Abstract:

Background:
A major professionals replacement demand due to an aging trend among STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupational fields has been recognised in several European Union countries. However, research has shown that adolescents are not aspiring to such careers. One possible cause has been students´ low awareness of STEM career opportunities and their work characteristics. One solution to this has been suggested as embedding career education into science teaching at school thus raising students´ awareness of possible STEM careers and shaping their stereotypical images of STEM occupations and hence attitude towards studying science.

Purpose:
The study aims to determine the effects of embedding STEM career education into science teaching on a) students´ career aspirations, and b) on their occupational images in STEM fields, in terms of students´ perceptions of competency requirements for STEM careers and for their career aspirations.

Methodology:
The current study followed a longitudinal pre-post-test control-group design. The experimental group (EG) students (N=77), from three schools, were studying different science topics during their 7th— 9th grade through five career introducing learning modules, each following a 3-stage model (Holbrook & Rannikmäe, 2010) i.e. a contextualisation stage for inducing motivation; a de-contextualisation stage for learning conceptual science with inquiry or hands on activities; a re-contextualisation stage for socio-scientific decision making, reflecting on the learning and applying it to the initial context. The EG students were introduced to different careers within the learning contexts of solar panel mobile charger; lemonade production in a factory; city planning or murder investigation; oil spill clean-up and endangered species protection with CITES. The control group (CG) (N=21) learned science with approaches chosen by their teachers.
Data prior and after the intervention was collected by using a paper and pencil questionnaire, which contained 3 parts: 1. students´ career aspirations; 2. and 3. students´ opinions of the importance of various competences on a 4-point scale (not important at all- 1, to very important- 4 ) for (a) their career aspirations and (b) for STEM careers. The list of competences (n=26) used in the questionnaire (2nd and 3rd part), were drawn from Jang (2016) and from the work descriptions of science and engineering professionals in the International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (International Labour Office, 2012). Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Chi-Square test, Fischers´ Exact test, with Monte Carlo adjustments, to determine changes in career aspirations and Mann-Whitney U-test, with Bonferroni corrections, for determining the changes in students´ perceptions of relevant competencies.

Results and conclusions:
No statistically significant changes were detected in students´ career aspirations. Interestingly, the EG students indicated significant rise in the importance of several future career competences and for STEM careers. The CG students´ ratings of importance for several competences dropped significantly. The results indicated that students´ career aspirations could not be changed through the intervention, but gave an indication of positive changes in students´ occupational images of STEM careers, which supported embedding career education into science teaching in middle school.

Keywords:

STEM career awareness, intervention, occupational images.