While multiple high-investment initiatives have tried and often failed to grow the STEM workforce, a new paper suggests we have been looking in the wrong direction – the solution lies with STEM school teachers.
The US study by Tuan Nguyen of the University of Missouri, indicated that the US was graduating 11,000 fewer STEM teachers annually than it had done a decade ago – with graduate output dropping from 31,000 in 2014 to 20,000 in recent years. This drop had not been quantified prior to this study, Nguyen said, and an additional 10,000 STEM teachers would be needed each year for the next decade to address demand.
“This trend threatens the US ability to produce STEM graduates to compete with other countries. This work is the first to clearly document the extent of the decline in STEM teacher production nationally and over time so that future work can explore why STEM teacher production has decreased and how to increase the supply of STEM teachers,” the paper says.
Four out of five STEM teachers graduating between 2004 and 2021 were white, with low representation of black, Hispanic and Asian /American Indian graduates. The proportion of female graduates had grown from 59 to 63% and the pay for STEM teachers had declined in real terms from $62,400 to $61,200 over the period.
The paper prompts a range of questions about Australia’s approach to STEM education in secondary schools as a crucible for a future STEM workforce. People were more likely to commit to STEM teaching if student support and graduate pay increased, the paper found.
“While STEM teacher production has decreased substantially over the last ten years, STEM teacher production is sensitive to economic conditions. Strategic and targeted financial investment into STEM education can increase more STEM graduates and more STEM teachers.”
