Monday, May 14, 2007
Tweet[IWS] CRS: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, & MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: STATUS & ISSUES [23 April 2007]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code 98-871 STM
Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Status and Issues
Updated April 23, 2007
Christine M. Matthews, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division
http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/07March/98-871.pdf
[full-text, 27 pages]
Summary
An important aspect of U.S. efforts to maintain and improve economic
competitiveness is the existence of a capable scientific and technological workforce.
A major concern of the 110th Congress may be regarding the future ability of the U.S.
science and engineering base to generate the technological advances needed to
maintain economic growth. Discussions have centered on the quality of science and
mathematics education and training and on the scientific knowledge of those students
entering other disciplines. Even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical
specialities are likely to require basic knowledge of scientific and technological
applications for effective participation in the workforce. Charges are being made that
many students complete high school scientifically and technologically illiterate.
Precollege science and mathematics instruction has an important relationship
to the future supply of U.S. scientific and technological personnel and to the general
scientific literacy of the nation. However, several published reports indicate
important shortcomings in science and mathematics education and achievement of
U.S. students at the precollege level. Some findings in the reports revealed that many
science and mathematics teachers do not have a major in the discipline being taught;
and that U.S. students, themselves, on international measures, perform less well than
their international counterparts.
A September 2006 report on the future of higher education states that while our
colleges and universities have much to applaud for in their achievements, there are
some areas where reforms are needed. As higher education has evolved, it
simultaneously has had to respond to the impact of globalization, rapidly evolving
technologies, the changing needs of a knowledge economy, and a population that is
increasingly older and more diverse.
In the 21st century, a larger proportion of the U.S. population will be composed
of certain minorities blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. As a group, these
minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in the science and engineering
disciplines compared to their proportion of the total population. A report of the
National Science Foundation (NSF) reveals that blacks, Hispanics, and Native
Americans as a whole comprise more that 25% of the population and earn, as a
whole, 16.2% of the bachelor degrees, 10.7% of the masters degrees, and 5.4% of the
doctorate degrees in science and engineering.
Several pieces of competitiveness legislation have been introduced in the 110th
Congress to address the reported needs in science and mathematics education. H.R.
362 authorizes science scholarships for educating science and mathematics teachers.
H.R. 363 provides funding for graduate fellowships and for basic research and
research infrastructure in science and engineering. S. 761 is directed at increasing
research investment, strengthening and expanding science and mathematics programs
at all points on the educational pipeline, and developing an innovation infrastructure.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Precollege Science and Mathematics Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Teacher Training and Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Student Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Improving Undergraduate and Graduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Undergraduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Graduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Demographics and the Science and Engineering Talent Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Foreign Science and Engineering Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Congressional Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code 98-871 STM
Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Status and Issues
Updated April 23, 2007
Christine M. Matthews, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division
http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/07March/98-871.pdf
[full-text, 27 pages]
Summary
An important aspect of U.S. efforts to maintain and improve economic
competitiveness is the existence of a capable scientific and technological workforce.
A major concern of the 110th Congress may be regarding the future ability of the U.S.
science and engineering base to generate the technological advances needed to
maintain economic growth. Discussions have centered on the quality of science and
mathematics education and training and on the scientific knowledge of those students
entering other disciplines. Even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical
specialities are likely to require basic knowledge of scientific and technological
applications for effective participation in the workforce. Charges are being made that
many students complete high school scientifically and technologically illiterate.
Precollege science and mathematics instruction has an important relationship
to the future supply of U.S. scientific and technological personnel and to the general
scientific literacy of the nation. However, several published reports indicate
important shortcomings in science and mathematics education and achievement of
U.S. students at the precollege level. Some findings in the reports revealed that many
science and mathematics teachers do not have a major in the discipline being taught;
and that U.S. students, themselves, on international measures, perform less well than
their international counterparts.
A September 2006 report on the future of higher education states that while our
colleges and universities have much to applaud for in their achievements, there are
some areas where reforms are needed. As higher education has evolved, it
simultaneously has had to respond to the impact of globalization, rapidly evolving
technologies, the changing needs of a knowledge economy, and a population that is
increasingly older and more diverse.
In the 21st century, a larger proportion of the U.S. population will be composed
of certain minorities blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. As a group, these
minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in the science and engineering
disciplines compared to their proportion of the total population. A report of the
National Science Foundation (NSF) reveals that blacks, Hispanics, and Native
Americans as a whole comprise more that 25% of the population and earn, as a
whole, 16.2% of the bachelor degrees, 10.7% of the masters degrees, and 5.4% of the
doctorate degrees in science and engineering.
Several pieces of competitiveness legislation have been introduced in the 110th
Congress to address the reported needs in science and mathematics education. H.R.
362 authorizes science scholarships for educating science and mathematics teachers.
H.R. 363 provides funding for graduate fellowships and for basic research and
research infrastructure in science and engineering. S. 761 is directed at increasing
research investment, strengthening and expanding science and mathematics programs
at all points on the educational pipeline, and developing an innovation infrastructure.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Precollege Science and Mathematics Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Teacher Training and Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Student Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Improving Undergraduate and Graduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Undergraduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Graduate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Demographics and the Science and Engineering Talent Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Foreign Science and Engineering Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Congressional Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 4:11 PM
