About the Project

Despite the best efforts and hard work of educators, many young people in the UK simply do not see science or engineering as being ‘for them’. 

The UK faces real challenges in developing the skills necessary to prepare young people for future employment in scientific or technical roles. 

Despite significant investment and effort we still see that science and engineering are fields that struggle with diversity. This lack of identification with STEM subjects can start at a young age and represents a slippery slope that will lead to fewer and fewer individuals progressing to further education and careers in these exciting subjects. 

We feel strongly that young people from all walks of life should be supported to engage and aspire to subjects regardless of whether they match outdated views of what a scientist or engineer ‘should look like’. 

The Engineering Capital Research Project is working with UK secondary schools to investigate what influences young people to engage with science and engineering. In particular for engineering we wish to investigate what characteristics young people are bringing with them into their education to help bolster their engagement, identification, and aspiration. Since engineering features so infrequently in the UK national curricula it is vital to understand what supportive characteristics young people develop outside the classroom that then bolster their engagement in a school setting. 

These characteristics are assets, or ‘capital’, that support young people to access the culture of science and engineering. By better understanding who has this capital we can better understand how to build it in others to support their right to access these subjects for themselves.