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RRI key focus: Science Education & Gender Equality
WBC-RRI.NET territory anchor on the future of education: STEM, Gender Equality and Green Innovations
Education is crucial for responsible research, scientific and innovative pursuits, as well as inclusivity. Through the WBC-RRI.NET anchor initiative, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MASA) and the National Center for the Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning (NCDIEL) are trying to enhance the science education in the country and to shape a more sustainable and equitable future.
In January 2023, more than 100 teachers and principals from over 25 secondary schools from North Macedonia took part in a workshop titled “The Future of Education: STEM Education, Gender Equality and Green Innovations in Vocational Education and Training”, focusing on the development of the Macedonian educational system. The workshop encouraged a discussion and exchange of experiences about the representation and motivation of women to participate in science and education with a focus on STEM disciplines, the role parents have in motivating the students to participate in STEM activities, as well as the current gender balance in these STEM disciplines. Teachers were motivated to express their opinion from professional, but also personal point of view. In this manner, the participants in the workshop were encouraged to discuss the teacher-parent-student relationship, but also the parent-student relationship for those teachers who are parents.The future of education should be based on the development of STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), gender equality and development of green competences among the young population.
The future of education should be based on the development of STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), gender equality and development of green competences among the young population.
Workshop “The Future of Education: STEM Education, Gender Equality and Green Innovations in Vocational Education and Training”, January 2023
Teachers and parents’ inclusion in STEM and gender balance initiatives
Through the WBC-RRI.NET anchor initiative, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MASA) and the National Center for the Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning (NCDIEL) are trying to face the “brain drain” in North Macedonia and encourage much greater interest among students for their involvement in science, responsible research and in the development of innovations.
For this purpose, a quantitative survey was meticulously developed to obtain firsthand perspectives from the educators directly engaged in the student’s process of learning. The target group are teachers and parents of children at any level of the educational system or recently employed.
Some of the questions included in the survey are:
- Whether there is interest and motivation among students, girls specifically, to study STEM subjects, and how can their interest in these subjects be improved
- Whether there is a balance or barriers between the participation of girls and boys in STEM?
- Do parents influence their children’s decision to opt for STEM education and how do they most often influence?
- Should there be cooperation between teachers, students and parents in guiding students in choosing their future profession and how this cooperation can be realised?
The conclusions drawn from the data analysis serve as guidance for motivating students in the respective directions, help in developing further activities and the evolution of the current ones, as well as encourage collaboration between students, parents and teachers in terms of following gender equality issues.