Recent studies and media articles draw attention to gender imbalances in the music industry, both locally in Australia and globally. In Australia, there have been calls to overhaul tertiary music programmes to support and encourage female students into careers such as sound production, screen composition and contemporary music performance, where…

The workplace for early-career researchers (ECRs) in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) is highly competitive; ECRs urgently need to publish and attract funding to secure their next job. The literature suggests this environment is more difficult for women than for men. They start the postdoctoral period in equal…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach programs aim to increase participation in STEM fields. However, the impact of these programs is rarely measured due to inherent difficulties in conducting long-term evaluations. This article presents a decadal evaluation of the Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC), an Australian…

Students, the public, and government expect university graduates to find meaningful employment and contribute to the economic and social prosperity of society. Universities have a responsibility to support students to develop their career management skills. An assessed career research module was embedded into a second-year human physiology subject…

Many countries face mathematics and science teacher shortages. There is a need for greater knowledge about eligible individuals' potential interest to teach and career motivations. We explored career motivations and interest in a teaching career, among 470 tertiary mathematics and science students from four Australian universities. Students with…

Labour market trends and the economic impacts of COVID-19 are elevating the importance of knowledge as a factor of production whilst concurrently eroding traditional forms of employment. Mindful of the implications for higher education, this study approached employability development as 'the ability to find, create and sustain meaningful work…

Rapid advances in technology have resulted in a worldwide drive to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforces to remain internationally competitive and ensure economic prosperity. Despite this, there is ongoing debate about the best strategies for promoting STEM literacy and building national STEM competencies.…

This study investigated why university students choose to major in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine/health (STEM(M)) disciplines, and how their study and career-related confidence compares with that of their peers. The study engaged 12,576 students enrolled at Australian universities. The findings suggest that STEM(M)…

In contemporary Australia, an informed citizenry and a workforce with strong STEM-related skills are increasingly taken for granted. Yet it has also been well-established that females are underrepresented in STEM-related fields. In this article, Helen Forgasz and Gilah Leder focus on the M in STEM, that is, mathematics, and with a particular…

Few studies in science education have examined how place-based experiences influence students' STEM career aspirations. Rural school students' lived experiences of place and non-traditional STEM career aspirations such as farming are scarcely considered in dominant narratives around science aspirations and career pathways. Adopting a critical…

Skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are promoted by the Australian government as pivotal for Australia's economic prosperity. Research on equity groups suggests that group membership is associated with several factors linked to 'leakage' from the STEM pipeline of school, university and transition to work. In this…

This study explored how specific inquiry-related learning activities were related to student enjoyment of learning science and intended choice of future STEM career. Analysis of Taiwan and Australia PISA 2015 data revealed that three activities, namely, "debating and planning experiments, drawing conclusions and doing hands-on experiments,…

Concerns are being raised about the increasing demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates exceeding supply. Early adolescence is an especially critical time when our youth are forming beliefs about themselves as learners, along with establishing career related goals. In this qualitative research, we considered the…

If graduates from STEMM -- science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical sciences -- are to successfully navigate the labour market, they need diverse capabilities alongside self- and career awareness. The focus of this study was STEMM students' perceptions of self, career and employability. The study asked over 2,000 commencing…

Research into Australian students' science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) engagement has highlighted that there are comparably fewer women enrolling in STEM programs and working in STEM industries. In Australia, males make up 84% of the total population with STEM qualifications, for example, a report in 2015 found only 13% of all…