Davenport, Carol, Horan, Melanie, Willis, Bethany, Padwick, Annie and Strachan, Becky (2022) 'People like me': identifying personal attributes of STEM professionals. In: 2022 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE 2022). Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE . IEEE, Piscataway, US, pp. 1-8. ISBN 9781665462457, 9781665462440
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Abstract
This Full Paper presents the findings from a study to identify the attributes STEM professionals believe make them successful in their role. Engineering and other STEM employers indicate that they value transferable skills linked to personal characteristics and attributes, often called soft skills. These attributes of STEM professionals were also compared with a separate set of 16 STEM attributes developed for use in STEM engagement interventions for children and young people. A snowball sample of self-identified STEM employees was gathered (n=217), with the majority of respondents from the North East of England (54). Using an online survey participants named up to six personal attributes and were asked to rate how well the 16 STEM attributes described them. Thematic analysis identified 19 different themes with soft skills contributing 68 of the terms provided. This research provides a clear indication that soft skills are valued by established employees in their work. It also indicates that there is merit in looking beyond subject knowledge to frame engineering education and engagement activities. The 16 STEM Attributes in the STEM engagement interventions were found to realistically represent the attributes of those working in STEM. An attributes based approach to engagement could help children and young people to identify the skills that they have (or could develop), or support students with employability by enabling them to elucidate the value of their own skills to the employer.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Funding information: This study was supported by the Reece Foundation and Northumbria University.; Frontiers in Education 2022: Grand Challenges in Engineering Education; Uppsala, Swede; 08-11 Oct 2022 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | soft skills, attributes, STEM professional, STEM engagement |
| Subjects: | X900 Others in Education |
| Department: | Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Computer and Information Sciences Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | John Coen |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Aug 2022 13:15 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Dec 2022 12:15 |
| URI: | https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/49905 |
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