1) The study examined equity group students' pathways through STEM fields from school to employment. It found lower STEM achievement and participation for equity groups like low SES and regional students in school. 2) Two factors predicted students' likelihood of entering university STEM fields - instrumental motivation in math, seeing its usefulness, and positive math self-concept. These were stronger predictors for equity groups. 3) The study recommends improving instrumental motivation in math for equity students early in schooling, demonstrating math's practical importance, and increasing work-integrated learning opportunities in STEM university programs.

1. Entering the STEM workforce: the impact
of equity, motivation and prior
achievement
Student Equity in STEM, NCSEHE Webinar
August 27, 2021
Daniel Edwards, Sarah Buckley and Sheldon Rothman

2. Background to the study
• Study undertaken thanks to a research grant from the National Centre for Student Equity
in Higher Education (NCSEHE), supplemented by internal funding from our organisation,
the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
• Grant application and project conceptualisation led by Dr Julie McMillan. Research team
comprised of Dr Sarah Buckley, Dr Sheldon Rothman and Dr Dan Edwards.
• ACER is an independent, not-for-profit research organisation with offices across Australia
and internationally. We employ more than 400 staff who work towards our overall
mission:
– To create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be
used to improve learning across the lifespan

3. Research questions
1. How do the STEM pathways of equity groups
and non-equity groups differ?
2. What factors facilitate equity group students
participating in university STEM courses?
3. Do the factors influencing young people’s
university STEM participation differ between
equity groups and non-equity groups?

4. Pathways explored
Figure 1: STEM pathways, from school to employment

5. Data used
• Data used for analysis: LSAY cohort Y03 (from age 15 to
25) and PISA (at age 15)
– Key reasoning: LSAY Y03 has best participation up to
age 25
– The Y03 cohort completed the major domain of
Mathematics for PISA at age 15.
• Equity Groups in analysis:
– Low SES
– Regional, Rural and Remote (RRR)
– First in Family (FIF) to attend university
– Women in Non-Traditional Areas (WINTA)
• Multinomial regression used in examining transitions
and PISA data (for research questions 2 & 3)
• Limitations:
– no Indigenous cohort
– overall limited size of cohort
– overlap of equity groups.
Table 1: LSAY Y03 cohort by equity group

6. Findings: school to uni
School to STEM @ uni (snapshot of findings)
• Lower achievement in STEM in schools, particularly Low SES and RRR (prior research).
• Lower participation in STEM subjects in senior years (our analysis and prior research).
• Lower levels of transition to university overall among equity groups.
• For those who do go to university, similar levels of STEM take-up by equity groups (except
WINTA)
• Completion rates lower for equity groups (and within equity groups STEM completion lower)
– except WINTA.
Table 2: University
entry of LSAY
cohort by group
and study field

7. Findings: entering the STEM workforce
From a uni STEM course into the STEM workforce
• Overall for STEM undergrad young people in the Y03 cohort:
– employment rates very high by age 25, with more than 90 per cent employed and a
further ~5% in further study.
– 22% were in an occupation that required a university STEM qualification.
– A further 9% were in ‘mixed-STEM’ occupations (i.e. jobs requiring either a university or
VET STEM qualification).
– Half were working in occupations that did not require a STEM qualification or a Health
qualification.

8. Findings: entering the STEM workforce
Figure 2: Employment in STEM occupations among STEM uni enrolees by
age 25, LSAY

9. Findings: entering the STEM workforce
Figure 3: Occupation types of STEM uni enrolees by age 25, LSAY

10. Findings
Tracing back to the school to university
transition…
A brief insight into early factors facilitating STEM
participation

11. Findings: factors facilitating STEM
participation
• Using PISA achievement and math literacy ‘focus domain’, our study
explored measures of:
» Mathematics achievement
» Mathematics anxiety
» Attitudes towards school
» Sense of belonging to school
» Instrumental motivation in mathematics
» Interest in mathematics
» Mathematics self-efficacy
» Mathematics self-concept
» Student-teacher relations at school

12. Findings: factors facilitating STEM
participation
• Mathematics achievement at age 15 was a very strong predictor of
entry to university. However, it did not differentiate pathways into
STEM, either for equity groups and across the whole cohort.
• Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that two key concepts
were predictors of likelihood to go on to study STEM at university –
after controlling for other factors, including academic achievement.
These were:
– instrumental motivation in mathematics;
– and mathematics self-concept.

13. Findings: factors facilitating STEM
participation
Instrumental motivation in mathematics (PISA measure):
• explores the extent to which a student sees the utility of mathematics
for their future studies and work. Including:
– whether mathematics is important to improve career prospects and
to undertake further study; and
– whether learning mathematics and making an effort is worthwhile for
work and study pursuits.
Positive responses in relation to these questions significantly
increased the likelihood that a student would subsequently enrol in a
STEM field course – after controlling for achievement.
For Low SES – particularly strong factor, with those with positive
responses here more than 2.5 times as likely to choose STEM uni.

14. Findings: factors facilitating STEM
participation
Mathematics self-concept (PISA measure):
• explores to students’ belief in their own mathematical abilities.
Including:
– whether the student feels they learn mathematics quickly,
whether mathematics is one of their ‘best’ subjects, and
whether they understand the ‘most difficult work’ in
mathematics
Positive responses to these questions was a significant
predictor of entry into university STEM fields for LSES, FiF and
WINTA when controlling for achievement.
Interestingly this was not significant for those not in an equity
groups and for RRR students.
The STEM Profile
Both these factors are fundamental aspects of what has
been termed the ‘STEM Profile’. This research, and prior
work internationally has shown that the presence of these
kinds of factors are important to persistence in STEM from
school into further study and the workplace.
Critical to this is the finding that these characteristics are
less likely to be present in students from disadvantaged
backgrounds.

15. Recommendations
Based on the specific focus of this study, we highlighted three ideas for
improving participation and outcomes in STEM for equity groups:
1. In the early and middle years of schooling: programs to increase
instrumental motivation in mathematics.
• Encouraging pedagogical approaches that focus on demonstrating the
practical importance of mathematics
2. In the senior years of schooling – policies and interventions to encourage
and demonstrate the benefits of mathematics competency across a broad
spectrum of employment and practical problem solving issues.
3. In the later years of university – increased opportunities for Work
Integrated Learning in STEM fields. Building on ACDS work and increased
targeting towards participation for women and students from Low SES
backgrounds

16. Thank you
to NCSEHE!!
Full report available here:
https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-
content/uploads/2021/07/McMillan_ACER_STEM_2021.pdf
Dr Daniel Edwards: Daniel.Edwards@acer.org
Dr Sarah Buckley: Sarah.Buckley@acer.org
Dr Sheldon Rothman