to addressing this issue with thousands of girls participating annually in its activities.
Description and objectives:
Norwegian companies are reporting a major need for technologists. Technical skilled workers, engineers and scientists are in high demand, and these are all fields where women are in distinct minority. The aim of the Girls and Technology-programme is therefore to increase the number of girls that choose education within technology fields – both practical and theoretical.
The programme was founded in 2003. A partnership consisting of several social partners and the University of Agder came together to improve the recruitment of girls to the university's technology study programs. Through events with female role models, they were able to inspire and inform girls about the possibilities within technology education.
The share of women in technology studies in Norway remains low. Currently 3-11% of technical vocational students are women (Statistics Norway, 2015). 20% of Norwegian engineering students are women (Norwegian Centre for Research Data, 2017). In light of this, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) decided to upscale the project to a national level in 2016. With funding from the Ministry of Children and Equality the project has now been carried out for four years and continues in 2020. In 2018 The Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists (NITO) and The National Centre for STEM recruitment (NCR) joined the project to strengthen the team and expand the project further. Its objective is still to increase the share of women in technology studies. Technology in this context is defined according to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Vocational training and education is included in the project goals. The three subgoals for the project are:
- To increase the share of women in STEM higher education
- To Increase the share of women in technical vocational education and training
- To Increase the share of women in technical vocational colleges
To achieve this the project is using young female role models, under education or with jobs within technology, to show and inform about the different opportunities you have as a young girl to make your first educational choices. It is also an important aim to show the variety in what technology is and how it can be be used to improve the world and contribute to a more sustainable society. Another important aspect of the project is to show the diversity of people, with different backgrounds and competence, that is necessary to develop technology suitable for all kinds of people and needs.
The methodology that pervades all activities in the project is using young, female role models to motivate and inform about technology studies and work possibilities within technology (see related studies in background documents). The programme implements a wide variety of activities.
An annual national tour has been arranged since 2016. In 2019 the tour consisted of 17 separate events all over Norway. The target group was girls in year 9 and 10 of lower secondary school. Approximately 7000 girls participated altogether. Each event lasts for 3 hours, and consists of various short talks from role models, talk show-style chats with a moderator, short video clips, demonstration of new technologies and competitions and workshops to increase the interaction between the audience and the role models. A success factor for the individual talks was the balance between personal experience and information about a given field of education or occupation. For each event we secured a variety of backgrounds – from various technology fields, and different levels of education to fulfil each individual subgoal as described below. In addition, career counselors and teachers were invited to the event and provided with posters and info material about STEM education pathways.
In 2019 Girls and Technology also hosted two live streams on YouTube. The format of the live streams was similar to the national tour events but limited to 45 minutes. Girls from year 9 and 10 in lower secondary school were invited to participate and the live streams had more than 3000 viewers. In addition, the Girls and Technology network of universities organized local Girls and Technology events on one shared day in February. The target group for these events were girls aged between 15-19. 8 universities participated in a total of 7 events, and a total of 1850 girls participated. There were also stands with various activities during the breaks (more information on the programme's reach below).
In 2020 the physical tour was replaced by a digital tour with 11 live streams, one for each county. The streams were modified to each county with local role models and representatives from regional industries. A total of 9 600 girls in grade 9 and 10 attended the live streams.
In connection with the national tours in 2017-2019, NHO, The Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists (NITO) and NCR conducted a national competition for Technology students to win a study trip to NASA in Houston. The competition got significant attention at universities, in social media and in traditional media. The six winners got to experience a dream week of meeting astronauts, engineers, flight directors and many others working with space technology. The trip was communicated through daily updates on all social medias, and a film was produced after the trip (video 3). Most importantly, the winners were used as role models in the national Girls and Technology tour. Their presentations about the trip and space technology were tremendously popular among the girls in the audience. In 2020 the prize was a trip to Svalbard which also generated a lot of attention amongst students.
In adittion to the annual tour, social media and traditional media is used to reach girls year round and also to reach parents and career councelors.
