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A Research Proposal on STEM and Education

Science education has been a contentious issue among schools and employers in the past decade.

Employers request more STEM graduates, but schools are not able to keep up with the increased

demand. Unemployment rates are continually improving while posts in the STEM field remain

unfulfilled and open. STEM and education have the responsibility to equip learners for future

career opportunities. Thus, the integration will help to increase the economic demand for STEM

graduates and employees. STEM education is a tool for prosperity, both personally and

nationally. In the increasingly dynamic world, the American youths must get preparation for

problem-solving through bringing skill and knowledge, appropriate comprehension of

information, and proper collection and evaluation of evidence for decision making, especially in

the STEM professions. Students develop various types of skills in STEM disciplines. Thus, since

the world is advancing and has constant reliance on technology, it has resulted in an increased

mandate for jobs in the STEM field. Therefore, the problem arises; Even in lower educational

approaches to science and mathematics, we must incorporate practical to engineering and

technology; by doing so, we could maximize students’ proficiency in STEM and meet the

increasing economic demand for STEM employees. This paper will explore ways of altering the

curriculum and integration of practical applications to technology and engineering in lower

education to help youths towards proficiency in the stem. The research will offer a significant
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contribution to in-depth frameworks on reforming the education system to anchor the increasing

demand for jobs in the STEM-related field.

Numerous people claim that for the creation of a nation whose future leaders can

understand and provide solutions to complex difficulties of the modern and future world, and

leaders that meet the demands of the growing workforce, it is necessary to shape students'

fluency, knowledge, and skills in the STEM field to achieve the ability. According to the United

States Department of Education, STEM professions get forecasted to increase at a higher rate

than non-STEM careers in the next decade. STEM jobs are growing at around 1.5 times more

than non-STEM occupations. Moreover, STEM jobs get projected to increase by 13% between

2017 and 2027 compared to their non-STEM jobs counterparts (Kurup et al.). America's

Department of Labor predicts that in 2020, United States employers will lose the ability to fill

almost 2.5 million official openings in STEM and STEM-related jobs. Thus, in spite of

conclusive research on the high growth rate of STEM globally, there is an alarming ignorance on

the science subjects at lower educational levels, that is, primary and high schools. Studies

indicate that less than 50% of high school graduates in America take senior STEM courses. The

statistics imply that the present education system does not satisfy the economic and societal

needs of STEM workers.

There is a significant shortage of skilled employees in STEM-related occupations. Thus,

it is essential to explore further the issue of determining how the scarcity of STEM graduates,

mainly through new reforms in the United States' education system. Research of this subject

allows pinpointing faults in the present lower education system that lead to the scarcity of STEM

employees (Admin. “STEM Programs Prepare Students for Jobs of the Future.”). The

information is essential for the formulation of a definitive solution in meeting the high demand
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for STEM-related professions. The research question gives rise to other problems; for instance,

how can we ensure that all lower schools in the U.S. integrate the new curriculum and reforms in

the education system? Additionally, there are potential adverse impacts on the kind of

improvements. For example, how can the lower education curriculum based on STEM negatively

affect learners' knowledge and ability on other non-STEM related fields?

Providentially, a considerable amount of research has been performed on STEM and

particularly the relationship between STEM and education. Different sources provide a rich

foundation on STEM and STEM education, such as iD Tech, The United States Department of

Education, The Hill, and Concept Schools. These sources of data support that STEM occupations

are rapidly are experiencing rapid growth and provide emphasis on the severe scarcity of STEM

employees in America. Other internet sources include; the United States Department of

Education and Wasabi Learning and encompass STEM education nationally and globally

( Watanabe, ‘How The Future of STEM Is Happening Right Now’). The most important source,

however, is the scholarly article called “Building future primary teachers' capacity in STEM:

based on a platform of beliefs, understandings, and intentions." The report provides a meticulous

discussion on the various approaches to lower educational levels that could meaningfully

improve students' proficiency in STEM and help direct the learners towards STEM professions.

