Young People's Science and Career Aspirations age 14-19 ('ASPIRES2')

In the UK, as in virtually every developed country, it is widely accepted that we need more people studying and working at all levels in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). STEM industries are vital elements of the UK economy and are predicted to expand relative to other fields. But there is a widespread consensus that there is a STEM skills gap and that this gap is growing with fears that the predicted lack of appropriately qualified STEM graduates and workers with STEM technical skills will impact negatively on the UK economy. There is also a widely accepted case for the need to broaden the gender, ethnic and social class profile of those who study STEM post-16, particularly in the physical sciences. It is therefore a matter of urgency for research to understand the factors affecting STEM participation and the reasons why many young people choose not to study these subjects post-16.

This study ('ASPIRES2') will extend the unique dataset developed by the first ASPIRES study (RES-179-25-0008), which tracked the development of young people's science and career aspirations from age 10-14. ASPIRES1 surveyed over 9,000 children when they were in primary school (age 10/11) and then conducted further surveys when the cohort reached secondary school (surveying 5,600 students at age 12/13 and c.5000 at age 13/14). Alongside the surveys, researchers longitudinally tracked a group of children and their parents, conducting interviews with 92 young people and 78 parents in Year 6,following them up again in Year 8 and 9.

The new study aims to understand how young people develop their science and career aspirations over the next important five years of their lives (from age 14-19). It will explore changing influences of the family, school, careers education and social identities and inequalities on these young people's science and career aspirations and, crucially, will relate these to their actual subject choices and attainment in national GCSE examinations and their post-16 choices. This tracking of young people's aspirations and educational outcomes comprises the vital 'final link' in our tracking of this cohort.

To achieve this goal, the project will conduct two surveys with a nationally representative sample of c.7-10,000 students per sweep. The students will be drawn from the same age cohort as the previous ASPIRES survey, and will be conducted when students are in Year 11 (age 15/16) and Year 13 (age 17/18). This will provide us with an authoritative picture of the developing views of young people from age 10-19. Interviews will also be conducted in Year 11 and Year 13 with c.80 students and 60 of their parents, all of whom have been previously tracked by the researchers from Year 6. We will also statistically analyse national datasets for those who took part in the very first survey (Y6), to explore how early attitudes and/or factors may relate to later outcomes (e.g. GCSE attainment, post-16 choices).

The project will collaborate with two science organisations (the Institute of Physics and the Science Council) to develop ways of engaging families and young people with key project messages around STEM careers. Collaboration 1 will focus on translating project messages for parent audiences, via social and popular media formats (e.g. through a series of articles placed in the popular print media such as supermarket magazines and by using Twitter and social networking sites). Collaboration 2 will develop an 'app' (computer application software) to develop an interactive quiz that can convey key project messages to young people in an engaging, interactive format. We also hope to enlist the help of schools and science teachers to promote the use of this app among students.

ASPIRES2 addresses the urgent need for a deeper understanding of how student aspirations are shaped, offering a unique opportunity to extend existing knowledge from 10-19, through key points in students' educational careers.

A range of policy makers/ intermediaries will benefit from the research through gaining a better informed basis for developing policy and practice. The research will provide more accurate, detailed and sophisticated understandings of the issues affecting participation among 14-19 year olds, which will benefit policy-makers, professional societies and other organisations concerned with science education (e.g. DfE, Royal Society, professional societies).

The Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Science Council will benefit directly from their close collaboration with the project through the two impact collaborations. The IOP will also benefit by advancing their insitutional agenda to develop family engagement (see the IOP 'Girls in Physics' and 'Ethnicity and Physics' expert groups). They will benefit from knowledge gained through the impact collaboration on how to engage families, which can inform future IOP activities. The IOP's institutional aim (to promote Physics) will also be addressed by activities undertaken within the collaboration, e.g. through the active engagement of parents from non-STEM backgrounds with messages that promote positive images of science and convey new knowledge about science careers and the value of science qualifications (including Physics).

The Science Council will benefit by advancing their instutional agenda to promote science and increase public knowledge and awareness of careers in and from Science. They will also benefit from knoweldge and understanding developed through the collaboration regarding engagement with user audiences via new technologies.

A range of science education delivery/ practice organisations will also benefit from the new knowledge and understandings developed by the research. E.g. charities and organisations that provide STEM enrichment (e.g. EDT, the Engineering Development Trust) will be able to better tailor the activities and resources they offer in order to address the factors that affect STEM engagement and participation.

Science teachers and schools will benefit from the new knowledge and understandings produced by the project to help engage a wider range of students with science and to inform their own practice to ensure that as wide a range of students as possible can be supported to see science as 'for me'.

Careers professionals will benefit from new insights and principles for promoting STEM careers awareness for a diverse range of students.

The reasearch also plans to impove the knowledge base of parents about the range and value of careers available with STEM based qualifications. Such knowledge is vital to helping parents assist their children to make informed choices.

Students will also be directly impacted (via the STEM careers app), benefitting from research-informed knowledge about STEM careers and pathways and challenges that will better support informed educational and careers decision-making.

The project aims to produce indirect economic and social benefits to the nation, due to the changes and improvements which occur at policy/practice and personal levels, described above, arising from the research which may contribute to improved post-16 STEM participation.