March - Vol 70, No 6 - International Technology and Engineering ...

Understanding STEM:
Current Perceptions
By Ryan Brown, Joshua Brown, Kristin Reardon,
and Chris Merrill
Many in the field of technology
education have embraced STEM
education, but there is a lack of
understanding of STEM education
in schools.
Readers of The Overlooked STEM Imperatives:
Technology and Engineering (ITEA/ITEEA, 2009)
are invited to “explore the power and promise of
a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) education” (p. 2). Those who believe in the
virtues of STEM education feel that it can contribute to
increased problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and
analytical thinking in students as well as lead to better
real-world connections in the curriculum. (Brophy, Klein,
Portsmor, Rogers, 2008; National Science Board, 2007).
The promise of STEM education has caught on in the field
of technology education as evidenced by incorporation of
the STEM acronym in many of the resources produced by
the International Technology and Engineering Educators
Association (ITEEA). A quick review of ITEEA’s website
(www.iteea.org) will reveal the hold that the concept of
STEM has on the profession, as one would find that the
most recent annual conference, the newest publication
(ITEA/ITEEA, 2009), and the association newsletter all have
a STEM focus. The change in tide toward STEM education
has encouraged this exploration of the current teacher and
administrator perceptions of STEM education.
The Push for STEM Education
In many ways, the push for STEM education appears to
have grown from a concern for the low number of future
professionals to fill STEM jobs and careers (ITEA/ITEEA,
2009) and economic and educational competitiveness
(Brophy, Klein, Portsmor, & Rogers, 2008; Congressional
Research Service, 2006; Ehrlich, 2007; National Science
Board, 2007). The proponents of STEM education believe
that by increasing math and science requirements in
schools, along with infusing technology and engineering
concepts, students will perform better and be better
prepared for advanced education or jobs in STEM fields
(often referred to as the STEM pipeline). The lasting result
would be that the United States would again rise to the top
of international rankings.
While the outcome remains to be seen, many in the field
of technology education have taken the idea of STEM
education and have attempted to either integrate more
math and science into their courses or highlight the ways
in which those concepts were already being integrated. The
believed benefits of doing so are that students experience
real-world problems making more connections to STEM
fields and the ever-changing workforce, sparking interest
in STEM fields. Creating these links earlier in the students’
educational careers could potentially result in an increased
number of students entering into fields associated with
STEM (Brophy, Klein, Portsmor, Rogers, 2008; Merrill
& Daugherty, in press; NHSA; NSB, 2007; Suddreth &
Itamura, 2007).
Understanding of STEM
As STEM education becomes a greater focus for an
increasing number of schools and teachers, it becomes
5 • Technology and Engineering Teacher • March 2011