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"STEM" is a term that has intuitive appeal but lacks an agreed-upon definition. As such, it has become a term whose ubiquity and ambiguity allow it to be used for a range of policy and political purposes. The longstanding focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as a focal point of education and workforce policy makes it important to understand what is considered a STEM field, for what purposes the STEM designation is used, and how it has become a highly politicized term that lacks practical meaning. The use of STEM in policy historically and currently is used to support a range of policy objectives beyond improving science and engineering education or workforce development.
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STEM education and workforce development: the history, politics, and evidence
The education and training of students and workers for careers in STEM fields is a longstanding concern of educators, development practitioners, analysts, and policymakers around the world. This chapter focuses on STEM workforce development in the United States in the context of global education migration and global enterprises that employ STEM graduates. It begins by addressing the politicized history of STEM workforce development, finding the STEM crisis theme is a perennial policy favorite in the US, appearing every few years as an urgent concern in the nation's competition with whatever other nation is ascendant, or as the cause of whatever problem is ailing the domestic economy. Turning to the measurement of STEM supply and demand, we find it is fraught with difficulty and inconsistency. The entry concludes by considering the need for, and the obstacles to increasing the supply of STEM students at US colleges and universities. Overall, we find that STEM policy is often a response to broader anxieties and politics—whether about international threats or domestic economic crises—and is seldom based on substantial empirical analysis. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818630-5.13065-9
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- Award ID(s):
- 1561687
- PAR ID:
- 10521118
- Publisher / Repository:
- International Encyclopedia of Education, Elsevier
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- STEM Education Higher Education Mathematics Guestworkers Labor markets Science and engineering STEM workforce Workforce development Community Colleges Globalization
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Institution:
- Elsevier Ltd
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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