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Women who like ‘The X-Files’ more likely to work in STEM: study

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Women who like ‘The X-Files’ more likely to work in STEM: study

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News Article: Global News

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Parents of girls who they hope will grow up to work in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and math) should dust off their X-Files DVDs or cue up Netflix, because a new study has found that women who watched the sci-fi drama were 50 per cent more likely to work in STEM.
WATCH BELOW: The power of StemNeutral on breaking down barriers for women and girls
Conducted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and 21st Century Fox, the study verified the theory of "The Scully Effect," the belief that the influx of women in STEM jobs was a result of being exposed to the Dr. Dana Scully character, played by Gillian Anderson, on The X-Files.

"Scully was one of the first multidimensional female characters in a STEM field to be featured on a popular television show, and the first to play a leading role," the study notes. "She is known for her objectivity, skepticism, confidence and brilliance."

"In the world of entertainment media, where scientists are often portrayed as white men wearing white coats and working alone in labs, Scully stood out in the 1990s as the only female STEM character in a prominent, prime time television role."

The study polled more than 2,000 women over the age of 25 in order to ensure they were exposed to the original show or the current seasons, and were old enough to be in the post-university workforce. Not only did it find that half of the women polled were more likely to have worked in a STEM field, but 63 per cent of respondents also said that the Scully character increased their belief in the importance of STEM.
READ MORE: Women in STEM disproportionately placed in non-professional jobs: TD report
"That's really a societal norm shift," said Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute, in a statement.

In addition, 91 per cent of respondents said they believe Scully is a positive role model for girls and women; 63 per cent of women who work in STEM said she was their role model and that her character increased their confidence that they could excel in a male-dominated profession. The most frequently used words to describe her were "intelligent," "smart" and "strong."

"Characters' images and story lines in media shape our everyday lives in very profound ways," Di Nonno said. "In the case of 'The Scully Effect,' it shows that when, in media, we have non-traditional roles for women and girls, it helps them envision these pathways for themselves."
READ MORE: The gender pay gap is not a myth. Here are 6 common claims debunked
According to the 2011 National Household Survey, women accounted for only 39 per cent of all STEM university graduates in Canada.

Maybe it's time to start screening The X-Files in schools.

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Women who like 'The X-Files' more likely to work in STEM: study

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Parents of girls who they hope will grow up to work in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and math) should dust off their X-Files DVDs or cue up Netflix, because a new study has found that women who watched the sci-fi drama were 50 per cent more likely to work in STEM.

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Practise this week's vocabulary at home using Quizlet.

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Prism 4 unit 6 RW Careers Flashcards | Quizlet

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Start studying Prism 4 unit 6 RW Careers. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

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Video: TEDx What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn't just money. But it's not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.

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Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

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What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn't just money. But it's not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.

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The Top 10 Factors For On-The-Job Employee Happiness

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The Top 10 Factors For On-The-Job Employee Happiness

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Article: Forbes

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Employee engagement and happiness is definitely one of the topics du jour for modern management and the future of work. Plenty of studies have already (and continue to) come out that show how low employee engagement is around the world (only 13% of employees are engaged and 87% are not!). Low employee engagement numbers correlate and oftentimes directly cause decreased productivity, wasted resources, and an overall toxic environment that nobody wants to be a part of...and why should they be?

This is why it's important to understand what employees around the world value in their jobs. So what do employees actually want and what do they care about?

A Tinypulse survey from 2013 revealed that transparency was the #1 factor for employee engagement

A 2014 SAP survey found that compensation is the #1 factor that matters most to employees

Another survey by the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) conducted in 2013 also found that compensation and pay was the #1 factor contributing to job satisfaction

Several other studies have also emerged around what employees care about at work but the most recent one from Boston Consulting Group which surveyed over 200,000 people around the world is one of the most comprehensive. Unlike previous studies which may point to flexibility or salary as the top factor for job happiness, BCG found that the #1 factor for employee happiness on the job is get appreciated for their work!

The top 10 factors are:

BCG grouped their 26 factors (in their full report) in several categories and the top ones were "work environment" or "job content and opportunities." Perhaps what is more interesting is that contrary to some of the other studies which show compensation as the #1 factor for happiness, this report puts salary at #8. This reaffirms what I consistently see in organizations that I speak with. You can't pay someone a lot of money, treat them poorly, and expect them to do their jobs well just because they get a nice paycheck.

It's important to remember that the "balance of power" is shifting away (or at the very least is starting to) from organizations and towards employees. Today, we have a lot of choices to consider and several opportunities to evaluate when exploring how to make a living. Instead of going to work for a large established company that endless capital, people can now:

join a small growing startup

become a freelancer on sites like odesk or elance

drive for Uber or Lyft

create their own products to sell on sites like Etsy

raise money through crowd-funding on sites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter

and much more

The war for talent has never been greater so in a world where cash is no longer the #1 factor attracting employees to organizations, these organizations must focus on other factors to create a more desirable and engaging place to work. What do you think of these recent numbers? Are you shocked or surprised to see that compensation is #8?
Jacob Morgan is a futurist, best-selling author, and keynote speaker. You can get the first 30 pages of his book for free as well as weekly content on the future of work by subscribing to his newsletter.

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The Top 10 Factors For On-The-Job Employee Happiness

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Employee engagement and happiness is definitely one of the topics du jour for modern management and the future of work. Plenty of studies have already (and continue to) come out that show how low employee engagement is around the world (only 13% of employees are engaged and 87% are not!).

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Transcript: Compass (ABC) Over the last decade 23% of Australians have chosen to "downshift" to a simpler lifestyle on less income. Compass meets some people who have engaged in this quiet revolution to reject a frantic consumerist life.

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Hello and welcome to Compass. I'm Geraldine Doogue. Tonight a look at a shift in values that's having a profound impact on the lives of many ordinary Australians. It's called 'downshifting' or 'voluntary simplicity', where people choose to live on less income, to live more simply. A survey released last year by the Australia institute in Canberra indicates 23% of Australian adults have chosen to downshift in the last 10 years. That's almost a quarter of the population, and no, they're not just drop outs who've decided to quit mainstream society - it's a movement across the board, representing the full range of age, income and social background. Tonight we meet some downshifters, and academics who are studying these quiet revolutionaries who are rejecting a frantic consumerist lifestyle.
Clive Hamilton:

We've seen in the last decades of the 20th century what's often been called Turbo Capitalism or most advanced stage of consumer capitalism. When everything has been colonized by the market ...And downshifters are reacting against that... because these people are saying no, we've had enough. We want more fulfilment in our lives. We want the things that really count.

Narr:

Clive Hamilton Commissioned The Australia Institute Survey Into Downshifting. He Found 35% Of Downshifters Said Lack Of Time With Family Was Why They Decided To Change Their Lives. This Was By Far The Most Common Reason For Downshifting.

Clive Hamilton:

In Australia over the last decade or so we've had a tremendous national debate about time stress, about work and family. And I think there's a pretty broad recognition that overwork and absentee parents have caused a neglect of children. And a lot of parents feel very guilty about this. And some of them have decided that they don't want to do that any more. They don't want to miss out on their children growing up.

Narr: psychologist Jim McKnight has also done research into downshifting and the voluntary simplicity movement in Australia.

Jim McKnight:

Head Psychology Dept, Uni of Western Sydney

One of the main reasons for being downshifted is most people would report some time in their life where they suddenly discover the value of friends or family, and that they really were not putting as much quality time in as they wanted. So a very big motivation is to regain somehow a sense of community with the family, friends and neighbours and broader community. And you can only do that if you started abandoning some of the sort of 10 hours overtime a week that the corporate culture really demands.

Debbie and Dick Newman:

It was a gradual process. It wasn't an overnight thing. It took a number of years. And at the end of the day the main thing was just I wanted to be with my boys. I was going to work at 7 am and they weren't up. And I would get home probably just in time to read them a bed time story. I thought that wasn't right. I wanted to take a really big parenting role.

