90% of teachers surveyed say they faced barriers to STEM outreach – with ‘funding and time’ the key blockers

EngineeringUK is publishing a series of briefings drawing on research conducted with 800 STEM teachers from across the UK, to better understand how STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) outreach, such as after school clubs and out of class activities are accessed and delivered, plus barriers faced by teachers.

The first briefing in the series, ‘School Report: How teachers engage with STEM outreach’ found that although a high proportion of STEM teachers surveyed said they had engaged with STEM outreach in the last academic year, the majority – 90% – had faced barriers.

Funding (52%), time (49%) were the main barriers, while just over a fifth (22%) saying support staff resources were a barrier. In total, 79% highlighted one or more of these as a STEM outreach barrier.

Some teachers also highlighted additional costs, including hiring a cover teacher or travel for out of school activities, an issue.

Being unable to find suitable outreach was also a problem for 38% of teachers, with difficulty in finding suitable activities or organisations to work with. Whilst time and funding are key, the research highlights issues around access also need to be addressed. EngineeringUK has highlighted the need for STEM outreach to be targeted to areas of need as well as for closer links with school career hubs and engineering and technology employers.

The pressures of delivering the national curriculum were also cited as a barrier.

Head of Research at EngineeringUK, Becca Gooch said, “Engineering is not very visible in the curriculum, so STEM outreach is an important avenue for young people to gain subject or career knowledge, and without it, could impact on young people’s knowledge and perceptions. We know outreach plays a vital role in sparking interest and passion – so we need industry to support teachers and students in STEM outreach.”

“Engineering and technology employs over 6m people and between now and 2030 is expected to grow faster than other sectors, yet it has a huge skills and labour shortage. We need more young people to be aware of the opportunities open to them. What we need is for more engineering and tech employers to be reaching more teachers so more young people can engage with STEM outreach.”

The research also found teachers are predominantly finding STEM activities online, directly from providers, and through their own professional networks. Despite this, barriers to engagement remain for the majority.

Recommendations for providers and funders:

• Reach teachers where they are – online through social media or through available websites like Neon
• Use teacher ambassadors to support with your activity to promote to others in networks
• Support with bursaries to ensure schools with the tightest budgets aren’t missing out
• Promote inclusion of underrepresented groups

EngineeringUK supports STEM outreach through EUK Education, including its Big Bang, Energy Quest and Climate Schools Programme, Neon, bursaries and resources. It also supports industry to reach more young people with targeted, high-quality outreach.

The next themes in the School Report series to be published in the next couple of months, explore practical work, teacher awareness of all routes into engineering and technology, and teacher recruitment and retention.