Country:
Education level:
Link to programme website:
Logo or photo:
Impact:
The main goal of the programme is to inform and inspire girls to see all the possibilities you have when choosing an education and career within STEM and strengthen their ability to take well-founded choices when it comes to their own education.
The impact of the program is measured through different parameters for the different events. Both the increase in girls choosing education within STEM in high schools and universities, the reach of the tour, social media campaigns and event evaluation are considered indicators of the project. However, measuring the effect of the Girls in Technology programme in isolation from other activities or strategies with similar goals is challenging. Nevertheless:
- Girls and Technology started as a project in the Agder region, and the cooperation between the university and social partners such as NHO and NITO showed significant results. From 2005 to 2015 the number of women studying technology or engineering at the University of Agder increased by 227%, (from 128 to 412 female students).
- Research from "The Girls Day" at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows that a recruitment event for Female Upper Secondary Students increased the motivation to work with School Mathematics and Science for 69% of the participating pupils. The role model methodology was emphasised as particularly influential towards improved motivation. Over 90% reported that "experiencing NTNU" increased their motivation to choose tertiary STEM education. This highlights the added value of partnering with universities when aiming to increase interest in STEM (see: Jensen & Vetleseter study in background documents).
- TNS KANTAR conducted a survey on behalf of NHO in October 2019, asking girls in the target group and their parents and career councellors about various aspects related to technology education. All three groups consistently agreed that there is a need for more information about technology education and work. Among lower secondary school students, increased information is the most important factor for whether they will consider choosing a STEM education or not. Among higher secondary students getting more female role models is the most important factor. Through the Girls and technology tour these two factors are emphasised to meet the needs for more information and role models.
Western Norway Research (Vestlandsforskning) is currently working on a comprehensive evaluation on the effect of the project. This report is due in March 2021.
Reach:
Each year the reach of Girls and Technology has expanded. In 2020, 9600 girls in 9th and 10th grade (spread across all 11 counties in Norway), attended the digital tour. The project aims to reach more girls every year, with a focus on spreading and varying the tour locations from year to year. This is done to reach girls that live outside cities and be available in all of Norway.
Key figures for Girls and Technology 2019:
- 8850 participating girls between age 13-19
- Participants from more than 250 different schools
- 25 events
- More than 80 role models
- 2 live streams with more than 3000 viewers
Key figures for Girls and Technology 2020:
- 9600 participating girls in 9th and 10th grade (tour only)
- A digital tour with 11 live streams
- 5 inspiration days at five different universities
- 1300 participating girls at the inspiration days
- Participation at 4 education fairs
In traditional media Girls and Technology have gained a lot of attention and been presented in more than 50 newspaper articles all over Norway as well as numerous commentaries. In addition, the project has had 5 national TV appearances.
Budget and funding model:
The project is funded annually from the state budget and money is granted for one year at a time. The funding is partly related to the outcome and reach of the program, but also the need for gender balance (increasing the number of women), technically skilled workers and technology competence in general.
Year start:
2003
Status:
data_page_icon_programme:
Jul
27
2020
Norwegian Technology Pact
By admin
Jun
25
2020
The Role of Recruitment Initiatives in Young People’s Choice of STEM Education
By admin
Country:
Norway
Abstract:
The overall aim of this thesis was to understand Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) choices and how they can be influenced by recruitment initiatives at different points in the choice process from primary school throughout secondary school, and in the transition to higher education. The thesis consists of four articles that investigate factors that students describe as important for their choice of STEM education in general, and more specifically the role of specific initiatives in students’ choice.
In the first article, interest was the most common answer when Norwegian, Danish and English first year STEM students were asked to write why they had chosen the study they had started on. Family, school experiences, popular science and leisure activities were mentioned as important sources of inspiration. Some students described outreach or specific recruitment initiatives as inspiring, such as web sites, science and mathematics competitions, open days or information brochures. The second article investigated what sources of information and inspiration that were important for Norwegian first year STEM students. Here, almost all students answered that they had visited the web pages of the universities/university colleges, but relatively few answered that they had visited external campaign web sites. Almost no one answered that their choice was inspired by career counsellors, but a substantially higher number of students answered that they were inspired by popular science.
