University-led STEM outreach programs: purposes, impacts, stakeholder needs and institutional support at nine Australian universities

Abstract

University-led STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) outreach forms one potential avenue to address the continuing decline of tertiary student enrollments. Yet to-date the impact of these programs is not well understood, due to an historical emphasis on ‘delivering the goods’ that obscures debate on which outreach programs to deliver, why and to whom. At a time in which the academy faces growing pressures to ‘perform,’ it is argued that explicit consideration of program purposes and efforts to assess efficacy may facilitate discussions about the possible role of university-led outreach in attracting school students to STEM careers. This article reports on findings from a study of the outreach efforts at nine Australian universities, revealing two key barriers: limited institutional support structures; and limited explicit consideration of disparate, and at times, competing outreach stakeholder needs. These barriers problematize the contribution that universities can currently make toward raising future STEM aspirations.

Keywords:

• STEM education
• university-led outreach
• evaluation
• management
• university practices
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Kirsten Sadler http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0221-7399

Efrat Eilam http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6076-6487