Lesley Paterson asks:
Is there any evidence or research that shows that 'younger people' are
seen as better role models than older people?
Some list members may remember that the Royal Society (with funding from
NESTA and the DfES) conducted a study on Role Models a couple of years
ago, and published a practical guide for people who run role model
projects, "Taking a leading role - A good practice guide", in March
2005.
As part of the project, we questioned 157 young people about role
models, schemes and science, and conducted a web survey where over 1000
scientists told us what had influenced them.
What came out of all of that was that young people tend to relate better
to young people, but good communication skills matter more. To quote
from the "recruiting" section of the guide:
"Younger role models (around 30 or under) can help to dispel the
stereotypical image of scientists and engineers held by many young
people. Young people of secondary school age will identify more readily
with a role model relatively close to them in age - and the role models
more recent experience of school will mean that he or she can identify
with some of the concerns the pupils may raise. For children of primary
school age, this may be less relevant, since even relatively young role
models will appear old to this age group."
"do not get too hung up on trying to match the gender and ethnicity of
role models to particular groups of pupils unless it is particularly
important to the purpose of the event such as encouraging girls to enter
SET. The enthusiasm and communication skills of the role model are more
important."
"You need to think about the balance between the need for younger role
models and the role models certainty and experience in his or her
subject area and confidence in dealing with young people."
The guide and the research report are both available on our website at
http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/rolemodels
Best wishes
Scott
(Aged 30.28 and already feeling old...)
Scott Keir
Science in Society Officer
tel +44 (0)20 7451 2513
fax +44 (0)20 7930 2170
web http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk
The Royal Society
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AG
Registered Charity No 207043
The Royal Society - excellence in science
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