Predicting STEM educational achievement and career pathways from spatial ability and non-cognitive factors

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Increasing STEM engagement has been declared a priorityby many governments due to its association with positiveindividual outcomes and greater national prosperity. Whilethere has been an abundance of research elucidating theaetiology of individual differences in educationalachievement more broadly, there has been less focus onpredicting STEM achievement and career choicesspecifically. To that end, recent work has shown thatvariation in non-cognitive factors such as attitudes andemotions are related to variation in maths achievement,while spatial ability (a domain of general cognitive abilityrelated to STEM achievement) appears to bedistinguishable from general cognitive ability, bothphenotypically and genetically. Building on this knowledge,this project will utilize a novel and comprehensive batteryof spatial ability tests alongside measures of non-cognitivefactors to predict STEM achievement and career choice in adevelopmental context. By increasing our understanding ofthe way the environment and genetics influence individualdifferences in STEM outcomes, this research can potentiallyinform public policy with regards to increasing STEMengagement and reducing disparities.