Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and its attendant job prospects have evolved over time and have a positive impact on the fields. However, as the demand for a specialized STEM-focused workforce develops, it becomes evident that not everyone has an equal chance.
According to experts at a Harvard-sponsored presentation, “New Pathways to STEM,” many students are not adequately equipped for professions in STEM. When asked about possible solutions, they cited online education and the rapid development of new digital tools as two promising avenues for widening access to STEM education. STEM education may be made more accessible and equitable if these innovative methods of learning are used, they suggested.
Bridget Long, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, says that the need for a large, talented workforce in STEM-related professions has never been more critical. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment in STEM fields has increased by 79% over the last three decades, a statistic often quoted. In addition, from 2020 to 2030, the number of STEM employment is expected to expand by an additional 11%. As a state alone, Massachusetts employs more than 40% of its workforce in “innovation industries,” such as clean-energy, military, and advanced manufacturing.
STEM education’s value extends far beyond the employment market,” she said. There is a pressing need for people with an interest in solving the world’s most pressing issues in STEM subjects.”
As she explained, STEM subjects enable kids to think critically and develop a mindset that will help them succeed in a variety of fields. However, Long stated, “too often the opportunity to learn and to be motivated by STEM is not available.
It’s been estimated that just 20% of high school graduates are equipped for college-level courses in STEM disciplines; fewer than half the U.S. high schools even offer computer science subjects. This raises the question, “Will the next generation of STEM workers be prepared to meet the challenges of an ever-changing and expanding field?”
STEM education opportunities for high school students are often short across the board, but when you consider how inequitably access is divided based on income, color, ethnicity, or gender, the problem becomes much more ubiquitous.. Students from rural areas and those from economically challenged homes are less likely to attend schools that offer computer science, according to Long.
Because of these variations in educational options, we can expect to observe big differences in the labor force as well. ” She stated, “We’re denying students the chance to succeed.”
When it comes to getting more students from diverse backgrounds into the workforce, what can be done? The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is making a concerted effort to work with and through teachers to convey to students the breadth of STEM opportunities and to reassure them that “it’s not all sitting in front of a computer, or being in a science lab, but showing them that there are STEM opportunities in a wide range of fields.”
Digital platforms, such as LabXchange, have emerged recently to help bridge the divide. Using LabXchange, students, educators, scientists, and researchers may all collaborate in a virtual community to improve science education. With the help of the Amgen Foundation and Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, this new endeavor was launched. Uses science to solve real-world problems and provides a biotechnology learning resource in 13 different languages. There is no need to travel across the country or around the world to obtain the free educational materials.
The panelists also emphasized the importance of long-term investment in addressing the disparities.
A North Carolina professor of biological sciences, Joseph L. Graves Jr., says that if this country wants to be a STEM leader, it must “revitalize its vision of what it needs to do, particularly in the public schools where most Black and brown people are, with regard to producing the human and physical infrastructure to teach STEM.” While serving on LabXchange’s Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Science Education Initiative Faculty Steering Committee
With help from experts from historically black colleges and universities, LabXchange is developing new digital learning resources on anti-racism in education, science and public health. A $1.2 million donation from the Amgen Foundation is funding the content, which will be made freely online and translated into Spanish. Additionally, Mike Edmondson, Amgen’s vice president of Global Field Excellence and Commercial, Diversity Inclusion & Belonging, mentioned the Amgen Biotech Experiment and its accompanying Amgen Scholars program, both of which help ensure that everyone can participate in science and see themselves in a STEM-related job.
Graves said that we must also do a better job of educating people about the importance of STEM education and how we cannot afford to fall behind. We’ll have to spend some money on this. Because we need more STEM experts going future, “America must be willing to invest in STEM education infrastructure, so that we can produce the number of STEM professionals we need going forward,” he stated. In order for students to be able to think critically about the world and for society to become more scientifically literate, we need a new approach to education.
Director of the East Boston High School science and biology programs, Ms. Amanda Dillingham, is on the front lines of this issue, and she believes that supporting teachers is one of the most important things that can be taken to solve it in the near future.
As a result of increased financing, instructors “are able to coordinate networks…and build biotech laboratories in our classroom and build robot laboratories in our classrooms,” said Dillingham. They are also able to introduce pupils to these disciplines and careers at a very early age.
LabXchange founder Rob Lue died a year ago, and Long and the panel paid tribute to him.
A statement from Long reads: “Rob asked science learners, scientists, and educators to commit to ending racial disparities in the field of science.” Access was at the heart of all of Rob’s efforts to Harvard and beyond. ‘” He dreamed of a world where everyone had equal access to opportunities, especially in science. As a result of his efforts, students of various ages and backgrounds could join together to imagine, study, and achieve real-world exchanges. It was Rob’s most expansive vision, and one that still inspires both educators and students around the world.”
