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Discussion of the week (Primary): Diversity in Science

By Tim Bradbury posted 21-05-2021 15:46

  

Slight cheat this week, picking up on a fairly new post that I am particularly interested in and would love to see develop into a rich discussion. 

Diversity in science or indeed STEM is something I am particularly passionate about.  In this thread @Alison Ackroyd asks for help with ideas to show women in science, and challenge preconceptions about who can become a scientist.

Taking to young people about topics like diversity is vital when we consider social mobility, opportunities and career aspirations.  Encouraging children to be the best they can be, reassuring them that they can do whatever they want without the barriers of social constructs as long as they are willing to work for it. 

If you were to ask a 6 year old child to draw a picture of a scientist what do you think they would draw?...
You can join @Alison Ackroyd's discussion here
Thanks to @Kathryn Horan @Jo Montgomery and @Jenny Watson for your contributions so far.

If you have any suggestions regarding the wider topic of diversity and inclusion in STEM then please pop them in the comments below. 

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27-05-2021 18:17

We started this academic year asking children to draw a picture of 'What an engineer looked like'. It was very interesting to see - a few Bob the Builder type characters amongst others! Since then we have been challenging their thinking - meeting engineers (on Zoom) from a wide range of fields. The children have found it fascinating whilst also developing their knowledge and encouraging them to think more widely about the types of jobs available to everyone  - regardless of background/gender etc.. . I suspect a similar approach with scientists would be quite effective.