高中生对STEM的看法：重要性和兴趣

Joyce Z. Schnieders and Becky L. Bobek Introduction The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce is critical for drivinginnovation and economic growth in the United States. Driven by rapid technologicaladvancements and evolving industry needs, the STEM workforce has also evolved, consistingof more professionals in emerging fields like artificial intelligence (National Science Foundation,2024). The rapid advancement in STEM is reshaping the future of almost every industry, leadingto a steadily increasing demand for graduates in STEM fields (National Science Board, 2021).However, the United States has been facing a growing shortage of skilled STEM workers (Corinet al., 2020). Thus, preparing high school and college students to enter STEM professions isincreasingly vital. Students’ interest in pursuing STEM majors is not fixed; rather, it can evolve significantly overtime, particularly during adolescence—a critical period for identity formation and academicdecision-making (Lichtenberger & George-Jackson, 2013). A growing body of research hasidentified multiple factors that influence interest in STEM across individual, family, and schoollevels. At the individual level, students’ academic experiences and performance play a centralrole. Those who engage in rigorous STEM coursework and demonstrate strong performance inSTEM subjects are more likely to express interest in STEM-related college majors (Radunzel etal., 2017). In addition, psychological factors such as motivation and self-efficacy (students’ beliefin their ability to succeed) are also critical for developing an interest in STEM (Lichtenberger &George-Jackson, 2013). In addition to individual-level factors, family-level and school-level influences can also shapestudents’ aspirations. Parental expectations, occupational values, and encouragement cansignificantly influence students’ perceptions of STEM careers and their likelihood of pursuingthem (Tegelbeckers et al., 2019). At the school level, the quality and rigor of the STEMcurriculum, access to hands-on learning opportunities, and exposure to real-world STEMapplications through partnerships or extracurricular programs have all been shown to help fosterinterest in STEM fields (Bicer et al., 2020). Because today’s high school students will make up the future workforce, it is critical to learnabout their perspectives on STEM. As such, the current study was designed to address severalquestions related to students’ interests in STEM: 1.Are students familiar with the term STEM? 2.Do students think STEM is important and useful? 3.Do students agree that schools should emphasize STEM? 4.What do students think of the STEM education they have received? 5.Are students interested in pursuing a STEM-related major in college? If so, what factorsare related to such an interest, and how do different factors work together to predictinterest in STEM? The answers to these questions can help us better understand students’ perspectives on STEMand their interest in STEM-related majors and provide insights into how to better prepare themfor the future workforce. In April 2024, we asked a random sample of college-bound high school students who registeredfor the April 2024 ACT national test to participate in an online survey. In the survey, we askedstudents about their perspectives on STEM and STEM education, including its utility and theimportance of emphasizing STEM in education. We also investigated students’ interest inpursuing a STEM-related major in college, as well as potential factors that could be associatedwith that interest. In this brief, we share what we learned from 5,978 high school students onthese topics (see the technical appendix for more details about the student sample). Most students knew what STEM stands for, but there weregroup differences Before asking students to share their perspectives on STEM, we first assessed whether theyunderstood what STEM stands for (see the technical appendix for all the survey questions).Overall, 79% of the students indicated that they did. Of that 79%, 97% accurately described thefour elements (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). However, further analysisrevealed notable differences across demographic groups.1First, in terms of racial/ethnic groups,Asian students were significantly more likely to indicate that they were familiar with the termSTEM compared to their Black and Latinx peers. While over 90% of Asian students respondedyes to this question, only two thirds of Black students and 70% of Latinx students respondedyes (Figure 1). Second, in terms of family income, students from lower-income families wereless familiar with the term than those from higher-income backgrounds. About two thirds (65%)of students from low-income households (annual family income less than $36,000) answeredyes, compared to over three quarters (85%) of students from high-income households (annualfamily income more than $100,000; see Figure 2).