Digital skills, university choice and non-cognitive skills: a Randomized Trial

We conduct an RCT in Italian high schools with different mayors, and we randomize access to digital skill courses. Courses are taken by students for credit, they are standard in format and employ a tested learn-by-doing pedagogical approach, and cover 3D design, 3D printing, and laser cutting: these content in Italy are typically covered by selected STEM courses at the university level. We test whether participation fosters interest in STEM subjects for future university studies, relative occupations, creativity and grit, in separate manuscripts. In particular, we are interested in detecting gender differences in the effect of treatment. The ever-growing demand on the job market for digital skills and STEM degrees makes them important components of pre-university education. However, especially in countries with education systems dominated by humanistic subjects, school curricula fail to include scientific and quantitative subjects to a sufficient degree, and under-expose students to the use of technology, leading to sub-optimal demand for STEM degrees at the university level. This is particularly true for girls, as they tend to engage less with STEM-related education at school even when it is offered, and thus self-select into non-STEM subjects at university (OECD, 2020).