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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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Many governments and organisations are concerned that not enough young people are choosing to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) after the age of 16. This study examines how young people's aspirations develop between the ages of 10-14, with a particular emphasis on what influences aspirations for science-related careers. The ASPIRES project is a five year study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) using quantitative online questionnaires in conjunction with longitudinal interviews with selected parents and pupils. The study seeks to understand how young people develop certain aspirations to explain why certain groups are underrepresented in STEM subjects and careers. Findings suggest that despite the majority of 10-14 year olds enjoying and recognising the value of school science classes, a lack of understanding of the range of uses of science skills causes many young people to view STEM subjects as unachievable. [The authors] conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for policy and practice.

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Internationally, there is widespread concern about the need to increase participation in the sciences (particularly the physical sciences), especially among girls/women. This paper draws on data from a five-year, longitudinal study of 10-14-year-old children's science aspirations and career choice to explore the reasons why, even from a young age, many girls may see science aspirations as 'not for me'. [The authors] discuss data from phase one - a survey of over 9000 primary school children (aged 10/11) and interviews with 92 children and 78 parents, focusing in particular on those girls who did not hold science aspirations. Using a feminist post-structuralist analytic lens, [the authors] argue that science aspirations are largely 'unthinkable' for these girls because they do not fit with either their constructions of desirable/intelligible femininity nor with their sense of themselves as learners/students. [The authors] argue that an underpinning construction of science careers as 'clever'/'brainy', 'not nurturing' and 'geeky' sits in opposition to the girls' self-identifications as 'normal', 'girly', 'caring' and 'active'. Moreover, [the authors] suggest that this lack of fit is exacerbated by social inequalities, which render science aspirations potentially less thinkable for working-class girls in particular. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential implications for increasing women's greater participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

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This chapter presents the results of a quantitative analysis of national data covering Danish students who in the period 1995-2009 completed an upper-secondary school programme and entered a higher-education science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) programme. The analysis focuses on identifying variables that change the hazard ratio for (1) entering a STEM programme and (2) leaving a STEM programme without completing it. Finally, the chapter explores (3) the destinations of students who leave a STEM higher-education programme. It is found that there has been no change in the relative chance of a male or female student entering a STEM programme. The results suggest that female students are more affected by achieving a high grade-point average [GPA] and by the educational background of their parents than are the male students. The relative risk of non-completion is higher for women than for men, but the most important factor is GPA on entry. A disturbing result is that when students leave a STEM programme, only one third enter another STEM programme. Slightly more enter a non-STEM programme while non-STEM leavers only rarely enter a STEM programme. Non-completion in STEM higher education is a net loss of STEM graduates.

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