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The journey to pursue and persist with a career in STEM is a complex process that begins at a young age, continues across secondary education and the end of school transition to university. Such decisions are influenced by a range of personal, social and environmental factors, highlighting the practical complexities of supporting young people in their transition to university. This paper explores the post-school transition of two students, one female and one male, with strong technological dispositions and aspirations to pursue careers in STEM fields. We focus on two STEM disciplines, Information Technology and Engineering, chosen by our participants. We employ the theory of practice (Bourdieu 1977) to analyse two students' experience of transition. The findings from these case studies are not intended to be generalised. Rather the in-depth stories and theoretical case analysis provides a nuanced account of transition to study STEM disciplines. Importantly, the pathways into university were not equal for the participants. Class and gender intersected with university structures to enable and constrain students' transition highlighting the significance of institutional supports within STEM disciplines to better support diverse students across the period of transition to university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has impacted Early Childhood Education (ECE) globally. The cancellation of a final year leadership practicum presented an opportunity to partner with pre-service teachers as co-researchers to investigate the leadership experience of four service directors during COVID-19. A multi-case study design included four focus groups consisting of one early childhood sector leader, final year pre-service teachers and one academic mentor aimed to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on service leadership while identifying the leadership strategies that offered protective mitigation for the risks posed by the pandemic. Leadership challenges included shifting health orders, support for the home learning context and disseminating policy shifts to staff and families, all while maintaining viability, managing anxieties of staff, parents and children, while negotiating lockdowns and service restrictions. Findings spoke to the complexity of the situation for leaders, while spotlighting the protective function of high-quality practice; strong service-based philosophy; and prioritisation of relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]