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This report provides a summary of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and STEM-related issues in the United Kingdom. In preparing the report, the authors have examined national STEM reports and studies and they focus on: (1) attitudes towards STEM, and the priority given to STEM, in: families, the community/media, government, educational institutions, employers and professional bodies; (2) the perceived relevance of STEM to economic growth and well-being; (3) current patterns of STEM provision in schooling, including STEM in primary education, and its influence on later participation in STEM; enrolments in STEM disciplines in secondary education; STEM provision, and participation, in tertiary (university and non university) education; and trends since 2005 in those secondary and tertiary enrolments; (4) the role of STEM disciplines in both general education and vocational and occupationally-specific programs in education and training; (5) student uptake of STEM programs and factors affecting student performance and motivation; (6) access of STEM graduates to the labour markets, and labour market take-up of STEM knowledge and skills; and (7) strategies, policies and programs used to enhance STEM at all levels of education, and judgment concerning the success of those programs. Section two examines the perceived relevance of STEM to economic growth and well-being and presents the 'official' view which directly links STEM, the economy and well-being, and alternative views which take account of the public perceptions of STEM. Section three looks at the uptake of STEM in education and describes the UK education system and the National Curriculum and assessment systems in some detail. Section four examines the access of STEM graduates to labour markets in the UK and, again, provides two narratives: firstly the government and science lobby views and then a counter-narrative based on empirical research. The final section provides a commentary on a number of STEM initiatives that have been introduced into the formal and informal sectors over recent years.

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This report undertakes a comprehensive review of the literature on the barriers and supports that young people encounter in pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in Australia. It draws together and reviews literature across a variety of disciplines on trends in STEM participation in Australia and globally, and investigates existing and ongoing research and literature on the reasons why people either continue or discontinue study and employment in STEM related fields. This review focuses primarily on the issue of transition, examining specifically changes and continuities in attitudes to STEM subjects as students make the transition from primary to secondary school, and from the middle to upper secondary school years. It identifies issues bearing on student pathways in STEM, profiles the existing STEM workforce, and describes broad trends in engagement in STEM in Australia.

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