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Area 4: Extending equity

Extending equity is about supporting participants in the longer term and thinking about how practice can benefit the wider community.

The fourth Equity Compass area is called ‘Extending equity’, which includes two equity dimensions: Community/society orientation and the Long-term aspect of practice.

In this video, Spela explains what the ‘Extending equity’ area entails and how it can help us think about extending equitable opportunities for more people and over a longer time. She describes the two dimensions within this area and gives examples of reflection questions for each.

  • Community/society orientation highlights that equitable practice ought to benefit not only the participants who are directly involved, but also their families and their wider community. For instance, how do you involve young people’s families, or support the participants to use STEM skills and knowledge to improve their lives and ‘make a difference’?
  • Long term dimension emphasises the importance of providing ongoing, sustainable and connected opportunities for participants. For instance, how do you support or signpost participants to further opportunities?

Next, we use the questions introduced within this Equity Compass area to think about an illustrative case study taking place in a school.

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Equity in Informal STEM Learning: Using the Equity Compass

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