STEM & Current Education Policy

STEM – short for Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – is a curriculum based on the idea of promoting specific disciplines in a more interdisciplinary and applied approach. As opposed to breaking down and compartmentalizing the four disciplines, they are instead integrated into a comprehensive learning paradigm based on real world applications.

The US has historically played a leading role in these fields however in recent years the U.S. Department of Education has reported a decrease in the number of students showing high proficiency in math or following STEM careers. According to the U.S. Department of Education website, roughly half of all high school freshmen declare an interest in a STEM-related field but a large number lose interest before they graduate.

Over a dozen Education Leaders Advocacy groups are partners in the Commitment on STEM Education (CoSTEM). The goal of CoSTEM is to help establish a joint national strategy to invest federal funds into the K-12 STEM education and therefore boost public and youth engagement on these disciplines. The Department of Education already offers several STEM-based programs including research projects with a STEM emphasis and other general projects that support STEM education.

The previous administration spent over $3 billion in annual federal investment on STEM education in an effort to recruit new teachers and also to set up Innovation Networks in high schools all over the country. The budget also extends towards advanced research projects and exploration of next-generation learning methods.

Why is STEM Education Important?

All of the effort going toward STEM is meant to meet a growing need. According to a report from the website STEMconnector.org, job prospects for 2018 indicate a need for 8.65 million workers in STEM-related jobs. There’s a significant shortage of labor in the manufacturing sector and the same goes for cloud computing and related fields.

The most marketable fields in the STEM curriculum are,

· Computing

· Engineering

· Physical sciences

· Life sciences

· Mathematics

Qualification for STEM jobs varies widely. Some entry-level jobs don’t require a bachelor’s degree or higher – however, salary prospects improve when applicants have a four-year degree.

What makes STEM-based learning different from traditional science and mathematics education is the nature of blended learning environment which seeks to promote everyday life application of skills. Students are taught critical computation thinking and emphasis is on real world application and problem solving. STEM training is introduced in the classroom at a young stage.

· Elementary school – Students are introduced to basic STEM fields and occupations.

· Middle school – the courses are made more rigorous and challenging.

· High school – subjects are broken down in more detail and focus is on application.

Much of this curriculum is meant to attract underrepresented populations (i.e., female populations, different ethnic groups, etc.) who are less likely to pursue these fields. Asian students have displayed a keen interest in STEM disciplines. Male students are much more likely to focus on engineering and technology while female students prefer science fields like chemistry, biology and marine biology. Overall, a male student is three times more likely to take follow a STEM career than a female counterpart.