STEM Education in Underserved Schools


Book Description

Offers a model for increasing equity in STEM education at the K–12 level in the United States. In STEM Education in Underserved Schools, editor Julia V. Clark addresses an urgent national problem: the need to provide all students with a quality STEM education. Clark brings together a prestigious group of scholars to uncover the factors that impede equity and access in STEM education teaching and learning and provides research-based strategies to address these inequities. This contributed volume demonstrates that students of color and those from lower socioeconomic communities have less access to qualified science and mathematics teachers, less access to strong STEM curriculum, less access to resources, and fewer classroom opportunities than their peers at other schools. Identifying the challenges and best practices related to producing more equitable and inclusive routes to access STEM education and professions, contributors explain how to positively impact the trajectory of individuals from underrepresented groups in K–12 and pre-college programs and lay out a bold reenvisioning of STEM education. These essays aim to build knowledge and theory for how schools can promote coherent guidance for culturally responsive instruction by exploring the policies and practices of four nations—Finland, Singapore, Korea, and Australia—that have made noteworthy strides toward more equitable achievement in science and mathematics. Clark offers a powerful framework in STEM to capture the benefits of international collaborations that would embed American scientists and students in vibrant, globally collaborative networks. Through a deep analysis of successful programs elsewhere in the world and a uniquely international framework, Clark and these contributors present an innovative road map to equalize access to STEM education in the United States.




Handbook of Research on STEM Education


Book Description

The Handbook of Research on STEM Education represents a groundbreaking and comprehensive synthesis of research and presentation of policy within the realm of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. What distinguishes this Handbook from others is the nature of integration of the disciplines that is the founding premise for the work – all chapters in this book speak directly to the integration of STEM, rather than discussion of research within the individual content areas. The Handbook of Research on STEM Education explores the most pressing areas of STEM within an international context. Divided into six sections, the authors cover topics including: the nature of STEM, STEM learning, STEM pedagogy, curriculum and assessment, critical issues in STEM, STEM teacher education, and STEM policy and reform. The Handbook utilizes the lens of equity and access by focusing on STEM literacy, early childhood STEM, learners with disabilities, informal STEM, socio-scientific issues, race-related factors, gender equity, cultural-relevancy, and parental involvement. Additionally, discussion of STEM education policy in a variety of countries is included, as well as a focus on engaging business/industry and teachers in advocacy for STEM education. The Handbook’s 37 chapters provide a deep and meaningful landscape of the implementation of STEM over the past two decades. As such, the findings that are presented within provide the reader with clear directions for future research into effective practice and supports for integrated STEM, which are grounded in the literature to date.




Gender Equity in STEM in Higher Education


Book Description

"This timely volume brings together a range of international scholars to analyse cultural, political, and individual factors which contribute to the continued global issue of female underrepresentation in STEM study and careers. Offering a comparative approach to examining gender equity in STEM fields across countries including the UK, Germany, the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, and China, the volume provides a thematic breakdown of institutional trends and national policies that have successfully improved gender equity in STEM at institutions of higher education. Offering case studies that demonstrate how policies interact with changing social and cultural norms, and impact women's choices and experiences in relation to the uptake and continuation of STEM study at the undergraduate level, the volume highlights new directions for research and policy to promote gender equity in STEM at school, university, and career level. Contributing to the United Nations' (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in science education, higher education, and gender equity in STEM fields. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around multicultural education, educational policy and politics, and the sociology of education more broadly. Hyun Kyoung Ro is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of North Texas, USA. Frank Fernandez is Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Mississippi, USA. Elizabeth Ramon is a PhD student in Higher Education at the University of North Texas, USA"--




Equity in STEM Education Research


Book Description

This book focuses on the creative and transformative work of scholars who are advancing social justice through science/STEM education with limited resources. It draws attention to the significant body of work being conducted in various contexts so that readers could reflect and appreciate how much broader and transformative our impact could be if funding agencies, policy makers, and other researchers would widen their perspective and seek to promote social justice-driven scholarship. Public funding for STEM research on K-12 and teacher education that targets special populations is often limited and tends to favor mainstream research. This book contains case studies on innovative and promising STEM research with a focus on equity, diversity and social justice that are funded with limited or no public funding. It also presents anecdotes from authors in relation to their struggles in either securing funding for their reported study or seeking to publish its findings. This provides more context to the challenges of conducting non-mainstream research in science/STEM education. Most of the contributors are scholars of color and/or women conducting research with traditionally marginalized populations in science/STEM. Thus, this book offers an additional venue to share the voices of marginalized scholars and allies seeking to broaden our understanding of the challenges and successes of promoting equity, diversity, and social justice in various educational contexts.




