STEM Fields and STEM Education

Abstract

Since the United States made the transition from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge-based economy, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has risen in prominence on the national agenda. In the 1950s and 1960s, science and math education garnered national attention considering the shocking Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellites and the resultant space race that led to the first moon landing in 1969. A perceived lack of focus on science education in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, coupled with concern from the United States National Academies and others over a trend of low science and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, led President George W. Bush to announce the American Competitiveness Initiative in 2006, which resulted in the passage of the America Competes Act of 2007, a broad-based science education funding scheme administered through the National Science Foundation. Part of the act is designed to address what many perceive to be a critical shortage of math and science educators that, if left unchecked, could affect the nation's economic and national security.

Overview

STEM education has become ever more important in the twenty-first century, knowledge-based economy. The paradox is that the demand for STEM jobs is growing globally at precisely the same time as American students are becoming less capable of filling them.

• Employment in STEM occupations was predicted in 2023 to grow by 15 percent between 2021 and 2031. Despite dips in demand for other occupations, STEM jobs remained in demand throughout the early twenty-first century (Engel, 2023).
• In 2015, 33 percent of American eighth graders ranked proficient or better on a national math assessment, and 29 percent ranked below the basic level (STEM Education Coalition, 2013), but in 2022, reports noted math scores fell in nearly every state, possibly as a result of COVID-19 and its impact on education (Mervosh & Wu, 2022).
• Of those students entering college with plans to major in a STEM field, less than 40 percent graduate with a STEM degree (STEM Education Coalition, 2013). In the 2022-2021 school year, approximately 437,300 STEM students graduated in the US.

Historical Background. It is important to give some historical context to these numbers, and a good place to begin is the middle of the twentieth century, a time of very low interest in STEM education in the US.

The Sputnik Effect. On October 4, 1957, during the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched a metallic probe known as Sputnik I into space. The culmination of months of intense competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was the first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth. In a 1957 newsreel broadcast, Ed Herlihy of Universal-International News proclaimed, "Today a new moon is in the sky—a 23-inch metal sphere placed in orbit by a Russian rocket ... one of the great scientific feats of the age" ("New Moon," 1957). On November 3, the Soviets launched Sputnik II.

Sputnik sparked a nationwide push for better science and math education in the United States. Since the Soviets used advanced rocketry to launch the satellites into space, the fear in American government circles was that they were one step closer to the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), possibly even delivering nuclear payloads, to threaten the United States. As reported in the New York Times on October 5:

“The satellites could not be used to drop atomic or hydrogen bombs or anything else on the earth, scientists have said. Nor could they be used in connection with the proposed plan for aerial inspection of military forces around the world."

“Their real significance would be in providing scientists with important new information concerning the nature of the sun, cosmic radiation, solar radio interference and static-producing phenomena radiating from the north and south magnetic poles. All this information would be of inestimable value for those who are working on the problem of sending missiles and eventually men into the vast reaches of the solar system.” (Jorden, 1957, p. 1)

Many Americans feared, however, that Sputnik was a spy satellite tracking their every move. From a public policy standpoint, there was never a better time to rethink and reinvigorate science and math education across the country.

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded quickly. Three days after the launch of Sputnik II, he appointed James R. Killian as the nation's first science advisor. Two weeks later, on November 21, 2007, Eisenhower formed the President's Science Advisory Committee and named Killian chairman. On January 31, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first artificial satellite the US launched into orbit. On February 6, the Senate formed a committee, headed by Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, to investigate ways the US could send a human into space. The House formed a similar committee the following month. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed a bipartisan bill creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

On September 2, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act to boost federal spending on math and science education—what later became known as STEM fields—by more than a billion dollars. From 1958 to 1968, funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) rose from $34 million to $500 million, and the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) swelled from $210 million to $1.08 billion (Association of American Universities, 2007). Almost a year to the day after Sputnik I was launched, on October 1, 1958, NASA began work to put a man into space. The launch of Sputnik had set off a chain of events that culminated in the United States putting a man on the moon for the first time in human history in 1969.

STEM Education in Retrograde. In the late 1960s, federal education priorities again began to change. The focus of education funding became less about supporting math and science education and more on expanding access to higher education for historically disadvantaged groups such as minorities and women. Although the first moon landing made international headlines, with no further moon landings after 1972, interest ebbed. NASA's priorities shifted away from additional moon landings and, eventually, toward the design and construction of the International Space Station.

