The acronym came into common use shortly after an interagency meeting on science education held at the US National Science Foundation chaired by the then NSF director Rita Colwell.
A director from the Office of Science division of Workforce Development
for Teachers and Scientists, Peter Faletra, suggested the change from
the older acronym SMET to STEM. Colwell, expressing some dislike for the
older acronym, responded by suggesting NSF institute the change.
However, the acronym STEM predates NSF and likely traces its origin to
Charles Vela, the founder and director of the Center for the Advancement
of Hispanics in Science and Engineering Education (CAHSEE).
In the early 1990's CAHSEE started a summer program for talented
under-represented students in the Washington, DC area called the STEM
Institute. Based on the program's recognized success and his expertise
in STEM education, Charles Vela was asked to serve on numerous NSF and Congressional panels in science, mathematics and engineering education; it is through this manner that NSF was first introduced to the acronym STEM. One of the first NSF projects to use the acronym was STEMTEC, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teacher Education Collaborative at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which was founded in 1998.
Other variations
- STM (Scientific, Technical, and Mathematics; or Science, Technology, and Medicine; or Scientific, Technical, and Medical)
- eSTEM (environmental STEM)
- STEMIE (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Invention and Entrepreneurship); adds Inventing and Entrepreneurship as means to apply STEM to real world problem solving and markets.
- iSTEM (invigorating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics); identifies new ways to teach STEM-related fields.
- STEMLE (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Law and Economics); identifies subjects focused on fields such as applied social sciences and anthropology, regulation, cybernetics, machine learning, social systems, computational economics and computational social sciences.
- STEMS^2 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Sense of Place); integrates STEM with social sciences and sense of place.
- METALS (STEAM + Logic), introduced by Su Su at Teachers College, Columbia University.
- STREM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, and Mathematics); adds robotics as a field.
- STREM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, and Multimedia); adds robotics as a field and replaces mathematics with media.
- STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics); adds robotics and arts as fields.
- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)
- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Applied Mathematics); more focus on applied mathematics
- GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science); used for programs to encourage women to enter these fields
- STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine)
- AMSEE (Applied Math, Science, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship)
- THAMES (Technology, Hands-On, Art, Mathematics, Engineering, Science)
- MINT (Mathematics, Informatics, Natural sciences and Technology)
Geographic distribution
United States
In
the United States, the acronym began to be used in education and
immigration debates in initiatives to begin to address the perceived
lack of qualified candidates for high-tech jobs. It also addresses
concern that the subjects are often taught in isolation, instead of as
an integrated curriculum. Maintaining a citizenry that is well versed in the STEM fields is a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States. The acronym has been widely used in the immigration debate regarding access to United States work visas for immigrants
who are skilled in these fields. It has also become commonplace in
education discussions as a reference to the shortage of skilled workers
and inadequate education in these areas.
The term tends not to refer to the non-professional and less visible
sectors of the fields, such as electronics assembly line work.
National Science Foundation
Many organizations in the United States follow the guidelines of the National Science Foundation on what constitutes a STEM field. The NSF uses a broader definition of STEM subjects that includes subjects in the fields of chemistry, computer and information technology science, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physics and astronomy, social sciences (anthropology, economics, psychology and sociology), and STEM education and learning research. Eligibility for scholarship programs such as the CSM STEM Scholars Program use the NSF definition.
The NSF is the only American federal agency whose mission
includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering,
except for medical sciences. Its disciplinary program areas include scholarships, grants, fellowships in fields such as biological sciences, computer and information science
and engineering, education and human resources, engineering,
environmental research and education, geosciences, international science
and engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, social, behavioral
and economic sciences, cyberinfrastructure, and polar programs.
Immigration policy
Although many organizations in the United States follow the guidelines of the National Science Foundation on what constitutes a STEM field, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has its own functional definition used for immigration policy.
In 2012, DHS or ICE announced an expanded list of STEM
designated-degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student
visas for an optional practical training (OPT) extension. Under the OPT
program, international students who graduate from colleges and
universities in the United States are able to remain in the country and
receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students
who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can remain for an
additional 17 months on an OPT STEM extension.
STEM-eligible degrees in US immigration
An exhaustive list of STEM disciplines does not exist because the definition varies by organization. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lists disciplines including physics, actuarial science, chemistry, biology, mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, computational science, psychology, biochemistry, robotics, computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, information science, information technology, civil engineering, aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, astrophysics, astronomy, optics, nanotechnology, nuclear physics, mathematical biology, operations research, neurobiology, biomechanics, bioinformatics, acoustical engineering, geographic information systems, atmospheric sciences, educational/instructional technology, software engineering, and educational research.
Education
By
cultivating an interest in the natural and social sciences in preschool
or immediately following school entry, the chances of STEM success in
high school can be greatly improved.
