ABSTRACT

It is commonly assumed that the reason many young people do not participate in informal STEM education (ISE) is because they lack interest in STEM. This paper draws on survey (n = 1,624) and qualitative data (n = 36) with young people aged 11–14 to examine the ways in which science dispositions, demographic characteristics, ‘consumption’ of cultural practices and exclusion interact to produce unequal forms of STEM participation. Latent class analysis generated six groups within our quantitative dataset: three groups who infrequently participated in designed and community ISE practices (Underserved Tech Enthusiasts, Underserved Creatives and Underserved Scientists), one group who only participated in specific forms of ISE practices (Partly Served Generalists) and two groups who frequently participated across a broad range of ISE practices (Served Cultural Omnivores and Served STEMnivores). Participation in ISE did not necessarily reflect young people’s STEM interests; many minoritised young people reported being interested in STEM, yet rarely took part in designed and community ISE, while others from more socially advantaged backgrounds regularly participated regardless of their STEM interest. We conclude that ISE settings are excluding and failing to serve young people from minoritised backgrounds and there is a need to support these young people better.

摘要

人们普遍认为，许多年轻人不参加非正式 STEM 教育 (ISE) 的原因是他们对 STEM 缺乏兴趣。本文利用对 11-14 岁年轻人的调查 (n = 1,624) 和定性数据 (n = 36) 来检验科学倾向、人口特征、文化实践的“消费”和排斥相互作用以产生不平等形式的方式STEM 参与。潜在类别分析在我们的定量数据集中生成了六组：三组不经常参与设计和社区 ISE 实践（服务不足的技术爱好者、服务不足的创意人员和服务不足的科学家），一组仅参与特定形式的 ISE 实践（部分服务的通才）) 和两个经常参与广泛的 ISE 实践的小组（服务文化杂食者和服务 STEMnivores）。参加 ISE 不一定反映年轻人的 STEM 兴趣；许多少数族裔年轻人报告说对 STEM 感兴趣，但很少参加设计和社区 ISE，而其他来自社会优势背景的人则经常参加，无论他们对 STEM 感兴趣如何。我们得出的结论是，ISE 设置排斥和未能为来自少数族裔背景的年轻人提供服务，因此需要更好地支持这些年轻人。