Narr: Before downshifting, Dick Newman worked as a bank manager. Originally from Brisbane, he had postings around outback Queensland before returning to long hours in the bank in Brisbane. It was eight years ago that he and wife Debbie decided things had to change.

Dick Newman:

When I was a banker I had pressures of time, I didn't have sufficient time to be with the boys. Mondays to Fridays hardly saw them. And on the weekends I didn't feel like doing too much. The weekend was required to relax. And much as you may love small children it's difficult to relax with them, and it's difficult to enjoy them.

Deb:

It was really stressful living in Brisbane with you working and I had these two boys under four, and neighbours didn't really want to have anything to do with you in the city because we lived in the outback. And when we came back to the city it was really stressful. I felt really isolated. Whereas I've never felt isolated here.

Narr: When Dick Newman quit the bank the family moved to Maleny in the hinterland of the sunshine coast, an hour north of Brisbane. He now does tutoring and other volunteer work at his sons' school, and picks them up every afternoon.

Jake Newman:

He's my father and he's a good influence in my life. And when I couldn't have my father around it wasn't as fun. I only saw him when he came home from work where he used to work all day. And I didn't see him in the morning. But now that we've moved up to Maleny I see him every day, in the morning, lunchtime sometimes, and all afternoon and night time. So it's a lot better.

Ben Newman

He takes me to the beach sometimes, and we go to the cricket nets and play cricket a bit. So that's good because I like cricket and that's fun.

Dick Newman

For me one of the important things has always been that I'm available for them at 3 pm when they finish school. Ben and I often go to the nets. Jake at 15 is not nearly so dependent on me for companionship as he may have been when he was younger. But nevertheless I maintain that I want to be available to them at 3 pm after school.

Narr: When the weather's good they often go to the coast only half an hour away.

Dick Newman:

I think it's probably best to be open and honest about this, we are terrible fishermen. And fishing for a lot of people isn't about the fishing, it's about something else, it's about I think particularly for males, it's about standing somewhere with a rod in your hand so that you're actually doing something but you're doing nothing. And so you can just be alone with your thoughts.

And it's just down to the pier and we stand there with the rod in the hand. If we catch a fish it's a bonus. It's just about having a bit of time together. And as I say I think a bit of peace in your mind.

Narr: Dick and Debbie Newman now work part time, dick two and a half days a week as accountant at the Maleny hotel, and Debbie two days at the pub's bottle shop.

Dick Newman:

If you're going to drop your income to about 25% of what you were earning, you obviously have to accept that consumerism is a thing of the past. You can't obviously escape consumerism totally, but the ability to just go out and buy bright shiny objects when you feel like it, that had to go. And that suited me anyway.

Deb Newman:

I think it suited all of us. It was just a natural progression.

Deb Newman:

We were just making the decision to come here when Richard's mother died, just before. And she was a bit funny about, well what are you going to do, and how are you going to live and you know. She was worried, she was concerned.

Dick Newman:

Our parents generation what they wanted for us was for us to be wealthy and in a good job. They thought that would make us happy.

Deb Newman:

And to live in a nice house and drive a nice car, all those things.

Dick Newman:

It doesn't.

Deb Newman:

And we had that, and in their eyes to give it away it was like a shock for them.

Dick Newman:

What I've found in the last few years, what makes me happy is art, it's great. It's just a whole new experience for somebody who has come from the corporate kind of background.

As I understand from my art teacher, is that you have these two hemispheres in your brain. And for most of my life I've been using a linear and logical left side of my brain. And when I get into art I'm using the right side of my brain, something that hasn't happened before. And certainly for me the linear sense of time disappears when I'm involved in art.

Dick Newman:

When the art thing happens you just go to some other time space or something. It's difficult for me to articulate.

Deb Newman:

It's like a meditation isn't it really.

Dick Newman:

It may well be what people describe as meditation. I'm not too sure. My art teacher quotes the Dalai Lama as saying it's the closest you can get to heaven or something is the artist.

Deb Newman:

I really don't miss our other life at all. We very rarely go to Brisbane. I don't feel the need to go shopping. I find it a waste of time.

Dick Newman:

Absolutely don't miss that stuff at all. We've got everything we need. Anything else is stuff that we want.

Deb Newman:

But I think our wants have changed too. I don't think we want the things that we wanted before. There's been a complete shift.

Clive Hamilton:

Well many downshifters have been through a period where they question at quite a deep level the purpose of their lives if you like. I mean it's a crisis of meaning for many people. And they feel as though whilst they have all the trappings of success, they have the money, they have the car, they have the house, they have all the trophies of success. There's something missing there's some emptiness inside. It's just not fulfilling.

Jim McKnight:

A common theme for downshifters is a sense of wanting to get into a more fulfilling lifestyle. But this one is a little more complicated because there's different trends at work here. So very quickly some people do it because they find what they are is not fulfilling and they go on a smorgasbord, a shopping tour if you like of different fulfilments and downshifting becomes part of that exercise. And if it works for them then they stay.

James Arvanitakis

My life before was very different to what it is now. An average day was a 12 hour day. And it was a very sort of macho driven lifestyle where it was all about trying to make as much money as you could

Narr: Till his big change five years ago, James Arvanitakis was on a six figure salary in the finance industry. But gradually he developed a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

James Arvanitakis:

I think first of all there was a sense that even though I was very successful materialistically and financially and career wise, I had this sort of empty feeling inside me. Like I knew something was wrong but I didn't know what it was. And that was sort of the first thing. The second thing that happened was I actually decided that I needed a bit of a break from work because it was so highly stressed and I felt like I was going to, needed to take some time off. And I ended taking a year off and doing a bit of travelling.

Narr:

While overseas James decided to leave the finance industry. When he returned he did voluntary work for a number of community organisations, and he had to move house.

James Arvanitakis:

Before when I was working in the financial industry I was actually living in the eastern suburbs. At one point I lived in a beautiful beautiful house overlooking the beach at Tamarama and it was literally across the road from the beach. And I've actually, as part of adjusting my lifestyle, I actually had to move out of that area because it was not affordable any more. So now I live in a flat in the inner city, around Newtown. Some of my friends from the finance industry who I've still kept in contact with, they've got these huge mortgages and you can see it in them. You can see the level of stress in their lives, that they have to keep on working, even if they don't enjoy their work.

I'm actually earning about 20% of what I did when I was working in the finance industry. One of the things that I could do when I was earning the big dollars was, you know, if I was going home late I could sort of go to one of the extravagant restaurants and just sit down and not even think about buying a $50 bottle of wine and having an extravagant dinner. I can't do that now. But you know there are some great noodle bars that you can have a great bowl of noodles for like $6 or $7 and you can enjoy in that way. And so I think you can still have all these, you can still have a very sort of, you don't have to give up everything to sort of have a simpler life. It's about what's important and try and balance that a lot more.

Narr:

Gradually James began to get paid work with NGO's and community groups. He also has a scholarship to do his doctorate and he tutors part time. For a few years he was director of Aidwatch, a non-profit watch dog on Australia's overseas aid. He still does volunteer work for Aidwatch.

James Arvanitakis:

In contrast now I have this really strong sense of fulfillment with what I do. And it's not necessarily a vow of poverty. It's just one that tries to be more balanced, you know, spend more time with friends, spend more time with family. I think the work that I do now you know it's based around issues like sort of human rights work both in Australia and internationally. I worked on indigenous issues, on promoting refugee rights. That is about I think the promotion of issues of hope and a sense of community and a sense of a dignity. And I think they're the issues that we need balance in our lives and in our society to I think get rid of that sense of emptiness.