STEM supports broadening the study of engineering
within each of the other subjects, and beginning engineering at younger
grades, even elementary school. It also brings STEM education to all
students rather than only the gifted programs. In his 2012 budget,
President Barack Obama renamed and broadened the "Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP)" to award block grants to states for improving teacher education in those subjects.
In the 2015 run of the international assessment test the Program
for International Student Assessment (PISA), American students came out
35th in mathematics, 24th in reading and 25th in science, out of 109
countries. The United States also ranked 29th in the percentage of
24-year-olds with science or mathematics degrees.
STEM education often uses new technologies such as RepRap 3D printers to encourage interest in STEM fields.
In 2006 the United States National Academies
expressed their concern about the declining state of STEM education in
the United States. Its Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public
Policy developed a list of 10 actions. Their top three recommendations
were to:
- Increase America's talent pool by improving K–12 science and mathematics education
- Strengthen the skills of teachers through additional training in science, mathematics and technology
- Enlarge the pipeline of students prepared to enter college and graduate with STEM degrees
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
also has implemented programs and curricula to advance STEM education
in order to replenish the pool of scientists, engineers and
mathematicians who will lead space exploration in the 21st century.
Individual states, such as California,
have run pilot after-school STEM programs to learn what the most
promising practices are and how to implement them to increase the chance
of student success. Another state to invest in STEM education is Florida, where Florida Polytechnic University,
Florida’s first public university for engineering and technology
dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),
was established. During school, STEM programs have been established for many districts throughout the U.S. Some states include New Jersey, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio.
Continuing STEM education has expanded to the post-secondary
level through masters programs such as the University of Maryland's STEM
Program as well as the University of Cincinnati.
Racial gap in STEM fields
In
the United States, the National Science Foundation found that the
average science score on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational
Progress was lower for black and Hispanic students than white, Asian,
and Pacific Islanders. In 2011, eleven percent of the U.S. workforce was black, while only six percent of STEM workers were black.
Though STEM in the U.S. has typically been dominated by white males,
there have been considerable efforts to create initiatives to make STEM a
more racially and gender diverse field.
Some evidence suggests that all students, including black and Hispanic
students, have a better chance of earning a STEM degree if they attend a
college or university at which their entering academic credentials are
at least as high as the average student's. However, there is criticism that emphasis on STEM diversity has lowered academic standards.
American Competitiveness Initiative
In the State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, President George W. Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative.
Bush proposed the initiative to address shortfalls in federal
government support of educational development and progress at all
academic levels in the STEM fields. In detail, the initiative called for
significant increases in federal funding for advanced R&D programs (including a doubling of federal funding support for advanced research in the physical sciences through DOE) and an increase in U.S. higher education graduates within STEM disciplines.
The NASA Means Business competition, sponsored by the
Texas Space Grant Consortium, furthers that goal. College students
compete to develop promotional plans to encourage students in middle and
high school to study STEM subjects and to inspire professors in STEM
fields to involve their students in outreach activities that support
STEM education.
The National Science Foundation
has numerous programs in STEM education, including some for K–12
students such as the ITEST Program that supports The Global Challenge
Award ITEST Program. STEM programs have been implemented in some Arizona
schools. They implement higher cognitive skills for students and enable
them to inquire and use techniques used by professionals in the STEM
fields.
The STEM Academy is a national nonprofit-status organization
dedicated to improving STEM literacy for all students. It represents a
recognized national next-generation high-impact academic model. The
practices, strategies, and programming are built upon a foundation of
identified national best practices which are designed to improve
under-represented minority and low-income student growth, close
achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high school
graduation rates and improve teacher and principal effectiveness. The
STEM Academy represents a flexible use academic model that targets all
schools and is for all students.
Project Lead The Way
(PLTW) is a leading provider of STEM education curricular programs to
middle and high schools in the United States. The national nonprofit
organization has over 5,200 programs in over 4,700 schools in all 50
states. Programs include a high school engineering curriculum called Pathway To Engineering, a high school biomedical sciences program, and a middle school engineering and technology program called Gateway To Technology.
PLTW provides the curriculum and the teacher professional development
and ongoing support to create transformational programs in schools,
districts, and communities. PLTW programs have been endorsed by
President Barack Obama and United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as well as various state, national, and business leaders.
STEM Education Coalition
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition works to support STEM programs for teachers and students at the U. S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies that offer STEM-related programs. Activity of the STEM Coalition seems to have slowed since September 2008.
Scouting
In 2012, the Boy Scouts of America
began handing out awards, titled NOVA and SUPERNOVA, for completing
specific requirements appropriate to scouts' program level in each of
the four main STEM areas. The Girl Scouts of the USA
has similarly incorporated STEM into their program through the
introduction of merit badges such as "Naturalist" and "Digital Art".