The trend began to reverse itself somewhat in the 1980s: "The number of PhDs awarded by American institutions in each major area of science and engineering has been increasing, beginning in the 1980s" (Butz et al., 2003, p. 2).

In the 1990s, the economic dominance of the United States began to be challenged on several fronts—first by a resurgent European Union bound together by lower trade barriers and a common currency, and second by the developing economies of the Far East and India. As part of their plans to grow their own economies in the face of stiff global competition, many of these countries began to invest vast resources in math and science education. Meanwhile, in the United States, fewer and fewer American college students pursued math and science degrees. This meant that while the overall number of advanced scientific degrees awarded by American colleges and universities continued to show healthy growth, more and more of those degrees were awarded to international students (Butz et al., 2003, p. 3).

Boosting STEM Education. This growing disparity has led some observers to express concern about the continued health of the American economy. In the twenty-first century, as the dearth in the relative number of science and math degrees continues, business groups and science organizations are joining forces to call for a renewed push for STEM education. In the post–September 11 era, their message is not just about economic security, but national security:

“Business and science groups are reviving images of the Cold War space race in an effort to persuade lawmakers to spend millions to recruit and train high-caliber math teachers...They argue that, just as a stronger focus on math helped the United States top the Soviet Sputnik launch by putting a man on the moon, the country needs to improve math education to win an economic race with China and India and a national security race against terrorism ..Groups are worried they will be unable to get policymakers' attention without something like Sputnik, which became both a national embarrassment and rallying point to accelerate US math and science efforts.” (Theimer, 2006, par. 1–3)

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), whose aim is improving educational outcomes for K–12 public school students, focuses on improving national test scores in reading, writing, and mathematics, but there is no testing for science aptitude. Some critics argue that if there is less government funding for a subject for which there is no testing, there is now little incentive to improve. Houston (2007) has charged that with NCLB, "we have actually reduced the time we spend on instruction so that we can increase the time we spend on measuring the results of instruction. To offset this, many schools have chosen to neglect subjects not covered by the tests, so that the curriculum has narrowed" (pp. 747–748).

National Efforts Promoting STEM. Still, in his 2006 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush announced what he called the American Competitiveness Initiative (Bush, 2006). In addition to calling for more federal research and development funding for advanced scientific projects, it also seeks to recruit more American college and university students to study the STEM subjects.

Also in 2006, America's most prestigious scientists, members of the United States National Academies (the United States National Academy of Sciences, the United States National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the United States National Research Council), issued a manifesto calling for increased government action to boost STEM education. As part of their ten-point plan, the scholars called for improved K–12 science and math education, better teacher training in math and science, and encouraging more high school graduates to pursue STEM degrees.

In 2007, as debate over reauthorization of No Child Left Behind got underway, a coalition of science associations, science museums, and universities called the STEM Education Coalition sent a letter to members of both houses of Congress urging them to make STEM education a priority as they revamp the objectives and funding schemes of NCLB. One noteworthy idea they suggested was the creation of "additional specialty public schools that focus on the STEM subjects in conjunction with other federal resources and facilities. Such schools should be viewed as demonstration sites to increase student achievement after exposure to integrated coursework based on the best practices available" (STEM Education Coalition, 2007, p. 2).

Meanwhile, in August 2007, Congress passed the America Competes Act. It authorized $43.3 billion for STEM education and basic scientific research from 2008 to 2010. In 2010, the Act was reauthorized, granting $23.5 billion to the National Science Foundation alone from 2011 through 2013, and billions more to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and other agencies. The Act also establishes partnerships between the federal government and institutions of higher education to award merit-based grants and fellowships to support education and research related to advanced manufacturing innovations, and to recruit undergraduate students in STEM fields as well as train elementary and secondary science and math teachers.

Further Insights

Minority Students in STEM Education. Most of those working in STEM-related fields in the United States have been White males. However, in recent decades, there have been significant efforts made to attract more women and minorities to STEM-related fields. Programs such as the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland and the National Science Foundation's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program have attracted national attention.

