t he s tudent e xperience of stem vs n on -stem d egree p rogrammes : a c omparative s tudy chris...
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THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE OF STEM VS NON-STEM
DEGREE PROGRAMMES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Chris Pawson
STEM in the UK
• Significant shortfall in STEM skilled applicants in the U.K. (CBI, 2011)
• Attempts to increase uptake of STEM subjects:- National Curriculum changes in 2008- Science So What? So Everything (DIUS, 2009)
• School children’s reasons for not studying STEM:- No clear application to employment¹- Transmissive and unappealing pedagogy²
¹Archer et al. (2010) ² Lyons (2006); Osborne (2007)
STEM Promotion: The Role of HE?
• Reasons for leaving HE STEM study- Perception of better teaching in non-STEM- Loss of interest in science
(Olds & Miller, 2004; Seymour and Hewitt, 1997)
• Increasing interest in science and access to STEM careers in both schools and Universities
• Improving teaching and perceptions of teaching in STEM subjects
Student Satisfaction
• Stable differences between subjects (HEFCE, 2010)
• Historical / Philosophical studies most satisfied (HEFCE,2010)• Computer & Mathematical Science < Law (Surridge, 2008)
• Subject area exerts larger effects on satisfaction than characteristics of students or institution
• Variance in overall satisfaction: - 2.5% accounted for by differences between institution- 3.5 – 7% accounted for by subject area
(Surridge, 2009)
Analysis of HEFCE 2011 Data
• Satisfaction rates from all UK Universities organised by broad subject groups
• STEM: Engineering & Tech; Computer Sciences; Maths Sciences
• Non-STEM: Creative Arts; Geography; Education; History & Philosophy; Languages
• Analysis of satisfaction with teaching by subject area compared with global satisfaction
Staff Have Made the Subject Interesting
STEM
NON-STEM
Staff Are Enthusiastic About What They are Teaching
STEM
NON-STEM
Analysis of NSS 2011 Data• Comparison of 18 UK Universities that all had the
same broad provision • STEM: Psychology; Elec Eng; Chemistry; Maths/Stats• Non-STEM: English; History; Sociology; Law
• Compared NSS teaching ratings: i) Staff are good at ability to explain
STEM = 88% < Non-STEM = 93%ii) Staff make the subject interesting
STEM = 78% < Non-STEM = 87%
Staff Are Good At Explaining Things
Staff Have Made the Subject Interesting
Participants
STEM (n = 583)
- Health and Bioscience (e.g. Biomedical Science)
- Computing and Engineering (e.g. Civil Engineering)
- Psychology (e.g. Forensic Psychology)
• M= 46% & F = 54%• < 20 yrs = 23%
21-25 yrs = 35% > 25 yrs = 42%
Non-STEM (n = 597)
- Law (e.g. Criminology; LLB)
- Humanities (e.g. Anthropology)
- Arts (e.g. Fine Art; Design)
• M= 38% & F = 62%• < 20 yrs = 27%
21-25 yrs = 33% > 25 yrs = 40%
Satisfaction Survey
• NSS questions administered via online questionnaire at end of first year of study
• Five sub-dimensions:- Teaching (α = .90)- Assessment (α = .82) - Academic Support (α = .85)- Organisation (α = .87)- Learning Resources (α = .84)
Results
NSS Sub-dimension STEM Non-STEM
Teaching 3.67 (0.89) 3.80 (0.93) Assessment & Feedback 3.49 (0.93) 3.48 (0.98)
Support & Guidance 3.54 (0.98) 3.48 (1.02)
Organisation 3.62 (0.95) 3.58 (1.00)
Resources 3.76 (0.99) 3.60 (1.04)
• No significant Class Size or Age differences• Significant UCAS entry points differences: STEM
Results
• MANCOVA revealed significant difference between NSS scores of STEM vs Non-STEM (Wilks Λ = .97, F(6, 1169) = 5.75, p = .000)
• Resources: STEM > Non-STEM (F(1, 1174) = 5.86, p = .016)
• Teaching: STEM < Non-STEM (F(1, 1174) = 10.23, p = .001)
STEM Status x Sex Interaction(Wilks Λ = .99, F(6, 1169) = 2.75, p = .012)
STEM males < non-STEM males & STEM females with
Teaching
STEM males and non-STEM females < non-STEM males with
Assessment and Feedback
Satisfaction with Teaching(F(4, 1167) = 2.37, p = .05)
NSS ITEMS Non-STEM
STEMANCOVA (1, 1170)
Teaching staff are good at explaining things
3.75(0.99)
3.61(1.01)
F = 10.36**
Teaching staff have made the subject interesting
3.71(1.03)
3.53 (1.02)
F = 15.39***
Teaching staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching
3.88 (1.08)
3.73(1.01)
F = 11.52**
My Programme is Intellectually Stimulating
3.92(1.10)
3.81 (1.04)
F = 8.06*
* = p<.01 ** = p<.005 *** = p<.001
Good at Explaining Things Made the Subject Interesting
Enthusiastic about Content
Programme Intellectually Stimulating
Satisfaction withAssessment & Feedback
NSS ITEMS Non-STEM
STEMMANCOV
A (1, 1170)
The Assessment Criteria have been clear and given in advance
3.57(1.15)
3.76(1.09)
F = 6.84**
Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair
3.53(1.14)
3.56 (1.10)
F = .003 NS
Feedback on assignments has been within 4 weeks
3.33 (1.28)
3.19(1.30)
F = 7.24**
Feedback on assignments has been useful
3.54(1.20)
3.47(1.23)
F = 4.32*
* = p<.05 ** = p<.01
Feedback Within 4 Weeks
Feedback has been Useful
• STEM females and Non-STEM females do not differ in satisfaction with feedback
• STEM Males are less satisfied than non-STEM Males with timing and utility of feedback
Conclusions
• STEM students are generally less satisfied with the quality of teaching, enthusiasm of their teachers and intellectual stimulation of their degree
• There is also evidence that STEM students are less satisfied with particular assessment practices relating to feedback
• This may be due to sex differences but needs further exploration (e.g. perceptions of teaching practices, student expectations, parental/school expectations)
Conclusions
• Relative STEM dissatisfaction may be due to STEM vs non-STEM teaching differences; student differences or an issue of expectations and branding
• HEFCE (2011) and QAA (2012) analyses of student experience both consider subject differences but do not attend sufficiently to patterns in the data
• Ignoring differences for short-term gains may have significant long-term implications (e.g. recruitment & retention)