I think one of the ways I used to describe myself before, was I used to say I was a chop. Everyone had heard of the snag which is a Sensitive New Age Guy. I called myself a chop, which is a Chauvinistic Hedonistic Opportunistic Prick. And that was how I saw myself. And in many ways I sort of ignored those closest to me, I sort of put my career ahead of other people. And I think that if I continued that path I'd probably be the same type of person.

James Arvanitakis:

My life now is a lot more balanced in the things that I do. So I actually take time to make sure that I stay healthy that includes spending time down at the beach running, swimming as well as taking time to sort of sit in cafes and sort of do some reading, reading the newspapers. I still work hard. It's not like I said, walking away from society. It's about actually looking at society in a different way. So I try and balance things a lot more. Spend more time with family, spend more time with friends, and just generally enjoy life, enjoying the simpler things in life. Enjoying time with myself as well as sort of having time to read the classics and that type of thing. So in many ways what drives my life at the moment is balance, it's not just work and success and material gain.

Clive Hamilton:

Quite a substantial proportion of the downshifters said I did it for my health. And sometimes it's a chronic condition such as stress or tension or depression that they're trying to overcome. Sometimes it's a health crisis that triggers the decision to downshift. Whether it be a heart attack or breast cancer or some serious problem like that. So a lot of people downshift in order to preserve their health. And in some cases to save their lives.

Jim McKnight:

One of the other things that lead people to a simple life is health. And one of the things that emerged in my research and certainly in Clive Hamilton's research is often people have some sort of health scare themselves or other people. And that focuses the mind on quality of life aspects.

Narr: Lynne Garnett and John Bell decided to downshift after Lynne was diagnosed with cancer. At the same time there were other stresses in her workplace.

Lynne Garnett:

It was during that period that I was diagnosed with breast cancer; which I took three weeks off work, went into hospital, had an operation, and then I returned to work and fortunately I had enough sick leave that I went down to four days a week, so I worked through my chemo four days a week. And I had to forego an opportunity at that time of getting a promotion, which came about and I decided not to take it because basically I knew I really had to look after myself.

Narr: For some time before the cancer diagnosis, Lynne and John were interested in organic farming, and had often discussed leaving their full time jobs in Canberra.

Lynne Garnett:

It was funny because we knew we wanted to make a change, but we didn't know what the change would be. We knew we wanted to work less. We knew we wanted to feel less controlled by our work and feel more controlled of ourselves.

And I was having a shower...

This word came to my head, herb. And I came out of the shower on a Saturday morning and John said, gee he said there's this organic herb farm for sale down south of Canberra, and we just came and had a look. And I mean generally we're the kind of people who examine things really carefully. You know, we weigh up and we cost things....And we just went ahead and did it.

Narr: Lynne and John have spent the first eighteen months on the property fixing buildings, putting in water storage and irrigation. They've only had a few small crops of herbs, and planted this grove of trees to produce truffles.

Lynne Garnett:

Well what we've put in is oak and hazelnut trees; hoping eventually that we will produce truffles.

John Bell:

They've got to be irrigated. So we irrigate them every two or three days, depending upon the weather. There's a fair amount of weed management as well that you have to maintain.

Lynne Garnett:

We're new to this, so it's, we came in to do it organically. And then we've found out and discovered more and done some training on biodynamics, which is a much longer term prospect for us, in terms of being in an area that has a low rainfall. We want to work hard at improving and building the soils up, so the produce that we have will be of a higher quality.

Narr:

Lynne and John are setting up the farm so that eventually they'll be self sufficient.

John Bell:

I like to be independent, so I guess that was a major thing for me to have our own energy. That we didn't have to rely on other people to give us electricity, that we had our own water supply. So I wasn't drinking someone else's polluted water. We had our own good water. That we could make our own honey if we wanted to, grow our own vegies so that we were to a degree independent.

You certainly learn a lot of new skills. We've had to become, well me in particular I guess, a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter. How to learn to pull a diesel pump apart, how to work a generator. How to put irrigation in, how to fix leaks. There's a whole range of things. How to build a machinery shed. Things like that that I had no idea. I used to send my car off to be serviced, and now we service it ourselves. But those things you learn how they work, and when they go wrong you know how to fix them.

Narr:

When they first came to live on the farm the couple tended to work long hours, and often seven days a week. Recently they've tried to build more time off into their schedule.

Lynne Garnett:

John and I have always been people I think who have worked really hard in our workplaces. So we actually find it hard to create leisure for ourselves.

One of the things that I think that we're still missing out on, one of the reasons why I wanted to make the change was actually to have more leisure, more time to actually read, more time to do the things that our previous lives didn't allow us to do. Whether it meant to meditate, whether it meant to just sit down and read, just rest if you like. And we haven't yet achieved that. We explain it to ourselves by saying well we really need this place to be up and running, so it will take a number of years to get on top and then we can do it.

John Bell:

Particularly the mornings and the evenings I find it great to go outside and look outside and just see the different sunsets and sunrises, and it's really uplifting. And every day seems like a Sunday to me. Where I do get a chance to do the things I want to do, rather than have to wait for the weekend or for six weeks down the track. So it's been great.

Lynne Garnett:

I love just walking over the farm, and I enjoy working. I mean it's interesting a lot of the work that we're doing here you know it might be out weeding for a couple of hours in the morning which is really repetitive work. And to start off with I would think, okay while I'm doing this repetitive work I should be using my brain to think about things you know, to plan things. And then after a while I thought no, it's a bit like that zen that sort of Buddhist idea that you do things repetitively to clear your mind. And so instead of thinking how fast am I going or how far have I been with the weeding, I'll just slow down and enjoy it, just try to be in the moment cause I think I'm always trying to be ahead in the future.

Clive Hamilton:

A smallish proportion of people gave as their reason for downshifting a desire to live a less materialistic lifestyle or a desire to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. And we've lumped these together and called these people post materialists. People who go beyond materialism, quite explicitly as a matter of principle. And they are the people who are most likely to undertake a radical change, to do the seachange, to go to an intentional community such as Maleny. To live quite radically different lives.

Jim McKnight:

One of the big themes of voluntary simplicity is where it intersects with the alternative lifestyles and making a light footprint on the planet. And though they're not necessarily the same movement, there's a very great degree of overlap. And it's very important for a lot of people that they live lives that are not going to ruin their grandchildren's future.

Narr: Immediately before Andrew and Sharon Harwood decided to downshift, they lived in the Philippines where Andrew worked in the mining industry.

Andrew Harwood:

I'm a geologist in my industry life. And in some areas I just don't agree that mining should occur. And in the job I was in, in the Philippines there was actually quite a large anti-mining feeling. Because in the Philippines a lot of people have been poorly done by, by mining companies.

Sharon Harwood:

When Andrew and I decided to leave the Philippines, Andrew had just got a type of asthma, and we attributed it to the air pollution that we had experienced in the Philippines. And so it came to the decision for me with Andrew that high stress levels, the conflict in values that he was experiencing at the time was starting to show in his health. So when the opportunity came along to leave, we took the opportunity and just decided we'd come back to Australia and just cruise a bit. And that was, it was a total lifestyle that we wanted a new lifestyle a healthier one, one that was stressless and one that we could enjoy community and relationships with other people.

Narr: After the Harwoods left the Philippines they came back to Maleny in Queensland. Andrew grew up here on a dairy farm, and since his return, they've become involved in sustainable timber production. They're heavily involved in the local timber growers' co-op.

Andrew Harwood:

This area here was all grazing. It was originally a rainforest and probably about a hundred years ago or so the area was cleared for dairy farming. And since then we've had oh two or three owners. And my grandfather picked the property up something like 80 years ago. And since then now my mother owns it....And myself, I've got seven acres of plantation trees here.

When growing plantation trees you have to be thinking a long-term strategy. Like umm, it's just trees take a long time. I can see myself coming back here in 30 to 35 years and enjoying it. Growing trees like this is a long-term project but I'm happy to wait for the benefits.