As to whether these programs have yielded positive results, the short-term data suggests otherwise. A recent survey of the literature shows only a "modest improvement" in the numbers of Blacks and Hispanics entering STEM careers (Leggon & Pearson, 2006, p. 5). In 2011, according to the US Census Bureau, about 11 percent of the total workforce was Black, but only 6 percent of STEM workers were Black; similarly, about 15 percent of the workforce was Hispanic, while only 6.5 percent of STEM workers were Hispanic. In contrast, non-Hispanic Whites made up about 67 percent of the workforce and nearly 71 percent of STEM jobs; in even starker contrast, Asians were 5.5 percent of the total workforce, and 14.5 percent of STEM workers (Landivar, 2013). This trend continued in 2022, with minority populations composing just under 30 percent of the population, 27 percent of the workforce, and holding 23 percent of all STEM degrees, they only composed 17 percent of the STEM based careers (Morrison, 2022). Leggon & Pearson and other researchers suggest that a number of factors may be at work, including the relatively low numbers of Black and Hispanic faculty members, which may hamper mentoring relationships. However, the main point of Leggon and Pearson's paper is that there is as yet no sound methodology for determining which STEM programs for racial and ethnic minorities are most effective over the long term and why.

Women Pursuing STEM Careers. While the number of Black and Hispanic STEM graduates remains stagnant, the number of women pursuing STEM careers is on the rise. According to October 2007 data from the National Science Foundation, the period from 1995 to 2005 showed significant gains for women in the sciences. Women "constituted a greater percentage of graduate students in [science and engineering] in 2005 than in 1995, and accounted for more than half of all graduate students in some science fields." They also "accounted for 22 percent of graduate students in engineering and 25 percent of graduate students in computer sciences in 2005." They made "the most gains between 1995 and 2005 in agricultural sciences and earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences and the least gain in computer sciences" (National Science Foundation, 2007, p. 1). Nonetheless, despite making up nearly half the national workforce (47 percent), in 2015 women still held only 24 percent of all STEM jobs, according to the US Economics and Statistics Administration ("Women in STEM," 2017). However, thanks to various government and private industry initiatives to diversify STEM careers, 53 percent of STEM degrees awarded from US colleges in 2018 were earned by women (Fry, 2021). However, the field was still dominated by men.

Viewpoints

How Many Engineers Graduate Each Year? Many educators in the United States have sounded the alarm regarding the number of science degrees awarded by America's economic and political rivals, particularly China and India. The implication is that the United States is in danger of losing its status as the world's leading technology innovator.

However, a 2005 study from Duke University casts doubt on this scenario stating, "Typical articles have stated that in 2004 the United States graduated roughly 70,000 undergraduate engineers, while China graduated 600,000 and India 350,000. Our study has determined that these are inappropriate comparisons" (Gereffi & Wadhwa, 2005, p. 2). After comparing four-year degrees in China and India versus four-year degrees in the United States, Gereffi and Wadhwa arrived at the following numbers of like-to-like engineering degrees in 2004:

• USA: 222,335
• India: 215,000
• China: 644,106

Gereffi and Wadhwa concluded, "A comparison of like-to-like data suggests that the US produces a highly significant number of engineers, computer scientists and information technology specialists, and remains competitive in global markets" (Gereffi & Wadhwa, 2005, p. 2). These numbers continued to be of increasing concern through the 2010s, and China graduated 4.7 million STEM students and India 2.6 million STEM students in 2016, while the US graduated 568,000 (McCarthy, 2021).

Critics of the Duke study do not question these numbers, but they note that the trends are indisputable: The United States is "falling behind in the production of people in science, engineering, technology and math, which is at the core of all three" (Jischke, 2006). This sentiment was reinforced each year through early 2023. Despite waxing and waning in the numbers, the need to strengthen STEM education remained critical.

Creationism & Science Education. According to a 2007 poll conducted by ABC News in the United States, 60 percent of Americans believe that God created the universe in six literal days, with human beings created exactly as they are today ("Creation museum," 2007). This viewpoint, which is challenged by many believers in all the major world religions, is widely considered by many educators to be a major stumbling block to the advancement of STEM education in the United States. Attie et al., (2006) wrote that scientists must challenge these beliefs and educate students in the ongoing debate:

“The wide gap between established facts accepted by scientists and the sentiments sampled in the polls reflects a failure of science education. For this, scientists, particularly those in academia, must take some responsibility. The remedies are educational and political and must involve scientists and nonscientists. Instituting an effective response does not require large blocks of time, nor need it involve debates with creationists: small actions can have large effects.” (Attie et al., 2006, p. 1134)

The dialog between science and religion has been a recurring theme in Western culture, but it has taken on a distinct hue in the United States. Charles Bleckmann (2006) surveyed 120 years of reporting on the debate as it appeared in Science, a leading scientific journal, and detected several patterns:

