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Title: THE MISMEASUREMENT OF STEM: EVIDENCE FROM COLLEGE COURSE CLASSIFICATIONS
STEM acronymically refers to four areas of inquiry – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. But as its use has become ubiquitous, STEM has taken on social and political meaning far beyond the sum of its component parts. In this paper, we take a first step in clarifying the analytic categories of STEM in education. This, we propose, is a necessary first building block for STEM analysis – to understand what constitutes STEM coursework, the constituent element of a STEM education. We first review the STEM definitional problems we have identified in the process of examining two sets of NCES nationally-representative data, provide analysis of the extent of potential mismeasurement, and estimates of impact. We then outline an approach to resolving the mismeasurement problems in nationally-representative postsecondary student surveys. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7282/00000318  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1561687
PAR ID:
10521112
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Rutgers University
Date Published:
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
STEM workforce Economic Policy Educational Administration and Policy Higher Education STEM Education Sociology Education Standard Reference Data
Format(s):
Medium: X
Institution:
Rutgers University
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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