Sharon Harwood:

Well I see now I'm more aware of my surrounds. I'm more aware of my impacts on other people and the flow on impacts of my consumption. I used to be a bit of white good freak. In fact I was, when I moved into the house I remember Andrew saying to me, I'll have to jack the house up to be able to fill all this rubbish that you're bringing in to the house. And since over the last 8 or 9 years it's slowly been diminished to nothing. And so my whole life now is very simple, and it's less focused on myself and more about embracing others and about learning about myself and how I can be a better contributor in my community, and of course in my family. My family is just so much more important to me than I could ever imagine that having a family would ever be. I never thought that they could bring me this much joy.

Narr: The question for the future is how far the downshifting movement will grow, or whether it'll remain just a sizeable minority who seek a more balanced life.

James Arvanitakis:

First of all I suppose I'd like to say that I think the word downshifting is sort of indicates that you're sort of going down. I think it's more like, I think it should actually be right shifting. I think it's about trying to find that balance. And I think everyone that I speak to is looking for more balance, and I think people that are being reflective about what they want to achieve are saying: you know I might have this big house or these cars or whatever, but I don't know if I'm fulfilled. And so people that I speak to all the time say to me: I don't think I need this much. I think it's actually possibly a trend that is going to grow. I think people just need a little bit more confidence to sort of go down that path.

Clive Hamilton:

And so in a way these people are quite revolutionaries because whilst they often don't see themselves that way, they really are challenging the fundamental principles of consumer capitalism.

I think that downshifting represents a really fundamental social change. I mean if only two or three per cent of people were doing it, it would be a fringe activity. But when a quarter of the Australian population is doing it and there are similar figures for the US and some European countries, and when for every downshifter there is another one or two who wish they could do it and may well do it. I think this represents something really quite radical.

Geraldine Doogue:

Yes maybe quite radical. Peter Kirkwood produced that program. The Australia Institute research faced some controversy when it was first released you might recall, particularly around the issue of how downshifters funded themselves and whether they were bludgers on society. Indeed the Institute has just completed a follow up report and it's dues to be released in a week's time. So look out for those results.

The END

The Australia Institute's report "A Sea - Change in the Pursuit of Happiness" can be found under "Publications" on www.tai.org.au

A follow - up study "Getting a Life: Understanding the Downshifting Phenomenon in Australia" can be found under the heading "What's New"

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Hello and welcome to Compass. I'm Geraldine Doogue. Tonight a look at a shift in values that's having a profound impact on the lives of many ordinary Australians. It's called 'downshifting' or 'voluntary simplicity', where people choose to live on less income, to live more simply.

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Article: Huffington Post

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Do you think you work too hard? You're not alone. Many people I talk to, especially those younger with families, report being over-worked, overwhelmed and clearly unable to take even a moment to pause and reflect on the direction of their life. We all know that chronic overwork increases our stress levels, endangers our physical health, triggers depression and decreases our "life satisfaction." So why do we continue to put in long hours? And what's the solution? It's likely that the simple answer is to work less and live SMARTer. In fact, there is evidence that working less not only increases the quality of an individual's life -- it is also much better for the entire planet.

If you are struggling for money, it might seem crazy to hear that working less will help. After all, our culture tends to look down on anyone who doesn't jump on the bandwagon with more and harder work when the going gets tough. But there is now plenty of evidence that people who cut back or lost their jobs during the economic downturn of 2007 to 2011, are often much happier once they've adjusted. In fact, author Juliet Schor says, "...people who voluntarily start working less are generally pleased. In the New Dream survey, 23 percent said they were not only happier, but they didn't miss the money. Sixty percent reported being happier, but missed the money to varying degrees. Only 10 percent regretted the change. And I've also found downshifters who began with a job loss or an involuntary reduction in pay or hours, but came to prefer having a wealth of time."

Okay, so what might "a wealth of time" look like? Schor, the author of True Wealth goes on to explain that as we work less, we necessarily spend less, and that in turn causes us to emit and degrade less. She says, "People who have more time at home and less at work can engage in slower, resource-intensive activities." Instead of working so hard and then compensating by purchasing/consuming items of need, we start doing things for ourselves and become more self-sufficient. Simple acts like eating at home more than eating out, growing our own food in a garden, grooming our own children, selves and pets, taking a walk instead of joining a gym are all inherently more enjoyable and satisfying when we have extra time. Not only does doing-it-yourself carry deep satisfaction, it is also much kinder to the planet. According to Schor, dozens of studies show "...that nations with shorter working hours have considerably smaller ecological and carbon footprints."

Okay, so even if we were to admit that having extra time might improve the quality of life, how would we go about doing it? An article by Michael J. Coren at fastcoexist.com suggests a transition to a 21-hour week as a way to "reset the industrial clocks in our heads."

He goes on to say,

There is nothing natural or inevitable about what's considered a 'normal' 40-hour work week today. In its wake, many people are caught in a vicious cycle of work and consumption. They live to work, work to earn, and earn to consume things. Missing from that equation is an important fact that researchers have discovered about most material consumption in wealthy societies: so much of the pleasure and satisfaction we gain from buying is temporary, ephemeral, and largely relative to those around us (who strive to consume still more, in a self-perpetuating spiral).

Of course, I'm not saying this is easy to do. My husband Thom and I certainly went through the stages where we thought having that big house, that nice car, or all that stuff would make us happier. But as time went by it became more and more evident that buying more stuff and then working harder and harder to pay for it was a rat race that could never be won. After all, what we really wanted is what most of us want -- deeper and more loving connections, freedom to do what our heart needs to express, opportunities to be of service, and the good health and time to enjoy it all. Say what you will, but most everything else is a distraction. At some point, all the stuff you own, owns you. Are you willing to trade your life for it?

While few of us might be willing to scale back our hours of work to 21 per week, any reduction is a beginning. The first step is to admit that working harder to buy more things will not make any of us any happier. Secondly, perhaps it is time to start being honest with ourselves and admit that the road to well-being is not paved with a grueling and time-consuming job. Lastly, it would be wise to start redefining our definition of success in a way that elevates and enhances the human condition. Or, maybe it's as simple as recognizing that true wealth and happiness comes when you live a SMARTer life, 365.
Kathy Gottberg believes in living healthy, authentic, fearless and SMART. For exploring more ideas like this, please follow her blog SMART Living 365.com.

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Do you think you work too hard? You're not alone. Many people I talk to, especially those younger with families, report being over-worked, overwhelmed and clearly unable to take even a moment to pause and reflect on the direction of their life.

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Website: "Who hasn’t wanted to step off the ever-accelerating treadmill of work, and gain some balance in life? Most of us, at one time or another, have wanted to move from the fast track of life to a more satisfying, healthier, less work-focused lifestyle."

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Downshifters want to slow down at work in order to 'upshift' in others areas of their lives. For most people the change to a slow life through downshifting comes after a long quest for true happiness and fulfilment. For others it may come after a significant life event such as severe illness, relationship breakup, bankruptcy, or the death of someone close.

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Blog: The Good Universities Guide

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There's a lot of choice involved when you decide to pursue tertiary study - which specialisations you'll pursue, which study mode will best fit your lifestyle and which campus has the most to offer, just to name a few.

But what about choosing the type of education provider? For some, the choice to go to university is an obvious one, with some professions - like medicine, law and architecture - only taught by higher education providers. Other fields (such as hospitality and creative arts) are taught in both the higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. You will find that some TAFE institutes offer degrees as well as VET courses and that some universities offer VET in addition to higher education, so there is some overlap between VET providers and higher education providers. You will also find that some private colleges offer VET, some offer higher education and some offer a mix of both.