“Scientists often believed that religious opposition to evolution was declining, only to find a resurgence. Critics of evolution have failed, or refused, to understand either the basic facts or the intellectual underpinnings of evolution. Scientists have consistently called for better education of the public as the solution; however, there is little evidence that education, as it has been practiced, has helped. (A reviewer of this manuscript suggested that there is little evidence that education has been tried.) Literalist, fundamentalist religious leaders have initiated attacks on science; however, reconciliations of religion and science have resulted in the modification of theology, not science.” (Bleckmann, 2006, p. 158)

Religious belief continues to flourish across the United States. Through the patronage of billion-dollar philanthropic foundations such as the Templeton Foundation, it seems certain that the dialogue between science and religion, two important cultural forces in America, will continue for the foreseeable future. And, for better or worse, STEM education in the United States will continue to be affected as a result.

Terms & Concepts

America Competes Act: A federal law passed in 2007 intended to stimulate innovation through research and development, in part by improving STEM education in the United States. This Act was reenacted in 2010 and again in 2022, with the passing of the America Competes Act of 2022.

American Competitiveness Initiative: An initiative proposed by President George W. Bush in 2006 to improve the quality of science education in the United States with the goal of shoring up America's role as a world economic superpower.

Knowledge-based economy: A type of economy in which most employment centers on the production, transfer, and processing of information.

Manufacturing economy: A type of economy in which most of the wealth is created through the production of products for sale.

National Assessment of Educational Progress: A federal assessment of students' knowledge in various subject areas, and how that knowledge, on average, has increased or decreased over time for a given group of students.

National Science Foundation: A federal agency devoted to promoting science education and research through an extensive grant program.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB): Legislation signed into law in 2001 that aimed to improve public education in the United States. It was aimed especially at poor and minority children.

Space race: A term used to describe the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s to put the first person on the moon.

Sputnik: An artificial satellite launched into orbit by the Soviet Union in 1957, further intensifying competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to conquer space by landing humans on the moon.

United States National Academies: An umbrella term for four organizations—the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council—that work to advise politicians and the public on matters dealing with science and technology.

Bibliography

Anft, M. (2013). The STEM-crisis myth. Chronicle of Higher Education, 60, A30–A33. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=91982995

Association of American Universities. (2007). The year after Sputnik: US response, 1957–1958. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from the Association of American Universities website: http://www.aau.edu/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=6782

Attie, A. D., Sober, E., Numbers, R. L., Amasino, R. A., Cox, B., Berceau, T., Powell, T., & Cox, M. M. (2006). Defending science education against intelligent design: A call to action. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 116, 1134–1138. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=21123716&site=ehost-live

Bianchini, J. A. (2013). Expanding underrepresented minority participation: America’s science and technology talent at the crossroads. Science Education, 97, 163–166. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=84388125&site=ehost-live

Bleckmann, C. A. (2006). Evolution and creationism in science, 1880–2000. Bioscience, 56, 151–158. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20029374&site=ehost-live

Bush, G. W. (2006). State of the Union address. Speech delivered to a joint session of the US Congress, January 31, 2006. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006

Butz, W. P., Bloom, G. A., Gross, M. E., Kelly, T. K., Kofner, A., & Rippen, H. E. (2003). Is there a shortage of scientists and engineers? How would we know? Retrieved November 25, 2007, from the RAND Corporation website: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/issue%5Fpapers/2005/IP241.pdf

Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S. A., Montoya, A. K., & Jiang, L. (2017). Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others? Psychological Bulletin, 143(1), 1-35. doi:10.1037/bul0000052. Retrieved March 9, 2018, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=120560983&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creation Museum unites Adam, Eve, dinos. (2007, May 25). ABC News. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3211737

Engel, Isabel. (2023). The 7 fastest-growing STEM jobs that pay over $100,000. CNBC. Retrieved June 9, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/18/fastest-growing-stem-jobs-that-pay-over-100000-dollars.htmlFry, R. (2021, April 1). Stem jobs see uneven progress in increasing gender, racial and ethnic diversity. Pew Research Center Science & Society. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity

Fry, R. (2021, April 1). STEM jobs see uneven progress in increasing gender, racial and ethnic diversity. Pew Research Center Science & Society. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity

Gayles, J. G., & Ampaw, F. (2014). The impact of college experiences on degree completion in STEM fields at four-year institutions: Does gender matter? Journal of Higher Education, 85, 439–68. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=96536907&site=ehost-live

Gereffi, G., & Wadhwa, V. (2005). Framing the engineering outsourcing debate: Placing the United States on a level playing field with China and India. Berkely. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/cbrown/e153%5Fsp06/dukeoutsourcing2005Econ153.pdf

