All around the world nowadays, the future of STEAM seems to be brighter than ever. More and more people are realizing the significance of STEAM’s influence on the future of all of human society. STEAM education is making its presence felt in classrooms not only for college students, but also for kids from 8 to 12 years old.
Given its promising future, there is a massive gender imbalance in the STEAM fields. According to research, the number of women in such jobs generally hovers between 10 and 30 percent. However, one thing that just caught our attention is the increasing number of people encouraging girls to be involved in STEAM and making it part of girls’ education.
Why does STEAM matter to girls’ education?
So why is it so important that STEAM become a part of girls’ education? STEAM education at an early age can really help both boys and girls develop a deep and long-lasting interest in such subjects and programs, paving their way to greater success in future STEAM-related fields.
And STEAM jobs are some of the highest paid jobs in the world. STEAM education prepares girls to be more competitive in more intensive learning programs and in the job market even further down the road. STEAM education contributes to closing the gender gap. It sets examples and builds role models for girls to look up to when they pursue a career in the industry.
How can parents help introduce girls to STEAM?
A study shows that early acquisition of knowledge about the world has a relationship to later science success, so parents truly play an important role in introducing girls to STEAM as early as possible. There are many ways for parents to start STEAM education at home. For example, one of the most popular and effective methods is using educational toys, such as coding robots.
Makeblock, as a leading STEAM-education-solution provider, has developed a series of educational toys that aims to help children get their hands on STEAM-related subjects, such as coding and hardware product development, in an entertaining way. Products like Codey Rocky, mBot, and the Neuron Kits have received recognition from both educators and parents for helping kids start learning STEAM and providing more innovative ways to spend quality family time.
There is still a long way to go when it comes to encouraging girls to power the STEAM future, but we are already seeing change as more and more girls get involved.