The third and fourth articles investigated two specific recruitment initiatives: One initiative where secondary students travel to their nearest university to take part in mathematics trainings led by university STEM students, and one two-day long event where girls in upper secondary school go to a university in order to receive information about STEM studies at the university. The results show that students value meeting university students, partly because the students work as role models and can give trustworthy information about what it is like to study STEM in higher education. The results also show that telling students that STEM studies demand much time and work does not necessarily lead to reduced expectation of success, if the students at the same time are presented with strategies for how to cope with the workload. Educational choice is a continuous process. The discussion chapter suggests that recruitment initiatives should give realistic information about the variety of STEM career options that exist, in order to help students make more well-informed choices. By providing trustworthy information and using role models that young students can identify with, recruitment initiatives can help more students complete the study programmes they embark upon.
Jun
25
2020
A Norwegian out-of-school mathematics project's influence on secondary student's STEM motivation
By admin
Country:
Norway
Abstract:
Considerable resources are spent on initiatives aiming to increase achievement and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Drawing on focus group interviews and a questionnaire study with participants in ENT3R, a Norwegian out-of-school mathematics program, we investigated why participants attended and stayed in this program and assessed how it influenced participants’ STEM motivation. The authors identified 3 aspects of ENT3R highlighted by the participants: The instructors provided good teaching, the instructors created a positive atmosphere, and the instructors engaged in interpersonal relationships. Moreover, drawing on the expectancy-value model, the authors found that ENT3R appeared to influence 5 factors in the model that are important for STEM motivation: expectation of success, interest–enjoyment value, attainment value, utility value, and cost. This study points to the importance of carefully recruited and trained instructors and of flexible, responsively designed extracurricular programs.
Jun
25
2020
Motivering for og rekruttering til realfagene - om ENT3R (Norwegian only)
By admin
Country:
Norway
Abstract:
This report is the outcome of an independent impact assessment of the ENT3R programme. The study was carried out by the SINTEF research copany. Among their reported findings were positive effects on participating pupils` motivation, grades and interests in STEM subjects. The reported effects were greater among high achievement students as compared to pupils with lower levels of achievement.
Jun
24
2020
ENT3R
By NCSR
Short summary:
ENT3R is one of the flagship programmes of the Norwegian National STEM platform (National Centre for Science Recruitment). In cooperation with local universities and university colleges that offer STEM studies, the ENT3R programme offers highly popular free and intensive mentoring, homework support and exam training to junior high and highschool pupils by university students. The programme is represented at 17 STEM university campuses (where the mentoring takes place) all over Norway serving thousands of pupils yearly.
Description and objectives:
Based on the increasing demand for competence within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the Norwegian labor market, the ENT3R program was initiated by the Norwegian National Centre for Science Recruitment (NCR) in 2010. The project is coordinated by NCR in collaboration with local universities and university colleges offering STEM studies throughout Norway. The ENT3R STEM training is offered to junior high pupils and high school students.
Participating pupils attend after school activities, typically in the form of help with mathematics and science homework and occasional pupil night arrangements including inspirational lectures by invited guests, pitching of different studies and career opportunities, experiments, pizza serving, quizzes and competitions. The ENT3R sessions and activities are organized by designated project leaders and organized and held at the local campuses by STEM students working as mentors for the pupils. All students working for ENT3R are brought together regularly for courses and exchange of experience. New mentors are trained in basic pedagogics and STEM subject didactics and attend regular gatherings for exchange of experience.
