Evaluating how universities engage school students with science - A model based on the analysis of the literature

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Aldword

Annual declines in student uptake of university-level science courses, especially physics, have prompted universities and employers to expand science outreach initiatives such as guest lectures and summer schools. The paper analyzes diverse literature to build a practical model of school-student engagement, incorporating student life stages, influences on career decisions, and resource availability. It also summarizes research on widening participation and provides easy-to-use guidelines for outreach programmes under constrained budgets, time, and staff.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The problem

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W Evaluating how universities engage school students with science A model based on the analysis of the literature B J Cridge & A G Cridge University of Otago Every year fewer students are electing to take university level science courses, particularly physics. This situation has led universities and employers to try and encourage more students into science subjects through the development of numerous science outreach initiatives such as guest lectures and summer schools. Much of this work is of an ad-hoc nature, with little understanding of the underlying motivations and conditions that guide students’ subject selection. Therefore, we have analysed a range of literature sources to develop a simple model for school student engagement that can help guide university-initiated science outreach programmes. This model takes into account factors such as the different life stages of the student, the myriad influences that affect career decisions, and resource availability. As part of this work we also present an overview of the research around increasing progression into higher education. As experienced practitioners and researchers in science outreach we have developed an easy-to-use set of guidelines that are applicable in the real-world situation of limited budgets, time and staff resources. Keywords: outreach, widening participation, universities, science, marketing, STEM Introduction Universities around the world invest heavily in student recruitment. Often marketing initiatives are run under multiple budget headings including recruitment, outreach, equity and diversity programmes. Overlap in purpose is common, with almost all of these initiatives aiming, ultimately, to increase student participation. However, often there is disparity between the approaches to student recruitment with some areas favouring a masstarget approach and others a personal one-on-one lifetime intervention. In this paper we discuss a model for student recruitment that looks at these approaches and developsa framework of what interventions are most appropriate and when they should be carried out. We describe the literature on factors that influence student decision-making concerning career choice and university attendance. We then bring this disparate information together in a simple model that can be applied across the marketing,recruitment and equity teams to allow them to work together towards a common goal, viz. increasing student participation at the tertiary level. In this study we use literature from science 34 Evaluating how universities engage school students with science B J Cridge & A G Cridge vol. 57, no. 1, 2015 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W and science education as these are areas most familiar to the authors, however this does not preclude the results from being used in other discipline areas. The problem The number of students studying a science is decreasing worldwide. This trend is especially prevalent in OECD countries whose governments and universities are expressing concerns over the decreasing numbers of students that are interested in pursuing scientific careers. In the US the numbers of students expressing an interest in science throughout their school career has been decreasing year on year. International comparisons suggest that American students are falling behind their international counterparts; an effect that is concerning at the tertiary education and governmental level (Stake & Nickens, 2005).This effect is particularly noted within the physical sciences where university enrolment growth has been static or experiencing minimal growth, while enrolment in the biological sciences or nonscience courses grows rapidly (Stake & Nickens, 2005; Mulvey & Nicholson, 2012). This trend is at odds with international government policies that are looking to science and technology as economic saviours (Business Roundtable, 2005; Hi

FAQs

Why are universities and employers increasing science outreach initiatives?

Because fewer students are electing to take university-level science courses, particularly physics, leading universities and employers to encourage more students into science through outreach initiatives.

What is the purpose of the model developed in the paper?

To provide a simple, usable framework for understanding and guiding school-student engagement with science outreach programmes.

Which factors does the model consider for student engagement and career decisions?

It accounts for different student life stages, the influences that affect career decisions, and resource availability, and it links this with research on progressing into higher education.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Aldword