Developing Long-Term STEM Pipeline Security: Taking an Early Interventionist Approach
Where exactly does the STEM pipeline begin to leak? Are we looking at the right place to fix it?
Paula Walshe, early childhood education lecturer at Southeast Technological University in Carlow, Ireland, and PhD candidate researching STEAM and early childhood education, addressed these questions in the webinar held on April 16th, 2026. Presenting as one of the experts in Thematic Working Group 1 (Encouraging ICT Education for Girls and Women), she made the case that early education is the most neglected starting point to the STEM conversation.
Policies but not practices
Europe’s strategic architecture for STEM and digital skills is substantial. The EU Union of Skills, the STEM Education Strategic Plan, the Digital Education Action Plan, and frameworks such as DigitalEd 2.2 all acknowledge digital and ICT competences as foundational skills
“There’s clearly a lot of focus on this area within European policy. But when we look at practice, it’s not what’s happening. We need to make that change.”
Walshe illustrated the gap using example data from the Women in Digital Index for Ireland. The numbers show a drop of just over ten percentage points between the transition from secondary STEM education into higher ICT programmes. Critically, once women enter ICT education, progression through to employment and leadership is strong, with no comparable drop-off.
“The data tells us that if we can get women to the point of ICT enrolment, they stay and they progress. The question is what is happening before that point.”
The answer lies in what comes before: early childhood education.
The early childhood gap
Children’s brains develop faster in the pre-primary years than at any subsequent stage of life. Longitudinal research demonstrates that quality early childhood education has measurable, lasting effects on educational outcomes and eventual career choices. Research also confirms that gender stereotypes begin to form during this period; by the age of five or six, girls have already started to absorb limiting messages about their own capabilities relative to boys.
In Ireland, this context is compounded by an evident workforce characteristic: 96% of the early childhood education sector is female. A 2022 Government of Ireland report acknowledged the STEM skills gap among early childhood educators. A 2026 ESRI study further found that women across Irish workplaces are frequently not applying those skills in their professional roles.
“We have a predominantly female-led workforce in early childhood education, a recognised skills gap in that workforce, and research showing that women with digital skills aren’t using them. That’s a double barrier affecting the very educators who could be shaping children’s earliest relationship with STEM.”
Walshe’s own PhD research addressed this directly. She developed, delivered, and evaluated STEAM training and CPD intervention for early childhood educators (called the STEAM from the Start framework) and found that participants were still incorporating what they had learned into their classroom practice three to nine months after completing the programme. Earlier studies on STEM CPD for educators had found no such lasting impact. The difference, she argued, came from addressing not only skills transfer, but also educator willingness.
“Knowledge and skill transfer is not enough if educators don’t have the willingness and confidence to act on it independently. That is where many previous programmes fell short.”
A practical tool for evidence and improvement
Thematic Working Group 1 developed the Early Childhood Education Classroom Evidence Lab, a five-step cycle designed to gather micro-level data from early childhood classrooms and feed it forward into analysis of girls’ STEM participation.
The process is structured as a cycle to help educators improve gender inclusion in STEM and digital learning. It starts with a confidence survey (before and after the term) to measure changes in educators’ readiness. This is followed by a classroom audit to evaluate whether materials are gender-inclusive, and an observational snapshot to track girls’ participation in STEM activities over time. Educators then complete a reflection form to assess what worked and what could improve. All data is compiled into a short report that helps schools identify trends, guide professional development, and inform broader policy discussions.
The cycle is supported by two tip sheets: one with gender-neutral STEM resources and books featuring girls in STEM, and another offering inclusive language prompts and examples of female STEM role models, especially useful for educators new to the framework.
“The tool is intentionally light-touch. Every step is designed to be low-burden for educators, to maximise the likelihood of sustained engagement rather than adding to an already full workload.”
Making the recommendation count
The proposal from Thematic Working Group 1 suggests updating the Women in Digital Declaration to explicitly promote early, hands-on exposure to ICT and STEM skills. It recommends embedding these competences in early childhood teacher education, supported by micro-credentials, ongoing professional development, and structured tools like the evidence lab.
The rationale is that most current initiatives target girls at the secondary school level but have had limited impact on increasing female participation in ICT careers. Focusing earlier offers a more effective point of intervention.
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. If we want to change what the pipeline looks like at the top, we need to look much earlier at what shapes it at the base.”
