To explore the differential impact of job automation for different groups of primary and secondary school students, an analysis of variance was conducted using survey data on the occupational aspirations of British school students (aged 7-18) and probability statistics derived from a model of job automation. Results indicated that students aged…

This study investigated the perception of role model attributes of women and men sport professors, how these attributes influence the choice of academic role models, and how such role models affect career objectives. The study draws on social cognitive (career) theory. Data were collected with a quantitative online survey (N = 792) targeted at…

Background: Individuals pursue teaching careers for numerous reasons, such as for instrumental or prosocial purposes. Aims: This study examined the personal (instrumental motivation) and social (prosocial motivation) utility of teaching as predictors of teaching quality in terms of clarity of instruction, classroom management, and cognitive…

In the context of falling recruitment to Initial Teacher Education programmes in the UK, this article focuses on motivators and demotivators affecting undergraduate students' attitudes towards training as a teacher and considers these under the broad headings of altruistic (such as wanting to share a love of the subject and working with young…

The transition of early career researchers into academic posts is understood to be a crucial career step and marks a point at which representation of women declines significantly. The research adopts a participatory qualitative research methodology through career narrative interviews and group discussions with women engineers recently appointed…

Brexit, Britain's referendum to leave the European Union (EU), provided the backdrop for this study, although how or even if it will be implemented is uncertain. Most UK voters supported leaving the EU, yet an overwhelming majority of young people voted to remain. In an environment of economic and labor market ambiguity, we sampled 304 UK…

The journey to achieve gender diversity in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] subjects appears to be a slow one. According to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admission Service) data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, just 35 per cent of STEM students in higher education in the UK [United Kingdom] are women (STEM…

Background: The work forms part of a study conducted in the UK at the time of the "Principia" Mission, in which the British astronaut, Tim Peake, went to the International Space Station. Purpose: This paper describes the development and use of an on-line instrument to measure young people's attitudes to STEM subjects and to human…

Fewer than 15% of primary school teachers in both Germany and the UK are male. With the on-going international debate about educational performance highlighting the widening gender achievement gap between girl and boy pupils, the demand for more male teachers has become prevalent in educational discourse. Concerns have frequently been raised about…

This report looks at the scale of the gender pay gap between male and female graduates and the factors that may influence this. It finds the overall graduate gender pay gap is not wholly accounted for by subject of study, type of university attended, prior attainment, social background or ethnicity. It also explores differences in approaches and…

Despite the wealth of literature on academic work, roles and identities, the meaning of being an academic often does not go beyond such pre-defined and separate roles of teacher, researcher, academic, professional and manager. Consequently, our understanding of academic work is limited. This article explores the holistic meaning of being an…

Digital skills will have a crucial role to play in the United Kingdom's (UK's) economy beyond the pandemic, helping to drive growth, productivity and innovation across the rest of the economy whilst building on the UK's status as a world-leader in digital tech. Our research looks at the future of digital skills, based on new large scale surveys of…

This study develops a general method for modeling changes in response to items relating to students perceptions of personal finance and financial products. The new method is illustrated to analyze data from a sample of 1,250 students aged 16-18 who participated in a financial capability education study in the UK. We demonstrate how a quantitative…

The concept of science capital has a growing influence in science education research for understanding young people's science trajectories. Popularised in the UK, this paper aims to extend and evaluate the applicability of science capital in the context of China by drawing on PISA2015. More specifically, we make use of existing items in the…

Tackling the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills shortage is an ongoing challenge for governments and policymakers worldwide. While the last decade has seen an increase in student enrolment into STEM degree courses in the UK, the gender gap remains a persistent issue in academia. In order to understand the causes…