Houston, P. D. (2007). The seven deadly sins of No Child Left Behind. Phi Delta Kappan, 88, 744–748. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=25367235&site=ehost-live

Jischke, M. C. (2006). Science education in United States reaches a crossroads. Purdue University. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html3month/2006/060124.SP-JIschke.rotary.html

Johnson, C. C. (2013). Conceptualizing integrated STEM education. School Science & Mathematics, 113, 367–368. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=92765356

Jorden, W. J. (1957, October 5). Soviet fires earth satellite into space; it is circling the globe at 18,000 mph; sphere tracked in 4 crossings over US. New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2007, from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum website: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/museum/sputnik1.htm

Landivar, L. C. (2013). Disparities in STEM employment by sex, race, and Hispanic origin. US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-24.pdf

Leggon, C. B., & Pearson, W., Jr. (2006). Assessing programs to improve minority participation in STEM fields: What we know and what we need to know. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cheri/conferences/upload/2006/Leggon.pdf

Mervis, J. (2013). An invisible hand behind plan to realign US science education. Science, 341(6144), 338–341. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89752692

Mervosh, S., & Wu, A. (2022, October 24). Math scores fell in nearly every state, and reading dipped on national exam. The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html

Morrison, N. (2022, Sept. 28). STEM courses more liekely to deter minrity students. Forbes. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2022/09/28/stem-courses-more-likely-to-deter-minority-students

National Science Foundation. (2007). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/women

Nelson Laird, T. F., Sullivan, D. F., Zimmerman, C., & McCormick, A. C. (2011). STEM/non-STEM differences in engagement at US institutions. Peer Review, 13, 23–26. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67378495

New moon: Reds launch first space satellite (1957, October 7). Universal Studios [newsreel]. Part of Mobilizing Minds: Teaching Math and Science in the Age of Sputnik exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved November 24, 2007, from http://americanhistory.si.edu/brainpower/newmoon%5fvideo.html

Riley, S. (2007, November 12). Competitiveness debate shifts to US tech priorities. EE Times. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202804400

STEM Education Coalition. (2013). The case for STEM education as a national priority: Good jobs and American competitiveness. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from http://www.stemedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fact-Sheet-STEM-Education-Good-Jobs-and-American-Competitiveness-June-2013.pdf

STEM Education Coalition. (2007, March 29). Letter to George Miller and Howard P. McKeon. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from the High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition website: http://www.hpbccc.org/letters/20070416%5Fstemedcoalitionnclbrec.pdf

Taylor, A. J. (2007, November 15). FSU, UF tackle shortage of math and science teachers. Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS01/711150355/1010

Theimer, S. (2006, January 30). Space race cited in push for math teachers. USA Today. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-01-30-math-race%5fx.htm

Women in STEM: 2017 update. (2017, November 13). US Economics & Statistics Administration. Retrieved March 9, 2018, from http://www.esa.doc.gov/reports/women-stem-2017-update

Suggested Reading

Carver, S. D., Van Sickle, J., Holcomb, J. P., Jackson, D. K., Resnick, A., Duffy, S. F., & Quinn, C. M. (2017). Operation STEM: Increasing success and improving retention among mathematically underprepared students in STEM. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research, 18(3), 20-29. Retrieved March 9, 2018, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=127592024&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Cathcart, M. (2007). Sparking an interest in STEM fields. New England Journal of Higher Education, 22, 11. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25910336&site=ehost-live

Dickson, P. (2007). Sputnik: The shock of a century. Walker & Co.

McCarthy, N. (2021, June 30). The countries with the most STEM graduates. Forbes. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/02/02/the-countries-with-the-most-stem-graduates-infographic

National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine. (2007). Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future. National Academies Press.

Nelson, R. (2007). Not by STEM alone. Test & Measurement World, 27, 7. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from EBSCO online database Business Source Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=26608672&site=ehost-live

NSB rolls out national action plan for 21st century STEM education. (2007, October 9). NSTA Express, 1. Retrieved November 25, 2007, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=27007391&site=ehost-live

Sadler, P. M., Sonnert, G., Hazari, Z., & Tai, R. (2012). Stability and volatility of STEM career interest in high school: A gender study. Science Education, 96, 411–427. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=74219591&site=ehost-live

Scott, C. (2012). An investigation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focused high schools in the US. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research, 13, 30–39. Retrieved December 30, 2013, from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89166313