Student Ambassador STEM outreach Activity: lessons from the USA Dr Clare Gartland

A Social Justice issue? Ambassador schemes across UK HEIs – the public face of universities The importance of CEIAG in an increasingly segregated and marketised education system Skills shortage – available jobs in STEM (local, national and international) Jobs available at different entry points Wage premium associated with STEM careers

Organisation of ambassador outreach activity Multiple purposes Funding issues - funding bodies ‘want a clean story’ Active engagement of academics and post graduate students and focus on subject specific pedagogies Focus on public engagement and promoting science literacy ‘students are interested in science communication … funding agencies are focused on public engagement’ (Academic)

Targeting practices University based sustained activity with ‘a select few’ vs working inclusively with whole class groups in schools ‘Aspirations form part of the ongoing social reproduction of privilege/disadvantage …schools (and careers services) are particularly important for disadvantaged children in that they can potentially provide a fairer distribution of cultural and social capital an opportunities for supporting, developing and informing children’s interests’ (Archer et al. 2013). ‘My identity has a huge impact and is extremely important … I think of this as being so important for that aspect of relatability and bridging that gap between who to expect to be- what role you expect to have’ (Ambassador).

Pedagogies Pedagogy/ subject specific pedagogies were prioritised in the planning of outreach activity, a focus often lacking in UK HE outreach activity focused on recruitment Where ambassadors were working with large groups managing the behaviour of pupils this could undermine identification and create social distance

Ambassadors Communication skills, employability and subject knowledge Development of social networks both for career progression and peer support Supporting retention achievement and progression of undergraduate students Providing teaching experience for postgraduate students interested in progressing into an academic or teaching career

References Gartland, C. (2016) Student Ambassadors and STEM Outreach: A study of practices in the USA. Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship Report. http://www.wcmt.org.uk/sites/default/files/report- documents/Gartland%20C%20Report%202015%20Final.pdf Gartland, C. (2015) Student ambassadors: ‘role models’, learning practices and identities. Peer reviewed. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 36 (8) 1192- 1211 Gartland, C. (2014) STEM Strategies: Student Ambassadors and Equality in HE. Trentham Books and IOE Press

Discussion Can student ambassadors ‘interrupt dominant identity patterns of (dis)identification’ (Archer et al, 2010) in STEM and other subject areas? There is currently little incentive for academics to be involved in outreach activity. Could incentives for academics be introduced to support increased subject specific outreach within academic departments? Individual institutions do not have the financial resources to provide sustained activity for wide audiences of pupils from diverse backgrounds. One off activity with pupils in schools may not be valuable in its own, could this form part of a more coherent approach to schools if coordinated across institutions and regions? How could this be developed? Could a cross institutional approach be developed to sharing best practice? How could this work?