Supporting Children’s Space Careers Education: “I’m a Space Person”

Educational research shows participation issues across Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are largely due to whether students see these areas and their potential career opportunities as relevant and accessible to “people like me”. These perceptions form early and remain relatively stable with age, which has led to recommendations for increased provision and quality of careers education/engagement at both primary and secondary levels. Of STEM-related fields, the space sector is one of the most diverse and rapidly growing industries worldwide and of strategic priority to many countries. This highlights the need for space careers education in particular. We introduce a new space careers resource “I’m a Space Person”, which leverages personal attributes to help children identify with different space careers. Information about each of the 36 varied roles featured is distilled down onto a simple postcard format, with an accompanying website to enable further exploration. Resources for parents/carers and teachers are also provided to assist them in supporting children’s careers education. We present the development process of this resource and its usage thus far by the UK Space Agency in a nationwide roadshow. Finally, we discuss how the existing resources could be used and adapted for different countries and contexts.