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This chapter examines the types of institutions successful at replicating the diversity of the full-time undergraduate population in the diversity of the STEM-discipline degrees awarded. The sample is limited to full-time undergraduate students enrolled at or who are graduates from nonprofit private and public institutions. Relative to their share of the full-time undergraduate population and U.S. population, Asians and whites are overrepresented and blacks and Hispanics were underrepresented in the STEM – discipline bachelor's degree population. Private doctorate and public bachelor's and public master's comprehensive degrees–granting institutions were more successful than their counterparts at replicating the diversity of the full-time undergraduate population in the diversity of the STEM-discipline degrees awarded. Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) were the most successful at replicating this diversity. These findings were consistent over the time period analyzed.

This study aims to explore the differences between science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM disciplines in terms of the changes to teaching and research practices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The paper analyses survey responses collected between July and November 2020 from 241 academics (excluding library staff) from the five oldest state universities in Sri Lanka. The analysis focuses on the differences between STEM and non-STEM faculty using multiple linear regression to control for demographic characteristics such as age, gender and designation as well as university-specific factors.

The paper finds significant differences in the teaching practices of STEM and non-STEM academics, both in terms of preparation time for teaching and tools used for online delivery. Significant differences are also observed in research practices, with STEM faculty being significantly more likely to engage in research collaborations, obtain research funding and be involved in more research projects. The authors do not find any evidence of the pandemic having differential impacts on research productivity between the broad disciplines.

This research provides insights into the differences between STEM and non-STEM disciplines in online teaching and research practices adopted since the onset of the pandemic, which are important for formulating appropriate policy responses to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on both students and staff. The contribution is particularly significant for developing countries where the creation of a skilled workforce is a key driver of the development process.

This article discusses several issues concerning STEM in the context of teacher education.

Using a review of the literature of the past two decades, this article approached the topic of addressing STEM in the context of teacher education through six issues.

1. Integration is key. 2. Disciplinary knowledge needs emphasizing. 3. Equitability of discipline representations is a nonfactor. 4. Still, mathematics deserves a heavier dose. 5. Collaboration is a desired component. 6. Inequality issues deserve more attention.

This article is original. It informs researchers, practitioners and policymakers of what issues to focus on concerning STEM in the context of teacher education.

Middle school participants in the USA attending an on-campus university informal science program indicate an increase in interest toward careers and disciplines in STEM or STEAM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the arts). Parents or guardians confirm the change. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Participants attended “inquiry-based” lectures by scientists and “hands-on” activities conducted by volunteers on campus at a public university over four months, four Saturdays. Participants completed surveys before each lecture and guardians completed surveys afterwards.

Interest increased significantly according to paired samples t-tests for each STEM discipline for students who reported low interest on the initial pre-lecture survey. There was a significant linear improvement in interests in engineering using a repeated measures general linear model. Guardians or parents reported that they observed a higher interest in STEM disciplines resulting in more technical-related interaction among peers and within the family.

Findings support STEM with arts “out-of-school” programs sponsored by museums, corporations, government, higher education and others. Inclusion of the “hands-on” activities, some with arts content, to the science and technical learning appears to spark enthusiasm.

The value is multidisciplinary. The theory of reasoned action from social psychology, sociology, along with related research in science education and the arts are synthesized. Informal extracurricular experiences sustained and improved interests in the disciplines and careers on which the formal educational career pipeline can build.

This study aims to examine if differences exist in undergraduate students' library use, perceptions and grade point average (GPA) among science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM disciplines.

The current study used data from the 2018 student survey. Among 2,277 students who completed the survey (response rate = 8%), only undergraduate students (n = 1,265) were selected for this study because the current study aims to examine the differences between STEM and non-STEM undergraduate students.

The findings from a Mann–Whitney U test revealed that STEM respondents perceived specific library resources (subject and course guide, library instructions and library workshops) as slightly less than non-STEM respondents. The results from ANOVA demonstrated that the mean scores in GPA for STEM respondents who never used online library, journals and databases were lower than respondents who used those library resources, regardless of STEM and non-STEM disciplines.

Revisiting the data collected and analyzing specific user groups will be valuable to academic libraries because this study will provide academic librarians with a deeper understanding of specific user needs and perceptions of library resources and services.

This research examines the influence of parents on students studying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and entering STEM careers. Participating youths were awarded scholarships from large funded US grant programmes. Cases of two graduate students (one female, one male) and one undergraduate student (male) are featured. The first two students in the convenience sample are biology and physics majors in a STEM teacher education program; the third is enrolled in computer science. National reports emphasizing the importance of parents on their children's education are presented, along with diverse international literature. The use of narrative in STEM curriculum and narrative inquiry in STEM research are also documented. Experience, story, and identity form the study's conceptual frame. The narrative inquiry research method employs broadening, burrowing, and storying and restorying to elucidate the students' academic trajectories. Incidents of circumstantial and planned parent curriculum making surfaced when the data were serially interpreted. Other noteworthy themes included: (1) relationships between (student) learners and (teacher) parents, (2) invitations to inquiry, (3) modes of inquiry, (4) the improbability of certainty, and (5) changed narratives = changed lives. While policy briefs provide sweeping statements about parents' positive effects on their children, narrative inquiries such as this one illuminate parents' inquiry moves within home environments. These actions became retrospectively revealed in their adult children's lived narratives. These small stories, while not generalizable, map how students, shaped by their parents' nurturing, enter the STEM disciplines and STEM-related careers through multiple pathways in addition to the identified pipeline.