Qualitative Research in STEM


Book Description

Qualitative Research in STEM examines the groundbreaking potential of qualitative research methods to address issues of social justice, equity, and sustainability in STEM. A collection of empirical studies conducted by prominent STEM researchers, this book examines the experiences and challenges faced by traditionally marginalized groups in STEM, most notably culturally and linguistically diverse students and women. Investigations into these issues, as well as the high dropout rate among engineering students and issues of academic integrity in STEM, come with detailed explanations of the study methodologies used in each case. Contributors also provide personal narratives that share their perspectives on the benefits of qualitative research methodologies for the topics explored. Through a variety of qualitative methodologies, including participatory action research, Indigenous research, and critical ethnography, this volume aims to reveal and remedy the inequalities within STEM education today.




STEM21


Book Description

21st c LEASE : language of equity & access to STEM education / Joy Barnes-Johnson -- Hip-hop pedagogy as a framework to support the development of science geniuses / Edmund S. Adjapong -- Seeding the future : social justice driven STEM education / Christian Konadu Asante, Jaqueline DeLisi, Megan McKinley, and Michael Barnett -- New roles and relationships in urban STEM learning environments : how the peer enabled restructured classroom enhanced equity and access / Leslie S. Keiler and Kathleen Robbins -- Early engagement in research as a tool for broadening science participation / Cassie Xu, Robert Newton, Margaret Turrin, and Susan Vincent -- Promoting middle school students' motivation and persistence in an after-school engineering program / Srinjita Bhaduri, Alexandra Gendreau, Varsha Srikanth Koushik, Tammy Sumner, John Ristvey and Randy Russell -- Engaged interdisciplinary literacy : research & practices of secondary STREAM / Joy Barnes-Johnson -- Transformative education pathways to improve health literacy, STEM learning and youth outcomes / Gretchen E.L. Suess, J. Joanna Chae, and Sharon Lewis -- Institutional capacity building for STEM teacher education at an urban commuter university / Janelle M. Johnson, Roland Schendel, Elizabeth McClellan Ribble, and Hsiu-Ping Liu -- Implications and conclusions / Joy Barnes-Johnson and Janelle M. Johnson




Women's Influence on Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity in STEM Fields


Book Description

Women are typically not well represented in STEM fields. These same women experience difficulties in advocacy and leadership, as well as hiring and promotion. Women of color, regardless of discipline, face this narrative daily and often throughout their entire careers. Women's Influence on Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity in STEM Fields seeks to critically examine the strategies that women across class and cultural groups use and the struggles they face in order to become successful in professional fields that include business, politics, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. While highlighting topics that include higher education, workplace perceptions, and information literacy, this publication is ideal for public administrators, human resources professionals, sociologists, academicians, researchers, and students interested in gender studies, public administration, the biological sciences, psychology, computer science, and the STEM fields.




STEM Integration in K-12 Education


Book Description

STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers, practitioners, and others to identify, discuss, and investigate specific integrated STEM initiatives within the K-12 education system of the United States. STEM Integration in K-12 Education makes recommendations for designers of integrated STEM experiences, assessment developers, and researchers to design and document effective integrated STEM education. This report will help to further their work and improve the chances that some forms of integrated STEM education will make a positive difference in student learning and interest and other valued outcomes.




Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century


Book Description

The U.S. system of graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has served the nation and its science and engineering enterprise extremely well. Over the course of their education, graduate students become involved in advancing the frontiers of discovery, as well as in making significant contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy, its national security, and the health and well-being of its people. However, continuous, dramatic innovations in research methods and technologies, changes in the nature and availability of work, shifts in demographics, and expansions in the scope of occupations needing STEM expertise raise questions about how well the current STEM graduate education system is meeting the full array of 21st century needs. Indeed, recent surveys of employers and graduates and studies of graduate education suggest that many graduate programs do not adequately prepare students to translate their knowledge into impact in multiple careers. Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century examines the current state of U.S. graduate STEM education. This report explores how the system might best respond to ongoing developments in the conduct of research on evidence-based teaching practices and in the needs and interests of its students and the broader society it seeks to serve. This will be an essential resource for the primary stakeholders in the U.S. STEM enterprise, including federal and state policymakers, public and private funders, institutions of higher education, their administrators and faculty, leaders in business and industry, and the students the system is intended to educate.




Diversity and Equity in Science Education


Book Description

Two leading science educators provide a comprehensive, state-of-the-field analysis of current trends in the research, policy, and practice of science education. This book offers valuable insights into why gaps in science achievement among racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic groups persist, and points toward practical means of narrowing or eliminating these gaps. Lee and Buxton examine instructional practices, science–curriculum materials (including computer technology), assessment, teacher education, school organization, federal and state policies, and home-school connections. Book features: A synthesis of the emerging body of research in the field of science education and its application to practice and policy. A description of effective practices for narrowing science achievement gaps among demographic subgroups of students. A focus on the unique learning needs of English language learners. An analysis of major science education initiatives, interventions, and programs that have been successful with nonmainstream students.