果冻影院

The 果冻影院 STEM Participation and Social Justice research group aims to make STEM fields and subjects more inclusive, accessible and equitable for all young people. 聽

The team was awarded the Royal Society鈥檚 Athena Prize 鈥渇or their cutting-edge research and development projects which have increased understanding, transformed practice, and led to more equitable participation in STEM鈥�. The prize recognises teams who have contributed most to the advancement of diversity in STEM.聽

The research group's activity聽encompasses four currently projects that all seek to understand and challenge injustices in STEM engagement and participation: ASPIRES, Making Spaces, Primary Science Capital, and Youth Equity + STEM, as well as the now concluded Enterprising Science project.聽

Through these projects, the team have trained over 200 UK-based teachers and over 120 informal STEM educators, reaching thousands of young people from under-represented communities each year.聽

The Making Spaces project facilitates聽playful and safe environments for engineering and technology-based skills to be learnt and practised in Makerspaces. Of the young care leavers, ethnic minority, working-class and unemployed young people who joined the Makerspaces interventions, 88% reported increased STEM skills, knowledge and confidence, 94% felt they had increased agency and 85% felt they could now have a future in STEM.聽

The longitudinal ASPIRES project follows young people鈥檚 career aspirations from age 10 to 23 and has increased understanding of the factors supporting and hindering young people鈥檚 STEM trajectories. Science capital, a concept with an explicit commitment to social justice聽which originated in the ASPIRES project, is now widely used in STEM education policy and practice. 聽

The team developed the Science Capital Teaching Approach to help children find more meaning and relevance in science subjects. The approach is currently being embedded through a national network of regional primary coordinators and 鈥榙eveloping all children鈥檚 Science Capital鈥� is now a criterion within the Primary Science Quality Mark, an award currently held by over 11% of primary schools.聽

Professor Louise Archer, who leads the group, said: 鈥淚t is wonderful to have the STEM Participation & Social Justice group鈥檚 work recognised by the Royal Society and the scientific community. We hope that winning this award can further our messages of social justice within science education and help us to continue to improve equitable STEM participation for young people.鈥澛�

Across 果冻影院, the Royal Society also awarded prizes to Professor Richard Ellis (果冻影院 Physics and聽Astronomy), who is a recipient of Royal Medal A, and Dr Tiago Branco (Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, 果冻影院 Life Sciences), who receives the Francis Crick Medal and Lecture.聽

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society聽said, 鈥淥n behalf of the Royal Society, I offer my congratulations to the outstanding researchers, individuals and teams whose contributions to our collective scientific endeavour have helped further our understanding of the world around us.聽

鈥淪cience has always been a team game, and I鈥檓 proud to see such a wide array of skills and specialisms reflected in this year鈥檚 medals and awards.聽From the original ideas that open up new fields, to the team effort that delivered the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, or the vital work of technicians and those opening doors for the next generation of talented researchers 鈥� I am proud that we can celebrate outstanding scientific contributions in all their forms.鈥澛�

Links

• STEM Participation and聽Social Justice Research聽
• 果冻影院 academics honoured by the Royal Society
• Department of Education, Practice and Society聽