The term STEM often remains an undifferentiated category, especially at the graduate level. Conceptualizing STEM as a monolithic category, rather than as a combination of distinct fields, prevents researchers from understanding and documenting the full range of persistent inequality within scientific disciplines at the graduate level and throughout the lifespan. The purpose of this paper is to address two oversights prior to degree completion within the context of the USA by asking two specific questions: To what extent is gender associated with choice of discipline within STEM graduate education? In the USA, do gender differences in STEM fields depend on citizenship status?

Using data from the 2015 International STEM Graduate Student in the US Survey, this study employs multinomial logistic regression analyses and presents predicted probabilities to assess differences of enrollment in STEM fields by gender and citizenship status.

Results show that domestic women were less likely to enroll in computer sciences and engineering when compared to domestic men. However, in contrast to domestic students, there were no gender differences among international students’ enrollment in engineering.

This paper shows the importance and complexity of how gender intersects with citizenship status in enrollment patterns in STEM graduate fields. The survey included the top 10 universities in the USA based on the total enrollment of international students, and it is unclear if there exists differences in these selected students and schools when compared to students at colleges and universities that enroll less international graduate students.

The author makes the case to disaggregate STEM to better assess how specific fields can be modified to attract graduate students worldwide. This paper accentuates the significance of gender and citizenship status for understanding differences in choice of discipline among graduate students in STEM.

This study investigates a novel educational strategy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching that integrates the engineering design process (EDP) as a framework. The strategy aims to help teachers explain STEM concepts in a simplified way. We employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to enable a systematic review that evaluated the effectiveness of this approach in improving both teaching and learning in STEM subjects.

In order to fulfill the objectives of the review, key data were extracted from each of the 400 articles that were reviewed from three databases: Scopus, ProQuest Central and EBSCO. Two types of analysis were conducted, namely descriptive analysis and literature classification.

This systematic review analyzed 44 articles on the EDP, focusing on 18 detailed studies mainly from ProQuest, SCOPUS and EBSCO. It revealed a limited focus on gender’s impact on EDP and a trend toward interdisciplinary use and integrated research approaches. The study underscores the need for further exploration of demographic influences and preparation programs in EDP across various disciplines, aiming to inform future research and educational policies.

The study’s value lies in its comprehensive assessment of engineering design (ED) research over the past decade, serving as a key reference point. It highlights progress in the field, consolidates findings and provides insights into the field’s evolution, guiding future research directions in ED.

International assessments have shown gender disparity in STEM among middle school students. Little is known of the gender disparity, the role of psychosocial factors, and school-to-work aspirations in STEM fields in the Cambodian context. The sample included 100 15-year-old students (53% females) from 10 schools in four provinces and the capital city. Classroom observations included eight classrooms from one of the 10 surveyed schools. This study’s measures were adapted from TIMSS’s including science and math interests, and perceived STEM support from teachers and parents. Results indicated that non-STEM subjects are on top of the most enjoyed subjects reported by the students. No statistical significance between genders on STEM interests was found. A multiple regression analysis showed that parents’ and teachers’ support in math, and teachers’ support in science, were predictive of STEM interests. Both parents and students tended to value math more than science, indicating a possible lack of understanding of science. Students showed a significant disconnect between STEM education received in classrooms and aspirations toward an actual career in STEM fields. Classroom observations indicated that while females tended to be shy in the classroom, most teachers did not exhibit behaviors suggesting gender discrimination patterns. Explanations of students’ interests in STEM regardless of gender, as well as the current climate in higher education and careers regarding the gender disparity in STEM, were discussed based on socioeconomic and sociocultural issues within the Cambodian context.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive review and bibliometric analysis of the literature in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education over the past 15 years, with a specific focus on global distribution and research trends.

This study collected 1,718 documents from the Web of Science (WOS) database and analyzed their timeline distribution, geographical distribution, research topics, subject areas, learning stages and citation burst using a bibliometric approach with VOSviewer and Citespace.

Results indicated that: overall, STEM education has increasingly gained scholarly attention and is developing diversely by emphasizing interdisciplinary, cross-domain and regional collaboration. In terms of global collaboration, a collaborative network with the USA in the center is gradually expanding to a global scope. In terms of research themes, four key topics can be outlined including educational equity, pedagogy, empirical effects and career development. Social, cultural and economic factors influence the way STEM education is implemented across different countries. The developed Western countries highlighted educational equity and disciplinary integration, while the developing countries tend to focus more on pedagogical practices. As for research trends, eastern countries are emphasizing humanistic leadership and cultural integration in STEM education; in terms of teachers’ professional development, teachers’ abilities of interdisciplinary integration, technology adoption and pedagogy application are of the greatest importance. With regards to pedagogy, the main focus is for developing students’ higher-order abilities. In terms of education equity, issues of gender and ethnicity were still the hottest topics, while the unbalanced development of STEM education across regions needs further research.

This study provides a global landscape of STEM education along the timeline, which illustrates the yearly progressive development of STEM education and indicates the future trends.