So how do you know which of these is best for you? First, ensure that you have considered your circumstances and the type of study you're interested in. The best way to know you have chosen the right course is to have researched your options extensively. Look into each course carefully, keeping an eye out for things like major study areas and work experience options. There are a few things to think about, including the qualification level you want, whether you want a more academic or practical focus and what type of learning style suits you best.

Qualification levels - Although most study fields are offered by both sectors, one significant difference is the qualification you will receive. While higher education-level study will provide you with a higher education qualification (such as a bachelor degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, masters or doctoral degree), VET courses - certificates, diplomas and advanced diplomas - are considered lower-level qualifications. The qualification level you complete will determine the jobs you are qualified to perform. For example, in a field such as hospitality that is available within both the VET and higher education sectors, a vocational qualification might enable you to perform practical tasks such as cooking and serving food, while a degree might enable you to take on more complex roles in hospitality management. You should consider the qualification level needed for entry into your chosen occupation and any specific study goals you have.

Academic or practical focus - As a general rule, you can expect VET providers to offer a more practical education and for higher education providers to offer a more academic curriculum. Whether you choose a course with an academic or practical focus will all depend on the field you are interested in and how you want to use your qualification. For example, if you are considering a design course ask yourself whether you are more interested in something practical that leads to a specific career (such as textile making) or something more academic (such as art history). Remember, though, this won't always be the case. For example, you may find universities that emphasise practicality and employability in their course offerings.

Learning style - Like the teaching focus, you'll find that the style of learning will be slightly different depending on whether you choose a higher education provider or VET provider. As a general rule, you'll find that your learning at a higher education institution will be more independent - you may be given some guidance as to how you may approach an assessment task, but from there it's up to you. Assessment is often focused on demonstrating your knowledge and showing that you have understood and engaged with certain concepts, with exams, essays and academic referencing vital to many disciplines. If you choose a vocational qualification, on the other hand, you may find that classes are more 'hands-on' rather than theoretical, and may be structured in a similar way to what you have experienced in secondary school. VET assessment is more focused on achieving certain competencies to show that you have mastered skills, and these competencies are linked to the skills that employers in the industry require of their employees.

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Vocational or higher education? | The Good Universities Guide

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There's a lot of choice involved when you decide to pursue tertiary study - which specialisations you'll pursue, which study mode will best fit your lifestyle and which campus has the most to offer, just to name a few. But what about choosing the type of education provider?

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Website: Foundation 500 is a list of entrepreneurs growing their businesses in the harshest startup environments in the world. Even more, it is a list of 500 women, who are actively changing the future for themselves and creating an impact on the economy.

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How 500 business leaders are changing the world

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Website: Fortune 500 (Includes video analysis of list)

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Fortune Global 500 List 2018: See Who Made It

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This year's Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies generated $27.7 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

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Grammar: British Council | Learn English

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How to Guard Your Career Against Rapid Technological Change

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How to Guard Your Career Against Rapid Technological Change

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Article: the Conversation

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Disruptive technologies are nothing new. From the development of steam power in the early 1800s to today's digitally-enriched world, the impact of technology on the employment landscape has been substantial.

What is new is the speed, extent and unpredictability of modern digital technology-induced disruption, and that this rate of change is dramatically increasing.

More importantly, these changes are impacting the employment landscape at all levels. Having a university degree or entering a profession is no longer a guarantee of a rich and productive working career.

So the question is: if you were about to leave school and begin a university degree or embark on your career, what should you study or do in order to give you the best chances of weathering future technology-induced disruption?

Disruptive change

Technology is changing the employment landscape in a number of ways that are affecting many careers.

Robotics and smart technologies are increasingly able to perform high level, cognitively complex tasks, which impacts a lot of skilled jobs. For example, IBM is working with the Cleveland Clinic in the US to train Watson (IBM's "thinking" computer) to become board-certified in medicine.

Steve Jurvetson/Flickr, CC BY

Similar technologies are also encroaching on other white-collar and professional jobs. Oxford University researchers have recently suggested that, in certain instances, the computerised results of complex non-routine cognitive tasks are superior to human "experts" because they do not have our biases.

Their research on the likelihood of technology disrupting more than 700 occupation categories makes for gripping reading for those who take their future career prospects seriously. The researchers suggest that sophisticated digital technologies could substitute for approximately 140 million full-time knowledge workers worldwide in the near future.

Anyone whose work can be outsourced to low-cost countries could also be at risk, such as we've already seen in manufacturing, medical radiology and even legal services. Accounting, engineering or architectural design services are also increasingly being offered from low cost countries at a fraction of the cost.

With the global market size of outsourced services standing at more than US$100 billion, the outsourcing industry is already big business.

Career planning

Earning a university degree is increasingly becoming the default position of many school leavers, thus eliminating the point of difference a degree once offered. So holding a degree is no longer enough to guarantee a job.

While the personal benefits of acquiring knowledge are indisputable, the hypothesis that attending a university will result in a net positive return in the investment in time and money is less so.

Shawn/Flickr, CC BY-NC

So the challenge facing anyone at the start of their working life lies in finding a career that will be rewarding, fulfilling and, more importantly, resilient, not just resistant to change. Individuals wishing to be successful in their careers should expect to take a more deliberate and planned approach, and regard their career as their own business.

Being employed is no different to running your own business, in that you are deriving an income from your one client - that being your current employer. Most importantly, while your current employer may dictate the terms of your employment, you should be the one in charge of your career. Employees need to think of themselves and their careers as if it were a business enterprise - that must be evolved, grown, sometimes re-directed and above all - protected.

The question is: can you recognise these career-shaping changes before your employer notices them? If so, you're well down the path of building career resilience.

Choosing a career

So what to study or train in? There are a number of trades and professions that are likely to be more resilient to automation and/ or outsourcing and can enable you to run your career like a business.

A useful guide is to consider work that fulfils a number of criteria. These include:

1. The delivery of a service in real-time

2. Being physically present at the point of service delivery

3. The need for a high degree of skill, training and experience, and

4. There is likely to be a sustained need for your service.

For example, as an electrician, you have to be trained and certified to handle live electrical services as well as be on-site to do the job. It is also an excellent foundation for the subsequent acquisition of complementary or supplementary skills and experience that reinforce your future employability prospects.

You could expand into fields such as electronics, control systems, high voltage and industrial systems, communications or electrical engineering - any one could open up rewarding career options as well as protecting your future earning potential.

Other examples of careers that meet these criteria include nurse, physiotherapist, plumber, special needs teacher, surveyor, veterinarian, air traffic controller, surgeon or firefighter. All are highly skilled and hands-on, and are unlikely to be replaced by machines any time soon.

Even though many of these careers exist in constantly evolving environments that are themselves rapidly changing, the fundamentals remain: none are at high risk of being outsourced overseas or completely automated. The same can't be said of programmer, legal aid or accountant.

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How to guard your career against rapid technological change

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Disruptive technologies are nothing new. From the development of steam power in the early 1800s to today's digitally-enriched world, the impact of technology on the employment landscape has been substantial. What is new is the speed, extent and unpredictability of modern digital technology-induced disruption, and that this rate of change is dramatically increasing.

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A BA Might Be the Best Way to Future-Proof Your Career

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A BA Might Be the Best Way to Future-Proof Your Career

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Article: Hijacked

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The benefits of Bachelor of Arts degrees | My Future | Hijacked

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With many jobs at risk of computerisation, studying a Bachelor of Arts at university might be more beneficial than ever. Here are the advantages of studying an Arts degree.

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Website: University of Queensland

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Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

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The Bachelor of Arts is UQ's most flexible and popular program.

Taught by world-leading researchers for over 100 years, the degree has one of Australia's largest major offerings; with 42 individual study areas and 11 languages available.

You can study topics ranging from Ancient History to Popular Music, Journalism through to Geography, and International Relations.

The 3-year program can be studied full or part-time, along with 14 dual programs or 3 concurrent diplomas.

