Part II: The Need for STEM Education

Competition to dominate space motivated Americans to study and work in scientific and technological fields during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Surviving and wining the Cold War led to significant advances in our understanding of science and technology and their commercial applications but did it also produce a population content to rest on past achievements? Today, the need for a highly educated and technically trained workforce grows while post-secondary education graduates fewer men and women with the required knowledge and experience.

The news, while grim, is not new. Politicians, industry leaders, and education innovators have recognized and articulated the need to inspire, engage, and educate K-20 students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education for many years if not decades. Funding at the national, regional, state and local levels continues to pour into schools providing teachers with professional development to weave together disciplines and technology, modeling the interdisciplinary nature of the modern work environment.

Few have answers as to why the gap exists and grows. Most educators recognize but cannot clearly explain a decline in interest in the sciences and mathematics toward the end of middle school and beginning of high school, especially among under-served populations and females. It may be that careers in STEM fields continue to be perceived as the domain of white males despite significant contributions by men and women of all backgrounds. A 2007 study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education shows that for every 100 9th graders enrolled in Massachusetts only 29 graduate with a degree from college within four years. Of those who do leave college with a B.A. or B.S. in a STEM related field, the majority of degrees are concentrated in the life sciences.

Most educators and advocates of STEM education believe that early and on-going engagement in STEM will provide the foundation for life-long interest and professional success in related careers.

Part III: Barriers-Funding & Communication