STEM education: girls are falling further behind

Munich, 08 May 2023

Education in STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – remains a cause for concern. The 2023 STEM Proficiency Study, published by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering and the Joachim Herz Foundation, shows considerably lower achievements for girls and recent child migrants. Motivation can be drawn from the finding that universities and their STEM study programmes are very popular with foreign students. 

According to the 2023 STEM Proficiency Study, the gender gap in mathematics achievement has widened considerably in the past ten years: ten-year-old boys are around 15 school weeks ahead of girls in terms of achievements. In addition, women are still vastly under-represented in STEM occupations requiring apprenticeships or other formal training as well as in programmes in STEM subjects that combine study and work experience. That said, the percentage of female graduates of traditional STEM courses rose slightly to 31 per cent.

“We shouldn’t tolerate a situation where many girls are opting out of STEM education at an early stage, if for no other reason than the skills shortage that exists. The STEM sector is seen by many, often unconsciously and unintentionally, as more of a male domain. Many girls have this perspective, which is why schoolgirls often feel less drawn to STEM subjects than other subjects. This feeling also carries through to their elective choice in the senior classes and, subsequently, to their choice of field of study or apprenticeship. Efforts should be made to overcome these powerful gender stereotypes.  Many more positive female role models are needed. The achievement gap between boys and girls at the end of primary school is very hard to close. To prevent this gap from opening up, early education and primary school teachers and learning support staff should gear teaching more towards girls’ interests and make them aware of the relevance of STEM subjects to society,” said Olaf Köller, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) and study lead on the STEM Proficiency Study.

Achievements of recent migrant children lag far behind – Germany a popular location to study

Forced migration in 2015 and 2022 meant that the numbers of schoolchildren in Germany with a migrant background has increased greatly. Their successful integration into the education system is important. However, the 2023 STEM Proficiency Study shows that this has not been achieved: compared with children who do not come from a migrant background, recent immigrants are around one and a half years behind in mathematics at the end of fourth class (ten years of age).

In the coming years many employees will leave the German labour market due to demographic change. Immigration makes it possible to fill the gaps – which makes steering first-generation children and young people in the immigrant population towards STEM subjects all the more important. On a positive note, STEM courses at German universities are very popular with foreign students: the number of foreign STEM students enrolling has risen by around ten per cent compared with the previous year according to the 2023 STEM Proficiency Study.

“Germany is still known for its engineering prowess and this reputation attracts students to the country. The fact that so many people from all over the world come here to study STEM subjects should motivate us to further develop STEM education. Ultimately, this is what lays the groundwork for Germany as an innovation hub. STEM knowledge goes into the development of ideas and technologies in Germany to tackle the major challenges of our time – climate change, energy supply, scarcity of resources,” said acatech President Jan Wörner.

Shortage of teaching staff: falling numbers in STEM teacher training courses is alarming

Having the teaching staff is essential to improving STEM education in Germany. However, the shortage of teaching staff is set to worsen: in 2021 the nationwide intake into STEM teacher training courses was twelve per cent lower than in 2020; in fact, in the computer sciences 23 per cent fewer students enrolled. According to analyses conducted as part of the STEM Proficiency Study, there is a shortfall of between 40,000 and 100,000 teachers.

Plus, fresh impetus is needed in the training of STEM teachers as well, as Sabine Kunst, Chairwoman of the Board of the Joachim Herz Foundation, pointed out. “Trainee and qualified teachers of STEM subjects must be trained and receive continuing training to enable them to teach their subject matter in a way that is up-to-date and exciting and also makes use of innovative digital teaching and learning concepts, thereby instilling an abiding interest in STEM subjects among young people. The recent developments surrounding the use of artificial intelligence creates an added sense of urgency.”