The main objective of ENT3R is to encourage and inspire youths facing a career choice to consider and pursue and education and career within STEM. The “STEM training” activities in ENT3R aims to provide the pupils with:
- Increased motivation and sense of achievement
- A more positive attitude towards STEM subjects
- Increased career choice capability
- Increased STEM capital
The KPI`s used is a yearly survey among all pupils participating in ENT3R, giving valuable insight and measures of pupil motivation, effects on grades and considerations of future career choices, satisfaction with the mentors etc. Every year we also see our initiatives in context with trends in the universities and colleges admission services. The ENT3R program is part of th e Norwegian Directorate for Education and Trainings STEM strategy called “close to STEM”.
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Education level:
Link to programme website:
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Impact:
As is often the case, the impact of ENT3R independent from other initiatives and programs is difficult to measure. However, the feedback collected through the pupil survey give a strong indication that tjhe programme achieved its objectives through STEM training. Every year a great majority of ENT3R pupils report that they are happy with the project, enjoy the skills and company of the mentors, and benefit from the program. Some highlights from the 2019 results of the pupil survey include:
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93% state that they are satisfied/very satisfied with ENT3R
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74 % say that their confidence in STEM subject have increased
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64 % say their incentive/grades have improved also in non-STEM subjects
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55 % of the pupils say they are considering further STEM studies
The programme's main objective in terms of impact is to make more young people aware of the abundance of opportunities within STEM studies. By offering a supplement to classroom teaching, meeting STEM students and increasing the pupil’s motivation and sense of achievement, we aim to encourage a broader range of young people to pursue an education and career within STEM.
The impact of ENT3R was evaluated by an external (independent) research company (SINTEF) in 2011. Among their reported findings were positive effects on the motivation of participating pupils, grades and interests in STEM subjects. The reported effects were greater among high achievement students as compared to pupils with lower levels of achievement (see full report in background documents).
The ENT3R program was also studied through a PhD project entitled "The Role of Recruitment Initiatives in Young People's Choice of STEM Education" by Fredrik Jensen in 2016. In his thesis, Jensen elaborates on the pupil’s appreciation of the ENT3R program, and the mentors positive effect acting as role models providing the pupils with realistic and credible insight to STEM studies. Furthermore, the experience in how to manage new challenges and sometimes heavy workloads is mentioned among the valuable outcomes from ENT3R.
In a paper focusing on the effects of ENT3R on pupil’s motivation to attend and stay in the ENT3R program (Jensen et al, 2013), three aspects were highlighted: the mentors provided good teaching, the mentors created a positive atmosphere, and the mentors engaged in interpersonal relationships. The study points to the importance of carefully recruited and trained instructors and of flexible, responsively designed extracurricular programs (articles and reports available under background documents tab)
Reach:
Today local ENT3R projects are present at 17 campuses offering STEM studies all over Norway. We also have digital ENT3R trainings for pupils who live far from a local project campus. In 2019, 4267 pupils from 390 different schools registered for ENT3R, and close to 3000 pupils attended actively (2 show-ups or more). Projects at large campuses have long waiting lists to attend.
In addition to regular ENT3R lessons, every spring the ENT3R mentors offers extra support to pupils drawn out for national exams in mathematics. The exam-help support is provided in digital classrooms and open to pupils all over the country. In 2019 over 2800 pupils visited the exam-help classrooms and more than 600 pupils received guidance from the mentors.
During the corona crisis all ENT3R activities were replaced with digital assistance in virtual classrooms (see related article under background documents). An inspirational lecture through a webinar in collaboration with Microsoft also attracted more than 200 pupils. The programme ultimately aims for all junior high students and highs school students in Norway to have the opportunity to participate in ENT3R.
Budget and funding model:
The ENT3R program is funded by the ministry of education and NCR. Through NCR's funding model, the local projects apply yearly for funding based on the number of attending pupils and planned activities. The number of employed mentors also depend on the number of pupils attending. Earmarked grants from the ministry, along with a dedicated part of the budget from NCR is distributed after an evaluation of funding available and project performance. Most of the grants go to wages to mentors and project leaders, while the collaborating universities and university colleges cover the costs for project administration and premises for ENT3R classes.
Year start:
2010
Status:
data_page_icon_programme:
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