Canada’s transition to a digital, sustainable economy hinges on science, technology, and innovation (ST&I). Quality STEM education is essential to unlocking our full potential, therefore better integration of Early Years-Grade 12/Sec V STEM education into the ST&I ecosystem will support a prosperous, resilient future. The ST&I community has an essential role to play in this important effort.

The need for a highly skilled workforce to drive this transformation has been well documented in many reports, including our own[1], and those by Bio-Talent Canada[2], RBC[3], Future Skills Centre[4], ICTC[5], and Immigration Canada[6].

While it is critical to address adult skill development, realizing our full potential requires focus on developing young people with the skills and attributes necessary to lead the transition. Expectations for citizens and workers will become increasingly complex.

We are fortunate that all youth have access to free public education, putting Canada at the top of international measures of education equality. Canadian students perform above the OECD average in math and science on PISA[7] tests. However, our education systems cannot keep pace with the scientific and economic transformation underway. Trusted ST&I partners are needed to support the evolving needs of youth and educators.

Scientific literacy, including understanding the nature and processes of science, evidence, risk and uncertainty, are essential for informed engagement in an increasingly complex and technological world. The development of scientific literacy should start early. However, too many educators lack the necessary training, confidence, time and resources to teach science effectively. Consequently, most students in Canada do not complete high school science credits that are typically needed for admission to postsecondary science studies.

Secondary school participation data shown in Figure 1 was gathered through communication with Ministries of Education because there is no centralized national education data accessible for Early Years – Grade 12. Each province and territory have their own science requirements for secondary school graduation and every postsecondary institution has its own admission requirements – which have remained largely unchanged for decades.

Figure 1. Average percentage enrollment of students in various Grade 12 courses in BC, ON, NL, SK AB, NB (Collected from the Ministry of Education within each Jurisdiction).

Bringing Science to Life and Addressing Key Barriers to Youth STEM Engagement

Education systems in Canada are fragmented and complicated. Let’s Talk Science has spent over 30 years navigating the complexity to help youth prepare for careers and citizenship demands. As a national education partner, Let’s Talk Science offers high quality, inclusive learning experiences and resources that engage youth and educators in life/health/physical sciences, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – at no cost, in person and online, in English and French, for schools, Early Years centres, community organizations and families in all regions of Canada.

Embracing a scalable, community-based approach, Let’s Talk Science has developed extensive networks that enable regionally and culturally responsive programs for youth and professional learning for educators within a proven national platform. Youth and educators in approximately 1,700 communities and 6,000 schools across Canada benefit from this programming every year.

Let’s Talk Science supports the development of all youth into creative, critical thinkers and knowledgeable citizens who are prepared to participate and thrive in a complex global environment. Programming includes face-to-face and online learning experiences that foster curiosity and develop critical skills and characteristics. Programming addresses key barriers[8] to youth STEM engagement, which include:

 i) how STEM is experienced at school;
ii) lack of relevant, diverse role models;
iii) lack of perceived relevance of STEM; and
iv) lack of understanding about postsecondary and career pathways.

A Complicated Ecosystem

Canada is the only developed country without a federal ministry of education. Education is a jurisdictional responsibility, with more than 20 provincial and territorial ministries/departments holding responsibility for early years through postsecondary education. The roughly 300 school boards/districts and 15,000 public schools in Canada also have considerable independence. The result is a complex, fragmented ecosystem. Further complications include school curricula, which are policy documents developed by governments for every subject and grade to define expected student outcomes. Classroom educators are required to fulfill requirements, but curriculum documents do not dictate how.

Few classroom educators have post-graduate STEM training, research or industry experience. With pressure to deal with other critical student needs such as mental health and nutrition, it is not surprising that most teachers lack time, resources, and incentives to stay current with scientific advances, jobs of the future, post-secondary pathways, and inclusive STEM teaching strategies that would maintain student interest and engagement. And most current federal priority science fields are not well represented.

Despite the complexity, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, post-secondary science participation has increased over the past decade. Much of the increase can be accounted for by growing international student enrolment. Participation of domestic students has increased in absolute terms but declined in relative terms – and it continues to draw on a relatively small talent pool for advanced STEM training (Figure 1). The impact of international student caps remains to be seen.

To improve domestic student participation, we must start early to support and scale youth STEM engagement, increase and diversify secondary school STEM participation, and enhance the types of courses offered to align better with future needs and student interests.

Figure 2  Statistics Canada. Table 37-10-0164-01  Postsecondary graduates, by International Standard Classification of Education, institution type, Classification of Instructional Programs, STEM and BHASE groupings, status of student in Canada, age group and gender. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/3710016401-eng

Figure 3 Statistics Canada. Table 37-10-0164-01  Postsecondary graduates, by International Standard Classification of Education, institution type, Classification of Instructional Programs, STEM and BHASE groupings, status of student in Canada, age group and gender. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/3710016401-eng

Collaboratively Connecting ST&I Stakeholders and the Education Ecosystem

Let’s Talk Science is uniquely positioned in the ST&I and education ecosystems, and our collaborative, scalable approaches to programming enable youth and educator engagement in priority fields such as climate science, genomics, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, health sciences, biotechnology, space, quantum and more. Let’s Talk Science tackles the barriers listed earlier, engaging youth in relevant, leading-edge science and building their awareness of the many opportunities available to them if they pursue STEM studies.

This engagement is coupled with a unique approach to career awareness. Let’s Talk Science offers the ‘first stop’ for youth to explore the breadth and diversity of careers available with STEM skills, knowledge and attributes. Once they find careers of interest, youth can access a wealth of online resources to help them understand the career and relevant pathways more deeply. Early exposure to career information presented in youth-friendly ways is critical to catalyzing long-term intention to pursue STEM.

Conclusion

With fewer than 6.5 million youth, ages 3-17, we cannot afford to leave any behind. In considering the future of science, research and innovation in Canada, youth STEM engagement is critical for long-term success. Given the rapid pace of change, meaningful connections between ST&I stakeholders and the Early Years – Grade 12 / Sec V education ecosystem are essential for future prosperity. Organizations like Let’s Talk Science are essential to catalyzing that connection.

1. Spotlight on Science Learning series. https://letstalkscience.ca/sites/default/files/2022-11/SOSL2022_Snapshot%20of%20a%20Decade-DIGITAL_0.pdf
2. Close-Up on the Bio-Economy. Bio-Talent Canada (Oct, 2021), https://www.biotalent.ca/reports/close-up-on-the-bio-economy-national-report/
3. Green Collar Jobs: The skills revolution Canada needs to reach Net Zero. RBC (Feb 2022) https://www.rbccm.com/en/insights/story.page?dcr=templatedata/article/insights/data/2022/02/green_collar_jobs_the_skills_revolution_canada_needs_to_reach_net_zero
4. Annotated bibliography retrieved March 2022 https://fsc-ccf.ca/fsc-research/annotated-bibliography/
5. Onwards and Upwards: Digital Talent Outlook 2025 (Information and Communications Technology Council)  https://www.ictc-ctic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/digital-talent-outlook-for-2025.pdf
6. Immigration Canada, retrieved March 2022 https://www.immigration.ca/canada-labour-shortage-these-are-the-top-15-most-in-demand-jobs-for-2022
7. Country Note, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Results from 2018 https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_CAN.pdf
8. Evolution of Student Interest in Science and Technology Studies. OECD Global Science Forum 2006 https://www.oecd.org/science/inno/36645825.pdf