Teachers Wanted for STEM Education Preparing Tomorrow’s Workforce
By Nia Johnston
If there was ever a time to make a case for STEM, it is now. The acronym has come to represent a critical projected workforce shortage in science, technology, engineering, and math careers. It is now among our nation’s top priorities. As our current economy continues to take blow after blow, the reality of remaining globally competitive has become an even greater priority.
Organizations such as The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) have been at the forefront of sending out the warning cry about shortages that will impact the country’s ability to compete on the international stage. The relative absence of African Americans, Latinos and American Indians in scientific and engineering study and careers is described by a NACME report released this year.
The report shows that rates of participation by African Americans, American Indians, and Latinos in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have flat lined, and in some cases have actually declined.
NACME’s report highlights a significant factor which contributes to the United States falling behind in the global economy. The report finds a vast pool of minority students who aren’t prepared for STEM fields and who can’t contribute to the solution.
The report, “Confronting the ‘New’ American Dilemma, Underrepresented Minorities in Engineering: A Data-Based Look at Diversity,” shows that progress on this issue has been marginal, neither steady nor substantial enough for representation of minorities in STEM to reflect their overall proportion of the U.S. population. Among other statistics, the report reveals:
*The proportion of bachelor’s degrees in engineering awarded to African Americans between 1995 and 2005 has declined. In 1995, engineering degrees accounted for 3.3 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded to African Americans, versus 2.5 percent of these degrees in 2005.
*Though Latinos are expected to account for 25 percent of the U.S. population by the mid-21st century, the gap in educational attainment for Latinos relative to non-Hispanic whites has widened. In addition, evidence suggests that Latinos are losing interest in engineering and are opting to pursue other fields of study in college.
*American Indians comprise only 0.4 percent of engineering faculty. Lack of diversity among college and university faculties has the potential to rob minority and female students of the role models and mentors needed to improve students’ motivation to continue college.
The report also states a set of calls to action directed at K-12 and higher education, government, and business. The calls to action include having genuinely high expectations for our young students of color, removing systemic barriers to underrepresented minorities’ participation in college, developing a national STEM workforce development policy, and forming business partnerships that promote untapped populations.
The NACME report was authored by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) and was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The findings have caught the attention of members of Congress, including Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). “We must look out for America’s strength in the global economy, and to do that, we must encourage untapped resources into the STEM pipeline,” said the Congresswoman. “So many of our minority youth are not prepared to take on jobs in critical science and engineering fields, and this is a problem Congress can-and must-address.”
As the case is made for support of STEM education, the question arises in who will teach the children. Companies have long realized that their focus and support can’t simply be at the college or even high school level. Far too many students have shown up seeking employment with poor preparation for careers in math and science. More and more government, nonprofit and corporate program emphasis has been on the K-12 curriculum to ensure a solid foundation for students to be able to compete.
But who will teach them?
A teacher shortage on top of an agenda for STEM education presents double trouble. African American, Latino and Native American teachers are already in short supply, add to the need to seek out those who are prepared to teach math and science.
According to U.S. Department of Commerce data, more than one-third of students in today’s public schools are people of color. By the year 2025, at least half will be. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of their teachers are minority. More than 40 percent of schools across America have no teachers of color on staff.
Why Teachers of Color Are Needed
Students identify most with teachers who look like them and share common backgrounds. Diversity in schools is necessary in ensuring balance, bringing new perspectives and reaching students at all levels. More importantly, as the student population becomes more diverse, teachers are needed to provide the needed support.
Despite efforts by some school districts to hire minority teachers, most have faculties that are overwhelmingly white. Most districts still fail to hire minority teachers proportional to the increasing number of minority students in schools. This minority teacher shortage becomes more acute each year.
With statistics of 40 percent minority students and 5 percent minority teachers predicted for this decade, a critical shortage of education workers and role models may be at hand that could contribute to a worsening urban plight. Such a crisis could lead to a failure of all American students to learn the academic, personal, and social skills they need in the multicultural workplace of the future.