Ask us how a BA can Advantage you

Alumni stories

Close to 50,000 alumni have proudly graduated from UQ's BA program. Here's how some of them describe their BA Advantage:

​ Ann Sherry AO

BA (Economics, Politics)

Chief Executive Officer, Carnival Australia

What I remember most from my BA studies and my time at UQ is the energy of new ideas plus plenty of political debates and activity.

I valued the ability I got from my BA to think laterally about complex issues and the ability to write an argument and a proposition. I loved the learning process and that has stayed with me and driven my desire to keep learning.

My BA was the springboard to my professional life and career. It opened up possibilities I did not expect: being CEO of a bank and a cruise company!

The UQ BA is a great foundation. You have the option of taking a wide variety of subjects, which I did. Engaging in new ideas and new ways of seeing the world is a great learning experience. I studied Psychology, Asian Economic History and Political Economics - all challenging the status quo thinking of the day.

​ Hugh Jorgensen

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) / Bachelor of Economics

Research Associate, Lowy Institute for Int'l Policy G20 Studies Centre

Being part of the UQ BA community provided me with a great opportunity to make friendships and professional relationships with bright, articulate and globally engaged people. The Brisbane sunshine was pretty good too.

In my experience, the UQ BA is a great choice for those with initiative - I had the chance to arrange and participate in several global events, giving me valuable international experience that I still draw upon today.

My time at UQ strengthened my written communication skills. These days I regularly produce policy reports that are read by global governance policy-makers throughout the G20 economies. I'd like to say it was all me, but I guess all of those essays for the UQ BA paid off in the end.

The UQ BA can be a great way to enrich your university studies. I combined mine with an economics degree, and found the BA invaluable in locating the political and human dimensions to the challenges that face the global economy. Today, everyone talks about 'breaking down thought silos', and the UQ BA really helps you to think critically about the thought silo you are in.

​ Kristina Olsson

BA (Journalism, English)

Award-winning writer and journalist

My BA gave me intellectual freedom at university. I could dip my toe into whatever I wanted. If I hadn't experience it, I might not have been open the things I am now doing.

The university's lecturers were extraordinary. After each of the lectures my fellow BA students and I were able to talk about the issues discussed. It opened our eyes to the world in general. My undergraduate program was the start of life-long quest for detail.

While I was studying, I was involved in writing for Semper magazine and I completed work experiences at ABC Radio and Channel 10.

A BA teaches you to listen into and read into and analyse situations - to look beyond your own prejudices and see a situation objectively. I wanted to learn about the world before I became a journalist and a writer, so I studied a range of areas; different religions, ancient and modern histories, English and journalism. It felt like all the neurons were firing in my brain.

It taught me tolerance - of people, places and situations and also different theories to life and it also gave me a willingness to go one step further - after the last question has been asked, ask another.

I believe a good education doesn't give you answers, it asks questions.

As I was crafting a career in journalism, it was crucial for me to be able to draw from different areas, so I spread my study across as many areas as I could- philosophy, politics, history. They all helped me to understand government, its processes and how to write.

My advice for someone wanting to complete tertiary study is to go to UQ. Your humanities degree will give you what it gave me - a solid grounding in the craft of writing, to think critically and to look outside the square.

​ Julie McKay

BA (Government)/BBusMan

Executive Director, UN Women Australia & 2013 ACT Young Australian of the Year

I always thought I wanted to work in banking, but the BA was the way I could study all the things I loved; I did a bit of psychology, a bit of international relations, a bit of Queensland politics. It inspired me and got me excited about things I was passionate about.

For a whole range of reasons, I did courses that I never would have undertaken but it got me thinking about my position on certain policy issues and I think it made me more considerate of needing a position on things in the world. I wanted to be less passive, just going through the world and doing my thing and my BA actually started for me a real interest in politics and social equality.

UQ opened my eyes to a much broader diversity of people. In the BA program you had all ages of people from all backgrounds, so I guess my very specific view of the world was really challenged and opened up and in the sort of work that I do now. My four years at UQ gave me an incredible education. Now I've developed a real responsibility to do something with it.

​ Lachlan Snow

BA (French), BMus (music performance) Hons I

Director of Music (Qld), National Institute of Youth Performing Arts

Conductor, Amadeus Orchestra

Administrator, UQ Chorale

I chose my BA because I didn't have one set passion. In my dual program, I could study French and Music in a wide range of courses.

I had the freedom to complete an internship at 4MBS Classic FM as well spend three weeks in New Caledonia at a language school and receive academic credit for it.

I also had the freedom to complete an introductory drama course and linguistics course, which complimented my music and French studies.

A BA means you can study your multitude of passions in a meaningful way. You don't find that flexibility in other degrees.

The BA is a great degree for anyone with a range of passions. It doesn't pigeonhole you into a certain graduate outcome. Instead I finished with a set of graduate outcomes that I wrote.

​ Johanna Qualmann

BA (Archaeology)

Archaeological researcher in Turkey and Italy

UQ is the only university in Queensland to teach Ancient History, so that was a major factor in my decision to study at the university. The best thing about studying at UQ for me was the dedication of my lecturers, who were incredibly supportive and enthusiastic and went out of their way to provide extra opportunities for their students.

I loved a lot of my courses, but a few that stand out were ANCH2230 (The Age of Imperial Rome) and the Study Tour to Italy. ANCH2230 was great because it didn't just look at events and dates, but took a deep, thematic approach to Roman history, really highlighting some of the key debates and concepts in the field. I also got to participate in the Classics Advanced Research Programme (CARPE), which gave me my first taste of what a future in academic research would look like (and I was hooked!).

My advice for new students would be to get involved with their faculties and take any opportunity that comes their way - academic and otherwise. Also, try and make an effort to actively build good relationships with lecturers and other students, because you never know what doors will open!

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The Bachelor of Arts is UQ's most flexible and popular program. Taught by world-leading researchers for over 100 years, the degree has one of Australia's largest major offerings; with 42 individual study areas and 11 languages available. You can study topics ranging from Ancient History to Popular Music, Journalism through to Geography, and International Relations.

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Education: It Matters More to Health Than Ever Before

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Education: It Matters More to Health Than Ever Before

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Video: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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Education: It Matters More to Health Than Ever Before

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Benefits of University Education Remain High but Vary Widely Across Fields of Study

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Benefits of University Education Remain High but Vary Widely Across Fields of Study

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Article: OECD

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12/09/2017 - Tertiary enrolment is expanding rapidly, with very strong returns for individuals and taxpayers, but new evidence shows that universities can fail to offer, and individuals fail to pursue, the fields of study that promise the greatest labour-market opportunities, according to a new OECD report.

Education at a Glance 2017 includes for the first time in-depth analysis of the subjects students take at vocational and tertiary level. It finds that business, administration and law are the most popular careers in countries surveyed, chosen by around one in four students. This compares to 16% in engineering, construction and manufacturing, and less than 5% of students study information and communication technologies, despite graduates in these subjects having the highest employment rate on average across OECD countries, exceeding 90% in about a third of them.

Adults with a tertiary degree benefit from substantial returns on their investment: they are 10 percentage points more likely to be employed, and will earn 56% more on average than adults who only completed upper secondary education. They are also less likely to suffer from depression than their less-educated peers. Those with below upper secondary education earn on average 22% less than those who have completed it.

"Tertiary education promises huge rewards for individuals, but education systems need to do a better job of explaining to young people what studies offer the greatest opportunities for life," said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. "Equitable and high quality education fuels personal fulfilment as well as economic growth. Countries must step up their efforts to ensure that education meets the needs of today's children and informs their aspirations for the future."

Click here for more information including country analysis.

While the life chances of the better educated are rising, those who are left behind pay an increasing price, in terms of worsening employment and low wages. 43% of 25-34 year-olds in the OECD had a tertiary degree in 2016, up from 26% in 2000. The share of 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary education has also fallen, from 25% in 2000 to 16% in 2016.

