The impact of an outreach activity on girls' attitudes towards STEM: An Irish primary school case study

Patrick Johnson
University of Limerick, Ireland
Cornelia Connolly
University of Galway, Ireland; Lero Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Software Research
Kevin Johnson
University of Limerick, Ireland
Mary Fitzpatrick
University of Galway, Ireland
Derek T. O'Keeffe
University of Galway, Ireland; Lero Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Software Research

Research suggests that children as young as 6 years old could begin to develop a negative attitude towards the STEM disciplines and this results in disengagement and loss of interest in these areas, particularly for girls. Finding ways to address this apparent lack of interest among young students is critical as reports highlight a lack of students coming through the STEM 'pipeline' and pursuing careers in STEM. Our investigative study explored the impact of utilising a STEM outreach activity in an attempt to ascertain its impact on primary school girls' attitudes towards STEM in Ireland. A survey was used to collect data on the students' attitudes toward STEM prior to engaging with the outreach activity and then immediately upon completing the activity. Results reveal that the attitude of the students was initially positive towards STEM and remained so for the duration of the outreach activity, although there was a significant decline in their attitude towards science. This research highlights valuable insights regarding the potential benefits to students of engaging in outreach activities from an early age but also alludes to the risk of overshadowing of individual disciplines that can occur when analysing the disciplines as a combined 'meta-discipline'.
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Authors: Dr Patrick Johnson (corresponding author) is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. His current research interests focus on the topics of mathematics teacher education, problem solving and STEM outreach. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-0260 Email: patrick.johnson@ul.ie Professor Cornelia Connolly is a Computer Engineer and Professor at the School of Education, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland. Her research is multi-disciplinary by nature, drawing from related disciplines of education, computing and technology, and includes the Learning Engineering Research Group. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9778-5569 Email: cornelia.connolly@universityofgalway.ie Dr Kevin Johnson is a Senior AV Technician in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in the University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. His research interests are varied and include pedagogic support, simulation, AV technology, eLearning and drone engagement. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2116-8078 Web: https://www.ul.ie/nursing-midwifery/dr-kevin-johnson Email: kevin.johnson@ul.ie Ms Mary Fitzpatrick holds a first-class honours degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Galway, Galway, Ireland and is a researcher in the HIVE laboratory where she works on STEM outreach projects. Email: maryfitzpatricktralee@gmail.com Professor Derek O'Keeffe holds dual first-class honours degrees and doctorates in Engineering and Medicine. He is a Consultant Physician at University Hospital Galway and Professor of Medical Device Technology at the University of Galway, Galway, Ireland. He is director of the Health Innovation via Engineering (HIVE) laboratory, which focuses on STEM research and outreach. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8501-2382 Email: derek.t.okeeffe@universityofgalway.ie Please cite as: Johnson, P., Connolly, C., Johnson, K., Fitzpatrick, M. & O'Keeffe, D. T. (2025). The impact of an outreach activity on girls' attitudes towards STEM: An Irish primary school case study. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 220-236. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/johnson.pdf