SAE
is an international organization, solutions'provider specialized on
supporting education, award and scholarship programs for STEM matters,
from pre-K to the College degree. It also promotes scientific and technologic innovation.
Department of Defense programs
The eCybermission
is a free, web-based science, mathematics and technology competition
for students in grades six through nine sponsored by the U.S. Army. Each
webinar
is focused on a different step of the scientific method and is
presented by an experienced eCybermission CyberGuide. CyberGuides are
military and civilian volunteers with a strong background in STEM and
STEM education, who are able to provide valuable insight into science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics to students and team advisers.
STARBASE
is a premier educational program, sponsored by the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Students interact
with military personnel to explore careers and make connections with the
"real world." The program provides students with 20–25 hours of
stimulating experiences at National Guard, Navy, Marines, Air Force Reserve and Air Force bases across the nation.
SeaPerch
is an innovative underwater robotics program that trains teachers to
teach their students how to build an underwater remotely operated
vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of-school setting. Students build
the ROV from a kit composed of low-cost, easily accessible parts,
following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science
concepts with a marine engineering theme.
NASA
NASAStem is a program of the U.S. space agency NASA to increase diversity within its ranks, including age, disability, and gender as well as race/ethnicity.
Legislation
The America COMPETES Act
(P.L. 110-69) became law on August 9, 2007. It is intended to increase
the nation's investment in science and engineering research and in STEM
education from kindergarten to graduate school and postdoctoral
education. The act authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science over FY2008–FY2010. Robert Gabrys, Director of Education at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
articulated success as increased student achievement, early expression
of student interest in STEM subjects, and student preparedness to enter
the workforce.
Jobs
In November 2012 the White House
announcement before congressional vote on the STEM Jobs Act put
President Obama in opposition to many of the Silicon Valley firms and
executives who bankrolled his re-election campaign. The Department of Labor identified 14 sectors that are "projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy
or affect the growth of other industries or are being transformed by
technology and innovation requiring new sets of skills for workers." The identified sectors were as follows: advanced manufacturing, Automotive, construction, financial services, geospatial technology, homeland security, information technology, Transportation, Aerospace, Biotechnology, energy, healthcare, hospitality, and retail.
The Department of Commerce
notes STEM fields careers are some of the best-paying and have the
greatest potential for job growth in the early 21st century. The report
also notes that STEM workers play a key role in the sustained growth and
stability of the U.S. economy, and training in STEM fields generally
results in higher wages, whether or not they work in a STEM field.
In 2015, there were around 9.0 million STEM jobs in the United
States, representing 6.1% of American employment. STEM jobs were
increasing around 9% percent per year.
Brookings Institution found that the demand for competent technology
graduates will surpass the number of capable applicants by at least one
million individuals. The BLS noted that almost 100 percent of STEM jobs
require postsecondary education, while only 36 percent of other jobs
call for that same degree.
Updates
In
September 2017, a number of large American technology firms collectively
pledged to donate $300 million for computer science education in the
U.S.
PEW findings revealed in 2018 that Americans identified several
issues that hound STEM education which included unconcerned parents,
disinterested students, obsolete curriculum materials, and too much
focus on state parameters. 57 percent of survey respondents pointed out
that one main problem of STEM is lack of students' concentration in
learning.
The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card
made public technology as well as engineering literacy scores which
determines whether students have the capability to apply technology and
engineering proficiency to real-life scenarios. The report showed a gap
of 28 points between low-income students and their high-income
counterparts. The same report also indicated a 38-point difference
between white and black students.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) announced the
release of a five-year strategic plan by the Committee on STEM Education
of the National Science and Technology Council on December 4, 2018. The
plan is entitled "Charting a Course for Success: America's Strategy for
STEM Education."
The objective is to propose a federal strategy anchored on a vision
for the future so that all Americans are given permanent access to
premium-quality education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics. In the end, the United States can emerge as world leader in
STEM mastery, employment, and innovation. The goals of this plan are
building foundations for STEM literacy; enhancing diversity, equality,
and inclusion in STEM; and preparing the STEM workforce for the future.
The 2019 fiscal budget proposal of the White House supported the
funding plan in President Donald Trump's Memorandum on STEM Education
which allocated around $200 million (grant funding) on STEM education
every year. This budget also supports STEM through a grant program worth
$20 million for career as well as technical education programs.
Canada
Canada
ranks 12th out of 16 peer countries in the percentage of its graduates
who studied in STEM programs, with 21.2%, a number higher than the
United States, but lower than France, Germany, and Austria. The peer country with the greatest proportion of STEM graduates, Finland, has over 30% of their university graduates coming from science, mathematics, computer science, and engineering programs.
SHAD is an annual Canadian summer enrichment program for high-achieving high school students in July. The program focuses on academic learning particularly in STEAM fields.
