Equity in STEM Education: The Impact of Socioeconomic Status and Digital Divide on Student Participation

Abstract

The current work research problem is to investigate how socioeconomic factors (SES), internet access as well as availability of resources influence the attendance and achievement of students in STD (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning as the means of overcoming the challenges to the equality of access and recommend the trimming of solutions to embrace inclusiveness. The survey was conducted on 500 students located in various institutions of learning and a combination of survey and semi-structured interviews offered so as to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information. Their results indicate the existence of a massive disparity regarding STEM involvement, in the case of unequal access particularly on the background of the low SES group, the rural areas, and students who have insufficient access to central computers. Compared to students with higher SES background and places with higher access to digital time-savers, students with these groups are less involved and performing in courses and subjects in STEM related fields. Also, access to resources, including quality teachers and laboratory equipment and extracurricular STEM programs used to prove a determinant in the STEM academic achievement. Gender and racial differences also have terms, which underrepresents the people that do not fall into the set eligible categories (women and minority) in the field of STEM. To the improvements, the specified study proposes certain intervention logics such as the accessibility of digital lights enhancement, mentorship, quality improvement in practices of teachers, and equal resource distribution to bridge the gap and reach a high inclusivity of STEM studies.