Parents have the biggest influence on kids’ interest in STEM

We’ve been reading through research on how kids decide to engage in STEM — and one of the big lessons is the role that parents and the home environment have in encouraging a passion for STEM.

A study commissioned by Microsoft, run by the research firm Harris Interactive, found that parents have a huge interest in STEM education for their children, to make sure they have many opportunities as they grow up. And it found that children are heavily influenced by their parents when it comes to learning about STEM and pursuing it in school and out.

As one student reflected:
“Parents can be more hands on and supportive in teaching their children outside of school to help reinforce what is learned in school. Schools should also have a lot more hands on and visual learning rather than always reading from the textbook. For example, instead of reading about photosynthesis take the students outside and show them photosynthesis.”

The other big takeaway from this research: the kids didn’t feel they were prepared at early ages for STEM Work.

“Students that felt they were only somewhat or not at all prepared in K–12 for STEM courses are more likely to have decided to pursue a STEM degree in college (26% vs. 16% students who were extremely/very well-prepared).