This week, I focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and CNN’s video on Ghana’s girls STEM Academy. The video is based on a school in Ghana, the African Science Academy. The school has been breaking the barriers for young women in Africa to enter into STEM careers. It has brought together leaders and experts from across the continent to give African girls an equal opportunity to venture into careers that men across the globe predominantly hold. The school has had challenges in choosing the underprivileged girls to join and finding role models to inspire them to persevere. The video recognizes the impact that a career in STEM can have on the entire continent. By focusing on girls’ education, the school aims to change their mindset and what people think about them. It is a way to solve Africa’s problem by introducing women into science and innovation. It sees introducing women into STEM as a way of creating opportunities for them to do amazing things and impact change in the continent. It is a way of breaking barriers to dominate STEM in Africa by bringing leaders in the field as proof to the girls that it is possible. According to the school leaders, the school is just the beginning. It is expected that the girls and the school will bring more change and impact across Africa.
The article I located that is related to the Ghana Girl’s STEM Academy video is by Stroud (2018). The article addresses the issue of the US falling behind in science education. However, like the ASA school promoting girls’ education in Africa, Kentucky is powering a comeback, showing that an improvement is possible. In Africa, women represent only 12 percent of engineering students and only 30 percent of the population working in the field, and that is why the school started to increase the numbers (CNN, 2017). The US also needs more work to increase its competitiveness in science education since, according to Stroud (2018), the country ranked 24th out of 71. The article also appreciates the roles that schools play in their performance in STEM, as ASA is doing for Ghana girls because performance in the field determines the potential for innovation. Schools in Kentucky are taking the role of ASA in taking accountability for science. Schools there are assessing science as a subject for students in specific grades. It is also bringing computer science to another level, the same way the ASA is doing for engineering by pushing to give girls more opportunities. According to Stroud (2018), Kentucky is doing this to add standards for computer science for students to come out feeling competent in the field.
Another area that shows the two global issues are related is because they both believe in working together. African Science Academy relies on leaders and experts across the continent working together with the teachers to mentor the young women joining the STEAM field (CNN, 2017). Similarly, Kentucky owes its success to collaboration and support from businesses, organizations, and statewide initiatives that want to see science succeed (Stroud, 2018). The students in both perspectives get access to modern learning experiences. Lastly, the article considers the efforts of a leader from which other states will be challenged to be competitive in science education. Stroud (2018) states that although the country has a long way to go, they have Bluegrass State as a leader. In the same, CNN (2017) knows that the ASA is going to be the leader in change by producing girls in STEM that will impact change in the entire continent.
The global perspective presented in the article makes me understand the importance of the STEM field to a country. The article points out that a nation’s performance in STEM determines its potential for innovation. The US may already be considered a superpower in other areas, but since it ranks as least competitive in science education, more effort is needed for its potential for innovation to compare to the real heavyweights in the field. It has also helped me understand that for the country to excel, it will need more collaborative effort. According to Stroud (2018), Kentucky is successful because people are working together despite not being in the STEM field. Bluegrass State is a success because it is not only left to the education department. Instead, businesses and organizations are stepping in to contribute in different ways.
Reference
CNN. (2017). Ghana girl’s STEM academy [Video]. Films On Demand. https://fod-infobase-com.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=279729&xtid=187254
Stroud, G. (2018, February 2). The US is falling way behind in STEM, but Kentucky’s powering the comeback. Education Post. https://educationpost.org/the-us-is-falling-way-behind-instem-but-kentuckys-powering-the-comeback
write