It takes more than an interest in STEM: students’ experience of transition to study in STEM disciplines at university

ABSTRACT

The journey to pursue and persist with a career in STEM is a complex process that begins at a young age, continues across secondary education and the end of school transition to university. Such decisions are influenced by a range of personal, social and environmental factors, highlighting the practical complexities of supporting young people in their transition to university. This paper explores the post-school transition of two students, one female and one male, with strong technological dispositions and aspirations to pursue careers in STEM fields. We focus on two STEM disciplines, Information Technology and Engineering, chosen by our participants. We employ the theory of practice (Bourdieu 1977) to analyse two students’ experience of transition. The findings from these case studies are not intended to be generalised. Rather the in-depth stories and theoretical case analysis provides a nuanced account of transition to study STEM disciplines. Importantly, the pathways into university were not equal for the participants. Class and gender intersected with university structures to enable and constrain students’ transition highlighting the significance of institutional supports within STEM disciplines to better support diverse students across the period of transition to university.

KEYWORDS:

• STEM
• transition
• higher education
• theory of practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tiffani Apps

Tiffani Apps is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. Her research interests focus on digital technologies for learning. Tiffani’s current research focuses on children and young people’s digital practices across early years, school and higher education settings.

Karley Beckman

Karley Beckman is a Senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. Her research focuses on technology in education spanning across primary, secondary and higher education settings with a particular interest in how people engage with technology across their everyday lives and educational contexts.

Lyn Cronin

Lyn Cronin is a lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. Her research focuses on literacy and educational transitions from prior to school through to higher education. Lyn is interested in sharing the perspectives of children and young people as they transition across school and life stages.