Scouts Canada has taken similar measures to their American counterpart to promote STEM fields to youth. Their STEM program began in 2015.
In 2011 Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established the Schulich Leader Scholarships,
$100 million in $60,000 scholarships for students beginning their
university education in a STEM program at 20 institutions across Canada.
Each year 40 Canadian students would be selected to receive the award,
two at each institution, with the goal of attracting gifted youth into
the STEM fields. The program also supplies STEM scholarships to five participating universities in Israel.
Europe
Several European projects have promoted STEM education and careers in Europe. For instance, Scientix is a European cooperation of STEM teachers, education scientists, and policymakers. The SciChallenge
project used a social media contest and the student-generated content
to increase motivation of pre- university students for STEM education
and careers.
Hong Kong
STEM
education has not been promoted among the local schools in Hong Kong
until recent years. In November 2015, the Education Bureau of Hong Kong
released a document entitled Promotion of STEM Education, which proposes the strategies and recommendations on promoting STEM education.
Turkey
Turkish
STEM Education Task Force (or FeTeMM—Fen Bilimleri, Teknoloji,
Mühendislik ve Matematik) is a coalition of academicians and teachers
who show an effort to increase the quality of education in STEM fields
rather than focussing on increasing the number of STEM graduates.
Qatar
In Qatar, AL-Bairaq
is an outreach program to high-school students with a curriculum that
focuses on STEM, run by the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at Qatar University. Each year around 946 students, from about 40 high schools, participate in AL-Bairaq competitions.
AL-Bairaq make use of project-based learning, encourages students to
solve authentic problems, and inquires them to work with each other as a
team to build real solutions. Research has so far shown positive results for the program.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, beginning in 2012 many private education organizations have STEM education initiatives.
In 2015, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Liên minh
STEM organized the first National STEM day, followed by many similar
events across the country.
in 2015, Ministry of Education and Training included STEM as an area needed to be encouraged in national school year program.
In May 2017, Prime Minister signed a Directive no. 16
stating: "Dramatically change the policies, contents, education and
vocational training methods to create a human resource capable of
receiving new production technology trends, with a focus on promoting
training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),
foreign languages, information technology in general education; " and
asking "Ministry of Education and Training (to): Promote the deployment
of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in
general education program; Pilot organize in some high schools from 2017
to 2018.
Women
Women constitute 47% of the U.S. workforce, and perform 24% of STEM-related jobs. In the UK women perform 13% of STEM-related jobs (2014).
In the U.S. women with STEM degrees are more likely to work in
education or healthcare rather than STEM fields compared with their male
counterparts.
The gender ratio depends on field of study. For example, in the European Union
in 2012 women made up 47.3% of the total, 51% of the social sciences,
business and law, 42% of the science, mathematics and computing, 28% of
engineering, manufacturing and construction, and 59% of PhD graduates in
Health and Welfare.
Criticism
The
focus on increasing participation in STEM fields has attracted
criticism. In the 2014 article "The Myth of the Science and Engineering
Shortage" in The Atlantic,
demographer Michael S. Teitelbaum criticized the efforts of the U.S.
government to increase the number of STEM graduates, saying that, among
studies on the subject, "No one has been able to find any evidence
indicating current widespread labor market shortages or hiring
difficulties in science and engineering occupations that require
bachelor's degrees or higher", and that "Most studies report that real
wages in many—but not all—science and engineering occupations have been
flat or slow-growing, and unemployment as high or higher than in many
comparably-skilled occupations." Teitelbaum also wrote that the
then-current national fixation on increasing STEM participation
paralleled previous U.S. government efforts since World War II
to increase the number of scientists and engineers, all of which he
stated ultimately ended up in "mass layoffs, hiring freezes, and funding
cuts"; including one driven by the Space Race of the late 1950s and 1960s, which he wrote led to "a bust of serious magnitude in the 1970s."
IEEE Spectrum
contributing editor Robert N. Charette echoed these sentiments in the
2013 article "The STEM Crisis Is a Myth", also noting that there was a
"mismatch between earning a STEM degree and having a STEM job" in the
United States, with only around ¼ of STEM graduates working in STEM
fields, while less than half of workers in STEM fields have a STEM
degree.
Economics writer Ben Casselman, in a 2014 study of post-graduation earnings for FiveThirtyEight,
wrote that, based on the data, science should not be grouped with the
other three STEM categories, because, while the other three generally
result in high-paying jobs, "many sciences, particularly the life sciences, pay below the overall median for recent college graduates."
Efforts to remedy the perceived domination of STEM subjects by
men of Asian and non-Hispanic European backgrounds has led to intense
efforts to diversify the STEM workforce. However, some critics feel that
this practice in higher education, as opposed to a strict meritocracy, causes lower academic standards.
