Member Article

60% of Parents Don’t Know What STEM in Education Means

STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – are currently considered to be the core of a solid education, and yet 60% of parents don’t understand what the acronym stands for. Rather worryingly, 65.4% of those who didn’t know what STEM meant, were women. In spite of this, more than two thirds (68%) of parents think that proficiency in tech is as necessary a life skill as budgeting or learning to cook.

These figures, collated in a study by Wonder Workshop, developers of the Dot and Dash robotic programming system, seem to show that although parents do appear to acknowledge the importance of a technical education, engagement is another matter entirely.

Two thirds (68.7%) of parents of children aged 6 to 12 surveyed, said that their children were taught technology or coding at school. However, only just over half (57.6%) agreed that they should extend this learning experience by encouraging their kids to play with STEM toys at home, while 42% said that their kids have STEM toys but they (the parents) sometimes don’t understand how to use them.

One thing that the overwhelming majority (75.5%) of parents agreed on was that children’s screen or computer time should be limited, but the extent of that limitation was up for debate:

• 29.7% of parents allowed their children to spend 6-10 hours using tech per week
• A quarter (24.6%) thought 11-15 hours of tech time was appropriate
• While 1-5 hours weekly was the preferred length of tech time by 15.3% of parents

Managing Director of Wonder Workshop Germany, Christopher Cederskog commented: ’When asked to value learning to code versus learning a new language, a massive 63.7% of parents opted in favour of the language.

‘What most adults don’t understand – but thankfully, most kids and schools do – is that learning to code is actually learning a new language in its own right. Only, unlike French or German, it can be applied to an absolutely enormous array of careers.

‘Whether you’re aware of it or not, coding is responsible for the smooth running of most aspects of our lives these days, from the phones we use to the products we buy, making it one of the most highly desired qualifications of the moment. Even if kids don’t go onto a career that uses coding, the discipline teaches problem solving and logic which are vital skills.

‘STEM subjects are becoming increasingly important in international educational systems. However, I believe that all learning should be fun, and STEM toys can make a real difference to a child’s learning experience.’

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Anderson .