SENSE. interview needs and challenges of SENSE. target groups

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This dataset is from the Horizon project SENSE. The New European Roadmap to STEAM Education.

To consolidate and enrich the results of the initial stakeholders mapping conducted during the STEAM DNA Workshop, direct involvement of the target groups was sought. Through interviews, a collection of ideas, insights, and feedback was gathered, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the needs and constraints faced by participants in the SENSE. project.

See a full description of methodological information in the published report "SENSE. The New European Roadmap to STEAM Education Deliverable 3.3 – Report on Stakeholder Challenges and Needs for future-making STEAM Education in Europe", published June 2023 and accessible at the following link: https://sense-steam.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D3.3-%E2%80%93-Report-on-Stakeholder_EU-Portal.pdf

In order to conduct the local interviews and to subsequently analyse the responses comprehensively, the following protocol was established.

Firstly, based on the landscape of STEAM beneficiaries identified during the STEAM DNA Workshop, specific target groups were defined:

• Young people (aged 19-25)
• Parents and/or educators of young people aged 13-18
• Educational institutions (such as school headmasters, teachers from secondary education, educators, explainers, educational programs developers, science communicators)
• Business (Companies/ Industries/ social enterprises interested in a skilled and creative workforce)
• Policy makers (such as municipalities, local administrators, local, regional, and national officers of the ministries of education)

Secondly, in order to ensure a broad representation of all target groups, each partner was asked to identify at least two or more representatives of their beneficiaries, taking into account the categories mentioned above. Given the heterogeneity of the Consortium partners and their varying degrees of involvement with different target groups in their daily work, the involvement of all partners as a whole Consortium in this assessment activity allowed the full spectrum of participants to be concretely involved. This approach also lays the foundation for the participation and organisation of the upcoming local STEAM workshops of WP4.

Each partner contributed to the survey. Oral interviews were preferred and could be conducted in person, by telephone or by online teleconference. If necessary, partners had the flexibility to use other types of data collection.

The proposed questions were the following:

1. What are the constraints of current science education in your context and from your point of view?
2. What do you see as the main barriers to participation, especially for girls?
3. What strategies and approaches have you found useful to promote inclusion and participation in science education?
4. In what way do you think the integration of science and arts can improve STEM education of pupils from different backgrounds and contexts?
5. What benefits do you foresee for you or your organization from the completion of the SENSE. project?
6. Do you have any suggestions for us?

The interviews began with a brief overview of the SENSE. project, its objectives and how the opinions and information gathered would be used. A sample letter of introduction was shared with the partners, which could be adapted to suit individual local contexts and circumstances. The letter is included in SENSE. Deliverable 3.3 Annex 1, mentioned above.

Following the interviews, each partner completed an electronic questionnaire (Google Form) for each interview, documenting the responses collected (see Google Form in the SENSE. Deliverable 3.3 Annex 2, mentioned above). If an answer was too long, the interviewer and the interviewee agreed on a summarising sentence to be included in the form without any changes. With regard to data management and protection, the information was collected in accordance with the respective national regulations.