STEM goes hand in hand with innovation, and STEM occupations are among the most

exciting jobs in the world. STEM education has an involvedly link to the scientific and

technological advancements in society. Students need a robust foundation for the maintenance of

a strong basis in the STEM disciplines to succeed in this information-driven era. Lower

educational introduction of STEM in education and technology application empowers all

students to employ their creativity and advance their critical thinking abilities (Kurup et al.). The
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incorporation of STEM activities and projects for elementary and middle school learners can

serve as a significant boost in the preparation of future STEM employees. Teachers and

instructors at the high school level can initiate projects that get contained in the STEM field. For

instance, a project on water quality study where learners are required to use underwater robots

for data collection from water bodies can get used. Teachers have an option to help students

design their various projects through proper guidance that encourages learners to take up STEM-

related courses and professions.

STEM professionals virtually impact every part of their daily lives at home, work, and

routines elsewhere. For instance, they invent medicine, create and build architectural buildings,

and even design bridges since their crucial role is the invention and manufacture of technologies

available for practical purposes. STEM employees are an essential source of the technological

transitions that eventually lead to the up-skilling of the broad range of STEM jobs. Therefore, the

education system should get altered enough to produce STEM-capable graduates with an ability

to keep up with the demands of traditional STEM jobs and various sectors across the economy

that necessitates similar competencies (Smith Lamar). The mandate for STEM skills in the

professions creates competition for the production of brilliant STEM employees that can endure

the dynamism of the world today. In other words, the introduction of STEM in early educational

levels allows for the production of STEM graduates for STEM jobs without any insufficiency

since STEM capable employees shift to non-STEM professions from STEM jobs due to lack of

early introduction to STEM subjects.

Improving the STEM achievement of learners and the strengthening of the STEM

pipeline from elementary and high school education into higher levels of education and

eventually into STEM professions is significant to the state's economic growth and students'
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economic competition. Also, it requires collaboration among all stakeholders in education and

STEM fields to help in the creation and implementation of reforms that encourage STEM at

lower educational levels. The application of STEM education and education in various schools in

the world prepare the future workforce with robust mathematical and scientific backgrounds for

the enhancement of skills advancement across STEM subjects (Ryan et al.). Thus, the fixing of

the curriculum needs addressing the barriers of STEM education at elementary, junior, and high

school educational levels. Junior and primary scales are the foundations and potential feeders of

universities and colleges and, ultimately, employees in the STEM fields.

This research plays an essential role in the contribution to the course and its themes of

education; it would demonstrate different ways of improving our lower education curriculum to

cater for the incredible demand for professions in STEM-related fields. These changes in lower

education would present students with both proficiency in STEM and steer them towards STEM-

related jobs, efficiently providing solutions to the national crisis for the insufficiency of STEM

graduates and employees in general. This paper certainly fits into more significant group

projects, like activities and projects on technology and its deployment in educational settings.

The article can conclude that the world must apply technology more in elementary, middle, and

high schools to help students’ learning of STEM disciplines and STEM in general. Similarly, the

paper could contend that the world must rely on technology less in lower educational settings to

upsurge the proficiency in STEM and related disciplines.

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Works Cited

Admin. “STEM Programs Prepare Students for Jobs of the Future.” STEM Programs Prepare

Students for Jobs of the Future -, 24 Mar. 2016, www.conceptschools.org/stem-

programs-prepare-students-for-jobs-of-the-future/.

Kurup, P.M., Li, X., Powell, G. et al. Building future primary teachers' capacity in STEM: based

on a platform of beliefs, understandings, and intentions. IJ STEM Ed 6, 10 (2019)

DOI:10.1186/s40594-019-0164-5

Ryan, et al. “STEM Education Stats for 2019: Jobs & Careers, Growth, Girls & Degree

Statistics." I.D. Tech, Ryan Manages Blog Content at I.D. Tech, Starting with the

Company in 2008. He Earned His MBA from Santa Clara University after Obtaining His

Bachelor's Degree from Arizona State. Connect on LinkedIn!

www.idtech.com/blog/stem-education-statistics.

“Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Including Computer Science.” Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Math, Including Computer Science | U.S. Department of

Education, www.ed.gov/stem.

Smith, Lamar. “To Fill STEM Jobs, Federal Programs Need to Focus on Results.” The Hill, 19

Dec. 2017, thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/365565-to-fill-stem-jobs-federal-

programs-need-to-focus-on-results.

Watanabe-Crockett, Lee. “How The Future of STEM Is Happening Right Now [Infographic].”

WSLearning-White, www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/the-future-of-stem-infographic.