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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), previously science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET),[1] is a broad term used to group together these academic disciplines.[2] This term is typically used to address an education policy or a curriculum choice in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns, and immigration policy.[2] The science in STEM typically refers to two out of the three major branches of science: natural sciences, including biology, physics, and chemistry; and formal sciences, of which mathematics is an example, along with logic and statistics. The third major branch of science, social science such as psychology, sociology, and political science, are categorized separately from the other two branches of science and are instead grouped together with humanities and arts to form another counterpart acronym named HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences), rebranded in the UK in 2020 as SHAPE.[3][4] Psychology however is considered a major part of STEM, besides the other two subjects.[5] In the United States/United Kingdom education system, in elementary, middle, and high schools, the term science refers primarily to the natural sciences, with mathematics being a standalone subject, and the social sciences are combined with the humanities under the umbrella term social studies.
The change was, in part, instigated at an interagency meeting by Peter Faletra the director from the Office of Science division of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. The acronym was adopted by Rita Colwell and other science administrators in the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2001. However, the acronym STEM predates NSF which was used by a variety of educators including Charles E. Vela, the founder and director of the Center for the Advancement of Hispanics in Science and Engineering Education (CAHSEE).[6][7][8] In the early 1990s, CAHSEE started a summer program for talented under-represented students in the Washington, DC area called the STEM Institute. Based on the program's recognized success and his expertise in STEM education,[9] Charles Vela was asked to serve on numerous NSF and Congressional panels in science, mathematics and engineering education;[10] it is through this manner that NSF was first introduced to the acronym STEM. One of the first NSF projects to use the acronym[citation needed] was STEMTEC, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teacher Education Collaborative at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which was founded in 1998.[11]
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Education
By cultivating an interest in the natural and social sciences in preschool or immediately following school entry, the chances of STEM success in high school can be greatly improved.[citation needed]
STEM supports broadening the study of engineering within each of the other subjects, and beginning engineering at younger grades, even elementary school. It also brings STEM education to all students rather than only the gifted programs. In his 2012 budget, President Barack Obama renamed and broadened the "Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP)" to award block grants to states for improving teacher education in those subjects.[59]
In the 2015 run of the international assessment test the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), American students came out 35th in mathematics, 24th in reading and 25th in science, out of 109 countries. The United States also ranked 29th in the percentage of 24-year-olds with science or mathematics degrees.[60]
STEM education often uses new technologies such as RepRap 3D printers to encourage interest in STEM fields.[61]
In 2006 the United States National Academies expressed their concern about the declining state of STEM education in the United States. Its Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy developed a list of 10 actions. Their top three recommendations were to:
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Increase America's talent pool by improving K–12 science and mathematics education
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Strengthen the skills of teachers through additional training in science, mathematics and technology
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Enlarge the pipeline of students prepared to enter college and graduate with STEM degrees[62]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also has implemented programs and curricula to advance STEM education in order to replenish the pool of scientists, engineers and mathematicians who will lead space exploration in the 21st century.[62]
Individual states, such as California, have run pilot after-school STEM programs to learn what the most promising practices are and how to implement them to increase the chance of student success.[63] Another state to invest in STEM education is Florida, where Florida Polytechnic University,[64] Florida's first public university for engineering and technology dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), was established.[65] During school, STEM programs have been established for many districts throughout the U.S. Some states include New Jersey, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio.[66][67]
Continuing STEM education has expanded to the post-secondary level through masters programs such as the University of Maryland's STEM Program[68] as well as the University of Cincinnati.[69]
The racial gap in STEM fields
In the United States, the National Science Foundation found that the average science score on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress was lower for black and Hispanic students than white, Asian, and Pacific Islanders.[70] In 2011, eleven percent of the U.S. workforce was black, while only six percent of STEM workers were black.[71] Though STEM in the U.S. has typically been dominated by white males, there have been considerable efforts to create initiatives to make STEM a more racially and gender diverse field.[72] Some evidence suggests that all students, including black and Hispanic students, have a better chance of earning a STEM degree if they attend a college or university at which their entering academic credentials are at least as high as the average student's.[73] However, there is criticism that emphasis on STEM diversity has lowered academic standards.[74]
Gender gaps in STEM
Although women make up 47% of the workforce[75] in the U.S., they hold only 24% of STEM jobs. Research suggests that exposing girls to female inventors at a young age has the potential to reduce the gender gap in technical STEM fields by half.[76] Campaigns from organizations like the National Inventors Hall of Fame aimed to achieve a 50/50 gender balance in their youth STEM programs by 2020.
American Competitiveness Initiative
In the State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, President George W. Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative. Bush proposed the initiative to address shortfalls in federal government support of educational development and progress at all academic levels in the STEM fields. In detail, the initiative called for significant increases in federal funding for advanced R&D programs (including a doubling of federal funding support for advanced research in the physical sciences through DOE) and an increase in U.S. higher education graduates within STEM disciplines.
The NASA Means Business competition, sponsored by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, furthers that goal. College students compete to develop promotional plans to encourage students in middle and high school to study STEM subjects and to inspire professors in STEM fields to involve their students in outreach activities that support STEM education.
