C3220495 - The Socio-Economic Future Of Zimbabwe - Economics Assignment Help

Assignment Task

Proposed Abstract

The socio-economic future of Zimbabwe and its regional neighbours lies in the region’s ability to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education as the main drivers of economic development. The ability to use STEM related knowledge innovatively, depends upon an adequately capacitated and scientifically literate population. The provision of a sound STEM education in all institutions of learning is therefore imperative. According to Tanenbaum, the complexities of today's world require all people to be equipped with a new set of core knowledge and skills to solve difficult problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of the information they receive from varied print and, increasingly, digital media. The learning and doing of STEM helps develop these skills and prepare students for a workforce where success results not just from what one knows, but what one is able to do with that knowledge (Tanenbaum, 2016). Thus, a strong STEM education is becoming increasingly recognized as a key driver of opportunity, and data shows that the need for STEM knowledge and skills will grow and continue into the foreseeable future. Those graduates who have practical and relevant STEM precepts embedded in their educational experiences will be in high demand in all job sectors(Tanenbaum, 2016).This proposed research gives the background and status of STEM education in Zimbabwe. A Mixed method design has been chosen for the study. This approach will provide a depth and breadth to the enquiry, ensuring that the research questions are answered comprehensively and effectively.
Chapter 3. Research Methods

3.1 Introduction

Despite significant improvements in recent decades, education is not universally available and gender inequalities persist. A major concern in many countries is not only limited numbers of girls going to school but also limited educational pathways for those that step into the classroom. This includes, more specifically, how to address the lower participation and learning achievement of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. STEM underpins the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and STEM education can provide learners with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours required for inclusive and sustainable societies(UNESCO. Director-General, 2017). Leaving out girls and women in STEM education and careers is a loss for all(Milgram, 2011). 
President Obama once commented on this issue when he stated that, “One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math, science, and engineering. We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent … not being encouraged the way they need to” (Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2013, opening quote). In effect, the lack of female involvement in STEM fields has resulted in the failure to tap into society’s full potential in these areas. 
3.2 Purpose Statement and Research Questions

This research intends to look at the factors that hinder or facilitate girls’ and women’s participation, achievement and continuation in STEM education, and what could be done by the education sector in Zimbabwe to promote girls’ and women’s interest in, and engagement with, STEM. Previous research into thearea focused on limited scopes which does not address the whole issue.The goalof this initiative is improvement of student attitudes towards STEMamong female student populations. The author intends to measure attitudinal dimensions, across all STEM subjects.The result of this research is to fill gaps in knowledge in this area while attempting to answer thequestions of why there are so few women in STEM.

3.3 Research Questions

To improve the usefulness of research in this area, this study is seeking to pursue research gaps in STEM education in Zimbabwe since there is a need: -
• To find outdirectly from female students abouttheir aspirationsand to speak to women who have traversed the STEM journey to proffer their views which have not been sought so far.
• To provide recommendations to the minister of education, report on pedagogies and practices that enhances the success of girls in STEM education.
• Providerecommendationsto educators on useful strategies for supporting girls in STEM.
 The research questions guiding this study are framed as: -
(1) What do girls currently enrolled in secondary Schools in Zimbabwe report are their career aspirations post school age?
(2) What are the attitudes of female students currently enrolled in secondary Schools in Zimbabwe towardsSTEM?
(3) What are the opportunities and challenges for young women who are on a STEM education pathway in Zimbabwe Secondary Schools?
(4) What do women who are in STEM careers currently in Zimbabwe report assisted or hindered their career trajectories? 
For the purpose of this study, from the questions above, I am going to be interacting with young people and women in STEM careers on the understanding of the concept of STEM itself, the importance of science, technology, engineering and math on our society and their ability to know well and deeply the concept side of those fields including  their willingness to take risks and learn something new. I strongly think these must be from a teenager’s perspective not us. The data collection of this study will be accomplished with printed surveys. Invitations will be distributed to the potential participants of the 15 schools totalling 2250 pupils chosen through snail post, email, face to face requests and science and mathematics teachers’ assistance. This will make sure that all the participants volunteer to take part in and to respond to the questionnaires. At the beginning of the surveys, the students will be informed of the aim of this study and the purposes of the questionnaires. In the questionnaires, perspectives and confidence about attitudes towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, engagement and career aspirations among high school students will be explored. After the questionnaires, I will then interview women who have made it in STEM.

3.4 The significance of the Study

This study will add knowledge in this area of research and intends to address the issue of the lack of a significant number of women in STEM. This is a rapidly growing field and many organizations arelooking to hire women yet cannot find many qualified applicants. Not only does this hurt the companies as it shrinks their pool of qualified candidates, but it hurts women as well because itdisqualifies them from a potentially great and rewarding career.

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