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Teachers Wanted for STEM Education Preparing Tomorrow’s Workforce

by Nia Johnston

If there was ever a time to make a case for careers within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, it is now. Bolstering these fields, which are projected to face critical workforce shortages in the near future, are now among our nation’s top priorities. As the current economy continues to stumble, the importance of remaining globally competitive in math and science-related fields has become an even greater priority.

Organizations such as The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) have focused attention on the serious employee shortages that will soon impact the country’s ability to compete within these fields at an international level. The notable absence of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans within STEM-related academic programs and careers was noted within a NACME report released this year.

The report, entitled “Confronting the ‘New’ American Dilemma, Underrepresented Minorities in Engineering: A Data-Based Look at Diversity,” shows that participation among African Americans, Native Indians, and Latinos within STEM fields has not only flatlined, but in some cases, has actually declined.
NACME’s report also highlights a significant factor which has contributed to the United States’ ailing performance in the global economy. In essence, a vast number of minority students are not prepared for STEM fields, and are therefore prevented from contributing to the solution.

The report shows that progress on this issue has been marginal. The numbers of minorities within STEM fields do not reflect their overall percentage of the U.S. population. Among other statistics, the report reveals that:

The proportions of bachelor’s degrees in engineering that were awarded to African Americans between 1995 and 2005 has declined. In 1995, engineering degrees accounted for 3.3 percent of bachelor’s degrees that were awarded to African Americans, versus 2.5 percent of these degrees in 2005.
Although Latinos are expected to account for 25 percent of the U.S. population by the mid-21st century, the gap in educational achievement for Latinos in proportion 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.
Native Americans comprise only 0.4 percent of engineering faculty. The lack of diversity among college and university faculties has the potential to rob minority and female students of the role models and mentors they need to maintain their motivation to continue college study.

The report also details a number of calls to action that have been directed at primary and secondary schools, businesses, and governmental entities. These calls to action urge educators and professionals to express high expectations for young students of color, to remove systemic barriers to college participation of underrepresented minorities, to develop a national STEM workforce development policy, and to establish business partnerships that explore and support untapped minority groups.

Authored by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the NACME report findings have caught the attention of members of Congress, including Representative 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 Representative Johnson. “So many of our minority youth are not prepared to take on jobs in critical science and engineering fields, and this is a problem that Congress can – and must – address.”

As the case is made for the support of STEM-related education, questions arise regarding who will teach the children. Corporations have long realized that their focus and support must begin well before the high school or college levels, since far too many students who are seeking employment are poorly prepared for careers in math and science. The emphasis of a growing number of governmental, nonprofit and corporate programs has been on K-12 curriculum to ensure a solid foundation for students’ future workplace competitiveness.

But who will teach them?

A teacher shortage, combined with the necessary increase in STEM education, presents double trouble. African American, Latino and Native American teachers are already in short supply, not to mention the low number of whom are appropriately 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 individuals of color. By the year 2025, at least half will fall into this category. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of their teachers are members of minority groups. Furthermore, more than 40 percent of schools across America have no teachers of color on staff.

Why Teachers of Color Are Needed

Students most identify with teachers who resemble them and with whom they share common backgrounds. Diversity in schools is necessary to ensure balance, provide new perspectives and foster a connection with all students. More importantly, as the student population becomes increasingly diverse, teachers must be available to provide necessary support.

Despite the efforts of some school districts to hire minority teachers, most have faculties that are overwhelmingly Caucasian. School administrators frequently fail to hire the number of minority teachers that is proportional to the increasing number of minority students in their district schools. This shortage of minority teachers 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 could contribute to a worsening urban plight. Such a crisis could contribute to the failure of all American students to learn the academic, personal, and social skills they need to be successful 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 factors that contribute to this situation include:

Demographically, a region, state, or school district contains few minorities available for its local pool of teachers.
Burnout and frustration are caused by on-the-job hazards such as poor working conditions, discipline challenges, increasing school violence, and a lack of support from colleagues.
Inadequate education leaves some minority students poorly prepared and unmotivated to continue with higher education. Standardized tests often have cutoff scores that exclude minority students from obtaining higher education, teacher training, and teacher certification programs.
Licensure tests disproportionately screen out minorities.
Teachers’ salaries are low in comparison to salaries for other professionals, which reduces the prestige and social value of a teaching career in the opinions of many potential minority teachers.
Minority students find greater career opportunities beyond teaching.
The declining numbers of African American and Hispanic students who major in education is steeper than the overall decline of education majors.
Minority teachers leave teaching at higher rates than do Caucasian teachers.

Recruitment and Retention of Educators Program

The NEA’s Teaching and Learning Program, with assistance from the NEA Human and Civil Rights Program, coordinates the 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.

The issues targeted by the NEA Recruitment and Retention of Educators Program include ethnic minority teacher shortages; teacher shortages in various subject areas, such as math and science; teacher shortages related to gender, such as the low numbers of men in elementary education; and the retention of educators who are already in the teaching profession.

To address these issues, the RRE Program has established and maintains specific networks and collaborative activities with NEA affiliates and other organizations. The program also created a national forum to address the issues of educator recruitment and retention, and it collects and distributes information about recruitment and retention initiatives. In addition, it 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 that are attempting to recruit prospective teachers and retain experienced educators.

Champions for the Cause

There are numerous government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations that are working to prepare our nation’s youth. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition actively supports STEM programs that are geared toward teachers and students through the U. S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other collaborating agencies.

The STEM Education Coalition is comprised of advocates from more than 350 diverse groups that represent all sectors of the technological workforce, including knowledge workers, educators, scientists, engineers, and technicians. These organizations are dedicated to ensuring a quality STEM education at all levels of study.

The Coalition is co-chaired by the American Chemical Society and the National Science Teachers Association.

Teaching the STEM Teacher

Advancing the STEM cause means preparing teachers to be comfortable with teaching students more advanced math and science. At the College of St. Catherine, new STEM certificate and minor degree programs are helping future teachers to gain expertise in the four STEM disciplines. Since many of the fastest-growing occupations will be tied to STEM, it is imperative that K-12 students receive a foundation of knowledge and build their skills in problem-solving and logical thinking.

The courses in the certificate and minor degree programs are co-taught by education program and STEM faculty members to ensure not only that students excel in the subject matter, but also that they understand why it is important and how to teach it.

More and more universities are beginning to offer training and support for teachers. More than 400 K-12 science teachers from throughout Minnesota recently participated in 19 no-cost workshops that were offered by Hamline University’s Minnesota Science Teachers Education Project (MnSTEP). Funded by a $2.3 million grant, the workshops further developed teachers’ proficiency in science and offered suggestions to help them teach at the level mandated by state guidelines. The workshop topics included 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 that the United States faces in competing on the world stage. However, these solutions require the collaborative support of corporations, 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, in this case, teacher, are left behind.

If America is to maintain its global leadership position, it must prepare its emerging minority workforce that has traditionally been underrepresented in STEM areas.