“The school does not clearly communicate the opportunities to parents. This is a huge barrier as parents cannot encourage participation if they don’t know about events.” - Saginaw County Parent rarely exposed to STEM careers in their classrooms. About 90 percent of Students have Finding #4: reported that their students have fewer than six opportunities to be exposed limited exposure to and STEM jobs annually. In addition, 62 percent of principals indicated that understanding of different STEM were no STEM elective courses offered at their school. Among those occupations already familiar with the term, many associate it with a small subset of occupations (e.g. Frequent and sustained exposure to STEM careers can boost students’ interest in and pursuit of STEM FIGURE 11 educational and career paths. Students Selecting a Profession in STEM (n-82) However, students in the region are engineering and science) and exclude FIGURE 12 other occupations that are dominant in Engineer the region (e.g. healthcare and skilled trades) (see Figure 11). These findings Carpenter Accountant Nurse Welder Science indicate a gap both in STEM skills’ importance to the region’s employers and in the types of jobs that Parents perceive three primary barriers to their children becoming interested in are considered to be STEM. STEM: Child Interest Parents feel that a Finding #5: lack of interest is the primary barrier to engagement Parent Survey of Barriers to STEM Involvement students’ in STEM-related activities Financial Barriers Program Distance More than 22 percent of parents indicated the primary barrier is related to a lack of student interest (see Figure 12). If schools can increase exposure to STEM occupations in school, and communicate opportunities to parents better, then student interest in STEM could be substantially improved. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
“The school does not clearly communicate the opportunities to parents. This is a huge barrier as parents cannot encourage participation if they don’t know about events.” - Saginaw County Parent Finding #4: Students have limited exposure to and understanding of different STEM occupations Frequent and sustained exposure to STEM careers can boost students’ interest in and pursuit of STEM educational and career paths. However, students in the region are rarely exposed to STEM careers in their classrooms. About 90 percent of reported that their students have fewer than six opportunities to be exposed STEM jobs annually. In addition, 62 percent of principals indicated that were no STEM elective courses offered at their school. Among those already familiar with the term, many associate it with a small subset of occupations (e.g. FIGURE 11 Students Selecting a Profession in STEM (n-82) engineering and science) and exclude other occupations that are dominant in the region (e.g. healthcare and skilled trades) (see Figure 11). These findings indicate a gap both in STEM skills’ importance to the region’s Engineer Science FIGURE 12 Carpenter Accountant Nurse Welder employers and in the types of jobs that are considered to be STEM. Finding #5: Parents feel that a lack of interest is the primary barrier to students’ engagement in STEM-related activities Parents perceive three primary barriers to their children becoming interested in STEM: Child Interest Parent Survey of Barriers to STEM Involvement Financial Barriers Program Distance More than 22 percent of parents indicated the primary barrier is related to a lack of student interest (see Figure 12). If schools can increase exposure to STEM occupations in school, and communicate opportunities to parents better, then student interest in STEM could be substantially improved. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%