The National Science Foundation has numerous programs in STEM education, including some for K–12 students such as the ITEST Program that supports The Global Challenge Award ITEST Program. STEM programs have been implemented in some Arizona schools. They implement higher cognitive skills for students and enable them to inquire and use techniques used by professionals in the STEM fields.
The STEM Academy is a national nonprofit-status organization dedicated to improving STEM literacy for all students. It represents a recognized national next-generation high-impact academic model. The practices, strategies, and programming are built upon a foundation of identified national best practices which are designed to improve under-represented minority and low-income student growth, close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates and improve teacher and principal effectiveness. The STEM Academy represents a flexible use academic model that targets all schools and is for all students.[77]
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a leading provider of STEM education curricular programs to middle and high schools in the United States. The national nonprofit organization has over 5,200 programs in over 4,700 schools in all 50 states. Programs include a high school engineering curriculum called Pathway To Engineering, a high school biomedical sciences program, and a middle school engineering and technology program called Gateway To Technology. PLTW provides the curriculum and the teacher professional development and ongoing support to create transformational programs in schools, districts, and communities. PLTW programs have been endorsed by President Barack Obama and United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as well as various state, national, and business leaders.[citation needed]
STEM Education Coalition
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition[78] works to support STEM programs for teachers and students at the U. S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies that offer STEM-related programs. Activity of the STEM Coalition seems to have slowed since September 2008.
Department of Defense programs
[81] The eCybermission is a free, web-based science, mathematics and technology competition for students in grades six through nine sponsored by the U.S. Army. Each webinar is focused on a different step of the scientific method and is presented by an experienced eCybermission CyberGuide. CyberGuides are military and civilian volunteers with a strong background in STEM and STEM education, who are able to provide valuable insight into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to students and team advisers.
STARBASE is a premier educational program, sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Students interact with military personnel to explore careers and make connections with the "real world." The program provides students with 20–25 hours of stimulating experiences at National Guard, Navy, Marines, Air Force Reserve and Air Force bases across the nation.
SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that trains teachers to teach their students how to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of-school setting. Students build the ROV from a kit composed of low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme.
NASA
NASAStem is a program of the U.S. space agency NASA to increase diversity within its ranks, including age, disability, and gender as well as race/ethnicity.[82]
Legislatio
The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) became law on August 9, 2007. It is intended to increase the nation's investment in science and engineering research and in STEM education from kindergarten to graduate school and postdoctoral education. The act authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science over FY2008–FY2010. Robert Gabrys, Director of Education at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, articulated success as increased student achievement, early expression of student interest in STEM subjects, and student preparedness to enter the workforce.
Jobs
In November 2012 the White House announcement before congressional vote on the STEM Jobs Act put President Obama in opposition to many of the Silicon Valley firms and executives who bankrolled his re-election campaign.[83] The Department of Labor identified 14 sectors that are "projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy or affect the growth of other industries or are being transformed by technology and innovation requiring new sets of skills for workers."[84] The identified sectors were as follows: advanced manufacturing, Automotive, construction, financial services, geospatial technology, homeland security, information technology, Transportation, Aerospace, Biotechnology, energy, healthcare, hospitality, and retail.
The Department of Commerce notes STEM fields careers are some of the best-paying and have the greatest potential for job growth in the early 21st century. The report also notes that STEM workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and training in STEM fields generally results in higher wages, whether or not they work in a STEM field.[85]
In 2015, there were around 9.0 million STEM jobs in the United States, representing 6.1% of American employment. STEM jobs were increasing around 9% percent per year.[86] Brookings Institution found that the demand for competent technology graduates will surpass the number of capable applicants by at least one million individuals.
Trajectories of STEM graduates in STEM and non-STEM jobs
According to the 2014 US Census "74 percent of those who have a bachelor's degree in science, technology, engineering and math — commonly referred to as STEM — are not employed in STEM occupations."[87][88]
Updates
In September 2017, a number of large American technology firms collectively pledged to donate $300 million for computer science education in the U.S.[89]
PEW findings revealed in 2018 that Americans identified several issues that hound STEM education which included unconcerned parents, disinterested students, obsolete curriculum materials, and too much focus on state parameters. 57 percent of survey respondents pointed out that one main problem of STEM is lack of students' concentration in learning.[90]
The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card[91] made public technology as well as engineering literacy scores which determines whether students have the capability to apply technology and engineering proficiency to real-life scenarios. The report showed a gap of 28 points between low-income students and their high-income counterparts. The same report also indicated a 38-point difference between white and black students.[92]
The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) announced the release of a five-year strategic plan by the Committee on STEM Education of the National Science and Technology Council on December 4, 2018. The plan is entitled "Charting a Course for Success: America's Strategy for STEM Education."[93] The objective is to propose a federal strategy anchored on a vision for the future so that all Americans are given permanent access to premium-quality education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In the end, the United States can emerge as world leader in STEM mastery, employment, and innovation. The goals of this plan are building foundations for STEM literacy; enhancing diversity, equality, and inclusion in STEM; and preparing the STEM workforce for the future.[94]
The 2019 fiscal budget proposal of the White House supported the funding plan in President Donald Trump's Memorandum on STEM Education which allocated around $200 million (grant funding) on STEM education every year. This budget also supports STEM through a grant program worth $20 million for career as well as technical education programs.[95]
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A Framework for K-12 Science Education