But although more adults are reaching upper secondary level, completion remains problematic. Among countries with available data, approximately one in four students who enrolled had not graduated after two years from the theoretical end date of the programme and four out of five of these students have dropped out of education altogether. This is a critical loss as the unemployment rate for 25-34 year-olds who failed to complete upper secondary education is close to 17% in the OECD, compared to 9% for those who did.

Business, administration & law most popular degrees, according to new #Education at a Glance #OECDEAG pic.twitter.com/206kfqR82I
- OECD (@OECD) September 12, 2017

This year's edition of Education at a Glance also assesses where OECD and partner countries stand on their way to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal for education by 2030. For some targets, the disparities across OECD countries are substantial. On average over the past 12 months, OECD and partner countries have achieved gender parity in the participation rate of adults in formal and non-formal education programmes and training.

However, this result masks one of the largest variations among all gender parity indicators, with the ratio of women to men participating in such programmes in the past 12 months ranging between 0.7 and 1.4 across countries. Similarly, the share of men and women achieving minimum proficiency in literacy and numeracy varies widely, reflecting inequalities in basic skills across OECD countries.

Key findings:
Educational attainment and outcomes
The importance of vocational programmes varies greatly among countries. The share of younger adults with upper secondary education with a vocational component varies from less than 5% in Costa Rica, Israel and Mexico to more than 40% in Austria, Germany, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. (A1)

Based on current patterns, it is estimated that on average across OECD countries, 80% of today's young people will graduate from upper secondary education before the age of 25 and 49% are expected to graduate from tertiary education at least once in their lifetime. (A2/3)
Education spending
Expenditure has been increasing at a higher rate than student enrolments at all levels, particularly tertiary since 2010. OECD countries spend on average USD 10, 759 per year per student on educational institutions from primary to tertiary education: USD 8 733 per primary student, USD10, 235 per lower secondary student, USD 10, 182 per upper secondary student and USD 16, 143 per tertiary student. (B1)

Expenditure on primary to tertiary educational institutions relative to GDP reached 6% or more in Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. At the other end of the spectrum were the Czech Republic, Hungary, Indonesia, Luxembourg, the Russian Federation and the Slovak Republic, who spent less than 4% of GDP on education. (B3)

Across OECD countries, total public spending on primary to tertiary education averages 11.3% of total government expenditure, ranging in OECD and partner countries from less than 8% in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and the Russian Federation to at least 16% in Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. (B4)
Access to education
Across the OECD, at least 90% of students are enrolled in education for an average duration of 14 years, although this ranges from 10 years in Mexico and Turkey to 17 years in Norway. (C1)

In most OECD countries, education now begins for most children well before they are five years old - 78% of three-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood education across the OECD. (C2)

Men are falling behind in the share of entrants into tertiary education in almost all OECD countries, and this trend is likely to carry on in the future. The first-time entry rate to tertiary education for women under 25 is 11 percentage points higher on average than for men. (C3)
In the classroom
Students in OECD countries receive an average of 7 538 hours of compulsory instruction over the course of their primary and lower secondary education, ranging from 5 976 hours in Latvia to almost double that in Australia (11 000 hours) and Denmark (10 960 hours). (D1)

The teaching workforce is ageing: on average across OECD countries, 33% of primary to secondary teachers were at least 50 years old in 2015, up 3 percentage points from 2005. The profession is also still largely dominated by women, who make up seven out of ten teachers on average across OECD countries.

Teachers' salaries are low compared to other similarly educated full-time workers, ranging from between 78% and 94% of the salaries of full-time workers with tertiary education.

Further information on Education at a Glance, including country notes, multilingual summaries and key data, is available at: www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-19991487.htm

Journalists are invited to contact Andreas Schleicher (tel. + 33 1 45 24 93 66) in the OECD's Education and Skills Directorate or the OECD's Media Division (tel. + 33 1 45 24 97 00). The report is available to journalists on the OECD's password-protected site.

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education; teacher; pupils; levels of education; exam results; schooling; classroom performance; primary; secondary; tertiary; university;

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Benefits of university education remain high but vary widely across fields of study

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Data and research on education including skills, literacy, research, elementary schools, childhood learning, vocational training and PISA, PIACC and TALIS surveys., Tertiary enrolment is expanding rapidly, with very strong returns for individuals and taxpayers, but new evidence shows that universities can fail to offer, and individuals fail to pursue, the fields of study that promise the greatest labour-market opportunities, according to a new OECD report.

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Website: University of Melbourne. "University is the perfect time to build your skills and experience. Extra-curricular activities can complement and enhance your academic studies, and give you a head start on achieving your future goals."

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Developing my skills page in the Careers site.

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Music Video: Make Science Fun

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STEM Science Technology Engineering Maths

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What is STEM Science Technology Engineering Maths song music video

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Video: The Royal Institution of Australia

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The Royal Institution of Australia - Australia's Science Channel

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STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and if you are looking for a great job that is lots of fun, pays well and has the potential for travel then you have found what you were looking for. More info and videos at http://riaus.org.au/all-programs/education/stem-career-packs/

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Video: Overview of STEM

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This is an animation I did for the S.T.E.M. area of Directgovkids.co.uk, explaining all about how paying attention in science can land you up on Mars. Awesome.

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From Week 6 onwards, you will not be given your essay topic. "Oh nooooooooo!" Don't worry! This is to help prepare you for the tests when you will have to write on a topic that is unknown. Keep breathing. Keep reading. Keep learning.  And what better place to start than this Padlet? The resources on this page have been selected to help expand your understanding of the ideas raised in this week's unit. In turn, this will help prepare you for your writing task. Please let me know if you have any questions, Larah.

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Article: LiveScience

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(Image credit: Portra via Getty Images)

STEM education is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering and math. Its recent successor, STEAM, also incorporates the arts, which have the "ability to expand the limits of STEM education and application," according to Stem Education Guide. STEAM is designed to encourage discussions and problem-solving among students, developing both practical skills and appreciation for collaborations, according to the Institution for Art Integration and STEAM.

Rather than teach the five disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEAM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

According to the U.S. Department of Education "In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important than ever that our nation's youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions."

In 2009, the Obama administration announced the " Educate to Innovate" campaign to motivate and inspire students to excel in STEAM subjects. This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects.

The Department of Education now offers a number of STEM-based programs, including research programs with a STEAM emphasis, STEAM grant selection programs and general programs that support STEAM education.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $141 million in new grants and $437 million to continue existing STEAM projects a breakdown of grants can be seen in their investment report.

The importance of STEM and STEAM education

(Image credit: selimaksan via Getty Images)

STEAM education is crucial to meet the needs of a changing world. According to an article from iD Tech, millions of STEAM jobs remain unfilled in the U.S., therefore efforts to fill this skill gap are of great importance. According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there is a projected growth of STEAM-related occupations of 10.5% between 2020 and 2030 compared to 7.5% in non-STEAM-related occupations. The median wage in 2020 was also higher in STEAM occupations ($89,780) compared to non-STEAM occupations ($40,020).

Between 2014 and 2024, employment in computer occupations is projected to increase by 12.5 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to a STEAM occupation report. With projected increases in STEAM-related occupations, there needs to be an equal increase in STEAM education efforts to encourage students into these fields otherwise the skill gap will continue to grow.

STEAM jobs do not all require higher education or even a college degree. Less than half of entry-level STEAM jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher, according to skills gap website Burning Glass Technologies. However, a four-year degree is incredibly helpful with salary - the average advertised starting salary for entry-level STEAM jobs with a bachelor's requirement was 26 percent higher than jobs in the non-STEAM fields.. For every job posting for a bachelor's degree recipient in a non-STEAM field, there were 2.5 entry-level job postings for a bachelor's degree recipient in a STEAM field.

