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Black and Minority Ethnic Interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)

A key priority for Science & Society is to encourage more participation from under-represented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The Government recognises that certain ethnic groups are under-represented in the scientific workforce and is committed to tackling this at all levels.

The minority ethnic population in the UK has increased significantly over recent years, from only 1 million three decades ago to 4.6 million in 2005 and represents 7.9% of the total population of the UK. However, numbers in SET careers remain very low.  Research such as the Institute of Employment Research (Warwick) report for the Royal Society (RS) “Science Engineering and Technology and the UK’s Ethnic Minority Population” suggests that the picture is complex.

OSI, in discussion with key STEM education organisations such as SETNET, the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), Association of Science Educators (ASE), Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Science Council have identified that the groups particularly under-represented in STEM education appear to be Afro-Caribbean boys (and girls, albeit to a lesser extent) and Bangladeshi/Pakistani girls (and boys, but again to a lesser extent).

OSI have set aside a figure of £1.5 million over the three years 2005/06 - 2007/08 to fund a programme which aims to engage certain Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) schoolchildren in STEM.

Launched during science week in 2006 the programme enables schools with a high-proportion of Afro-Caribbean children (with particular focus on boys) and Bangladeshi/Pakistani children (with particular focus on girls) to bid for funding that will be used for extra-curricular science learning activities.

Schools were invited to bid in to the money for 3-year projects with initial proposals to cover projects of 3 years, although 2nd and 3rd year funding is dependent on satisfactory evaluation of 1st and subsequent years, thus allowing funder or schools to withdraw if appropriate.

Materials from and case studies of projects will be collected to allow dissemination of “lessons learnt” and identification of “good practice”, as well as to provide examples of work which other schools can get inspiration from.

The programme is being managed and delivered via a Consortium comprising of SETNET, the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), Association of Science Educators (ASE), and Science Council, with other organisations participating as appropriate.

Further information about the STEM Access Grants and the individual projects can be found on the SETNET website, which can be accessed from the External Links on the right.