This article examines the potential mediating role of perceived motor skill competence on relationships between actual ball skills and children’s physical activity (PA) and PA enjoyment. Correlation analyses showed positive relationships among the study variables. The findings highlight that ball skills significantly impact students’ perceived competence, positively and indirectly affecting their PA and PA enjoyment.

This chapter explores gender disparities in enrollment and persistence in STEM undergraduate education in England. The authors examine the difference in early educational achievement in mathematics and science subjects and students’ plan to study STEM subjects by gender. They also examine women’s odds of studying STEM subjects in England after controlling for academic performance and social class characteristics. The authors also particularly test gendered differences in studying STEM at prestigious Russell Group universities. Finally, the authors highlight factors that policy makers, researchers, instructors, and STEM workforce members should consider to close gender gaps in STEM undergraduate education.

This chapter showcases a study that examines the relationship between STEM bachelor’s degree attainment, particularly focusing on women of color, and the opportunities of higher education and STEM higher education within local communities across the United States. The authors analyze two large-scale national data sets, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the American Community Survey (ACS), to conduct a location-level analysis. The authors then offer implications that target women of color who live in places that lack opportunities in higher education.

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an international overview of access and success for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs. It focuses on women’s share of STEM graduates to explore trends and compare women’s enrollment in STEM to men’s enrollment in STEM and to higher education in general. The book focuses on the expansion of higher education in Taiwan as it relates to the improved participation of women in STEM tertiary education and in the STEM labor market. It focuses on the persistence of gender inequality in undergraduate engineering education in Germany by analyzing individual factors that contribute to women’s tendency to consider but then opt out of engineering. The book describes several challenges to gender-based equity in STEM in a post-Soviet context and offer multiple policy suggestions for improvement.

Article exploring preservice teachers’ coding in the design of a visually-enhanced digital book to reduce the lag between highly visual texts in elementary classrooms and a lack of emphasis on visual literacy in teacher preparation. Findings call for a shift to acknowledge and incorporate visual literacy theories and practices into teacher preparation programs to prepare preservice teachers for digitally literate classrooms.

In this chapter, the authors offer suggestions for how policymakers and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educators may apply unique but potentially transferrable strategies. Finally, the authors suggest directions for innovative research and policy for pursuing gender equity in STEM fields after the economic and educational turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.