To avert such an outcome, the National Education Association (NEA) has formulated a policy resolution on minority educators. It reads as follows:
The National Education Association believes that multiracial teaching staffs are essential to the operation of schools. The Association deplores the current trend of diminishing numbers of ethnic minority educators.
The Association urges local and state affiliates and appropriate governing bodies and agencies to work to increase the number of ethnic-minority teachers and administrators to a percentage at least equal to, but not limited to, the percentage of the ethnic minorities in the general population.
The Minority Teacher Dilemma
The minority teacher shortage presents a dilemma across the country. At a time when the demand for minority teachers is rising, the supply is falling.
The reasons include:
*Demographically, a region, state, or school district contains few minorities locally available for its teacher pool.
*Burn out and frustration are caused by on-the-job hazards, such as poor working conditions, discipline problems, spreading school violence, and a lack of support from colleagues.
*Inadequate schooling leaves some minority students ill-prepared and unmotivated for higher education. Standardized tests often have cutoff scores that exclude minority students from higher education, teacher training, and teacher certification programs.
*Licensure tests screen out minorities disproportionately.
*Salaries are low for teachers compared to salaries for other professionals, which lowers the prestige and social value of a career in teaching for many potential minority teachers.
*Minority students find more career opportunities outside of teaching.
*The declining numbers of Black and Hispanic students majoring in education is steeper than the overall decline in education majors.
*Minority teachers leave teaching at higher rates than white teachers do.
Recruitment and Retention of Educators Program
NEA Teaching and Learning, with assistance from NEA Human and Civil Rights, coordinates NEA’s Recruitment and Retention of Educators (RRE) Program, which is designed to meet the challenges posed by the growing teacher shortage in America’s public schools.
Among the issues targeted by the NEA Recruitment and Retention of Educators Program are ethnic minority teacher shortages; teacher shortages in various subject areas, such as math and science; teacher shortages related to gender, such as the proportionately low numbers of males in elementary education; and the retention of educators already in the teaching profession.
To deal with these issues, the RRE Program establishes and maintains key networks and collaborative activities with NEA affiliates and other organizations, conducts a national forum on the issue of educator recruitment and retention, collects and distributes information on recruitment and retention initiatives, and maintains a database with key NEA affiliates and national and community organizations. Through this program, financial assistance is provided to NEA local affiliates to support their collaborative initiatives with school districts and community groups working to recruit prospective teachers and retain experienced educators.
Champions for the Cause
There are numerous government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations working to prepare our nation’s youth. 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.
The STEM Education Coalition is comprised of advocates from more than 350 diverse groups representing all sectors of the technological workforce – from knowledge workers, to educators, to scientists, engineers, and technicians. These organizations are dedicated to ensuring quality STEM education at all levels. The Coalition is co-chaired by the American Chemical Society and the National Science Teachers Association.
Teaching the STEM Teacher
Advancing the cause of STEM means preparing the teacher to be comfortable in preparing students for more advanced math and science. At the College of St. Catherine, a new STEM certificate and minor is helping future teachers gain expertise in the four STEM disciplines. Since many of the fastest-growing occupations of the future will be tied to STEM, giving K-12 students a foundation of knowledge and building their skills in problem-solving and logical thinking is critical.
Courses in the certificate and minor are co-taught by education and STEM discipline faculty, ensuring that students learn about the subject matter and why it matters, as well as how to teach it.
More and more universities are coming on board offering training and support for teachers.
This past summer, more than 400 K-12 teachers of science from throughout Minnesota participated in 19 no-cost workshops offered by Hamline University’s Minnesota Science Teachers Education Project (MnSTEP). Funded by a $2.3 million grant, the workshops build teachers’ proficiency in science and help them teach to state standards. Topics include earth science, biology/environmental science, chemistry, physics, and inquiry and assessment for both elementary and secondary teachers.
Making It Work
There are solutions to the challenges to America’s ability to compete on the world stage, but it requires the collaborative support of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, school districts, parents and students. As the student body and ultimately the new workforce become more diverse, it is critical that no student or teacher – in this case be left behind.
If America is to maintain its position as a leader, it must also prepare its hidden workforce who has traditionally been underrepresented in STEM areas.