STEAM blended learning

What separates STEAM from traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real-world applications of problem-solving. As mentioned before, STEAM education begins while students are very young:

Elementary school - STEAM education focuses on the introductory level STEAM courses, as well as awareness of the STEAM fields and occupations. This initial step provides standards-based structured inquiry-based and real-world problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEAM subjects. The goal is to pique students' interest into them wanting to pursue the courses, not because they have to. There is also an emphasis placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM learning opportunities.

Middle school - At this stage, the courses become more rigorous and challenging. Student awareness of STEAM fields and occupations is still pursued, as well as the academic requirements of such fields. Student exploration of STEAM-related careers begins at this level, particularly for underrepresented populations.

High school - The program of study focuses on the application of the subjects in a challenging and rigorous manner. Courses and pathways are now available in STEAM fields and occupations, as well as preparation for post-secondary education and employment. More emphasis is placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM opportunities.

Much of the STEAM curriculum is aimed toward attracting underrepresented populations. There is a significant disparity in the female to male ratio when it comes to those employed in STEAM fields, according to Stem Women. Approximately 1 in 4 STEAM graduates is female.

(Image credit: SolStock via Getty Images)

Inequalities in STEAM education

Ethnically, people from Black backgrounds in STEAM education in the UK have poorer degree outcomes and lower rates of academic career progression compared to other ethnic groups, according to a report from The Royal Society. Although the proportion of Black students in STEAM higher education has increased over the last decade, they are leaving STEAM careers at a higher rate compared to other ethnic groups.

"These reports highlight the challenges faced by Black researchers, but we also need to tackle the wider inequalities which exist across our society and prevent talented people from pursuing careers in science." President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith said.

Asian students typically have the highest level of interest in STEAM. According to the Royal Society report in 2018/19 18.7% of academic staff in STEAM were from ethnic minority groups, of these groups 13.2% were Asian compared to 1.7% who were Black.

Additional resources

If you want to learn more about why STEAM is so important check out this informative article from the University of San Diego. Explore some handy STEAM education teaching resources courtesy of the Resilient Educator. Looking for tips to help get children into STEAM? Forbes has got you covered.

Bibliography

Lee, Meggan J., et al. 'If you aren't White, Asian or Indian, you aren't an engineer': racial microaggressions in STEM education." International Journal of STEM Education 7.1 (2020): 1-16.

STEM Occupations: Past, Present, And Future. Stella Fayer, Alan Lacey, and Audrey Watson. A report. 2017.

Institution for Art Integration and STEAM What is STEAM education?

Barone, Ryan, 'The state of STEM education told through 18 stats', iD Tech.

U.S. Department of Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, including Computer Science.

'STEM sector must step up and end unacceptable disparities in Black staff', The Royal Society. A report, March 25, 2021.

'Percentages of Women in STEM Statistics' Stemwomen.com

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STEM education, now also known as STEAM, is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.

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Students Remain Unprepared for Workforce

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Students Remain Unprepared for Workforce

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Article: The Educator

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Schools are failing to prepare students for the workforce they'll enter once they graduate, a new report has warned.

The NSW Business Chamber Report said that if the next generation is to be ready for study and work, responsibility must be shared by government, educators, parents, students and industry.

Illawarra Business Chamber executive director, Chris Lamont, said it was vital the school curriculum is redesigned and delivers education outcomes that ensure students are prepared for work or further study.

"Many employers advise that far too many young people they interview don't have basic literacy and numeracy skills to start work when they finish year 12," Lamont said.

"A quality education is more important than ever."

Lamont said reforms to the education system must ensure quality education outcomes in literacy and numeracy and enterprise skills to improve employability or the next generation will face an even greater struggle in securing employment.

The Report noted the importance of supporting teachers and a revamped HSC that provides greater access and recognition for achievement in vocational pathways as well as tertiary studies.

Skilling Australia Foundation (SAF) CEO, Nicholas Wyman, said when it comes to preparing students for the workforce they'll enter once they leave school, collaboration is the way forward.

"If we're going to solve Australia's economic woes of the growing skills gap and youth unemployment rates, sectors need to work together. And I speak from experience because every day I can see collaboration delivering results for young people across the nation," Wyman told The Educator.

"There's actually a pilot program that's been humming quietly in the background since early 2016 that has schools, training providers, major Australian companies and multi-nationals collaborate thanks to the Australian Government's $5.1M investment."

Wyman said the Pathways to Technology (or P-TECH for short) program is not "an add-on" to the national curriculum but "resides neatly and naturally within it".

"At its core, the P-TECH model is about collaboration - a partnership between education, industry and community - but it is a partnership with a clear purpose: To provide an industry supported pathway for young people to achieve a qualification that strengthens their employment prospects," he said.

"The P-TECH mission is to develop and support pathways to post-school education that lead to careers in STEM related fields. With support from industry, P-TECH students engage in a rigorous academic program with strong links to real world applications - and real jobs."

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'This is not the time to have a crisis of imagination'

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Students remain unprepared for workforce - study

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Schools are failing to prepare students for the workforce they'll enter once they graduate, a new report has warned. The NSW Business Chamber Report said that if the next generation is to be ready for study and work, responsibility must be shared by government, educators, parents, students and industry.

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Article: Forbes

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It is common these days to hear people talking about skill gaps. A skill gap is a gap between what employers want or need their employees to be able to do, and what those employees can actually do when they walk into work.

One manager might say, "My employees are fantastic people but I don't have one single person who understands high-level customer service."

Another supervisor could say, "I need people with Ruby on Rails experience and I can't find them, and it's killing my product launch schedule!" Almost every organization struggles with skill gaps, or tells themselves they do.

Here's the problem. Skills gaps are imaginary. Just because a hiring manager says that they want a person who can fly and sing Italian opera while they're writing code does not mean that such people exist, and certainly not for the designated salary. Strong leaders operate in the real world.

They make adjustments constantly, in order to stay in close contact with reality. Any company that complains about skills gaps has lost that connection.

If I go to T.J. Maxx hoping to pick up a diamond brooch for $29.95, the absence of that brooch in the store is not a failing on the merchant's part. It's delusion on my part. We don't allow our Procurement folks to spec imaginary parts for the products we build. We can't say a word about "skill gaps" with a straight face, because it is our responsibility to hire from the actual talent pool, not an imaginary one. If we are not tuned into reality, it's nobody's fault but ours.

We can't blame Mother Nature or the school system or anybody else for any skill gaps we might feel like whining about. We built a business. We run our business and we are responsible for every aspect of it. Would we get all huffy if a certain grain that we envisioned anchoring our new breakfast cereal bar is simply not grown on planet earth, and never has been?

We would say, "That's life. The grain we envisioned doesn't exist. Let's go to Plan B." Yet when it comes to the skill sets that human job applicants and employees bring us, we complain about their insufficiency and we look around for someone to blame.

"Why don't the schools give kids more STEM education?" we squeal, but as corporate citizens of towns, counties and states we are responsible for seeing that our schools teach kids what we believe kids need to know, or starting our own schools. We can't complain that our schools send us the wrong raw materials in the form of new hires. That is not leadership. Real leaders take responsibility for every input and output in their organizations -- maybe excepting the weather and geopolitics.

Faster is better in our business worldview. Fast means training people if the schools around us don't supply new hires perfectly equipped to our specifications. We can whine about skills gaps or we can act. We can complain about problems with our employees or we can empower them to work the way independent contractors work, self-directed and eyes open.

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It is common these days to hear people talking about skill gaps. A skill gap is a gap between what employers want or need their employees to be able to do, and what those employees can actually do when they walk into work.

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A special series of articles from The Conversation.

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What are universities for? News, Research and Analysis - The Conversation

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Browse What are universities for? news, research and analysis from The Conversation