Search results

The social aspects of nature of science (NOS) have become more eminent but entrepreneurial perspectives of NOS continue to be neglected. Entrepreneurship is relevant to NOS and science education due to its role in scientific enterprises and its importance as a 21st-century skill required in all subjects, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. Due to the impact of initial teacher education (ITE) and the science curriculum on Initial Science Teachers' (ISTs) understanding, the paper aims to explore the impact of including entrepreneurship in NOS with ISTs.

The qualitative study investigated the changes in three ISTs by examining their understanding of entrepreneurship within NOS and their perspectives on the inclusion of entrepreneurship in the science curriculum following an intervention. The results were analysed through thematic and network analysis (NA).

The results indicated that following an intervention, ISTs developed a more holistic understanding of entrepreneurship in NOS and could see the benefits and rationale for including entrepreneurship in the science curriculum. However, certain concerns remained.

Although entrepreneurship may contribute to NOS by promoting scientific development, enhancing interest in science and developing a holistic understanding of science, a thorough review of the relevant research literature suggests that studies investigating entrepreneurship in NOS are rare. The current paper fills this gap by exploring Irish ISTs' perspectives on positing entrepreneurship in NOS. The study suggests conducting further research on the integration of entrepreneurship in the science curriculum and its impact on ITE.

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether or not females believe they associate with the culture of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by investigating the perceptions of female students currently enroled in STEM courses.

The paper presents data from a survey on female STEM students’ “Perspectives of women in STEM”, “Parents’ Science qualification”, “Supports in their STEM Course” and their “Science identify” through a social capital lens. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyse the data.

The main findings were that female STEM undergraduates believe social bias, balancing work and family life and lack of role models are the main cause of less women in STEM professions and leadership positions. There were statistically significant differences between how male and female students identified with certain traits, with less females claiming to be intelligent and know about latest discoveries than males.

To eradicate stereotypical views of scientists, it is recommended that Irish higher-education institutions introduce initiatives to increase the socialisation of STEM females within female networks and develop female students’ self-awareness of their own capabilities. The expansion of STEM networks could act as a means to facilitate female students adopting positive science identities, increasing their science capital.

In Ireland, there is a paucity of literature relating to females’ experience of STEM in higher education. This paper provides evidence that despite their engagement with STEM, female undergraduate students subscribe to the stereotypical image of the scientist. This study highlights the need to change the culture experienced by female STEM undergraduates in Ireland so as to improve the experiences and trajectories of women in higher education.