Dr. Billy Wong (Associate Professor in Widening Participation, University of Reading) has published a research article, titled ‘End of the road? The career intentions of under-represented STEM students in higher education’ in the International Journal of STEM Education. The article explores the career intentions of STEM degree students from underrepresented backgrounds, and its underpinning research was part of his ‘Supporting the Identity Development of Underrepresented Students’ (SIDUS) project, funded by (and co-authored with colleagues from) Imperial College London.
The article draws on 110 in-depth interviews and discusses three career intentions of STEM undergraduates through a metaphor journey of ‘driving into a STEM future’, ‘end of the STEM road’ and ‘A crossroads in STEM’. The paper warns that the STEM education pipeline is far from secured or equitable, despite apparent progress in participation and representation, with a reminder that we ought to be wary that those who exit the STEM pipeline are not ‘forced off the road’ by social inequalities and exclusions.
The article is written with Tiffany Chiu, Orla Murray and Jo Horsburgh.
For more information on Dr. Wong’s research, visit his staff profile page here. You can also follow him on Twitter here.
Reference
Wong, B., Chiu, Y.L.T., Murray, O.M., & Horsburgh, J. (2022). End of the road? The career intentions of underrepresented STEM students in higher education. International Journal of STEM Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00366-8