American Indians Lag Behind in STEM Education & Jobs

Native News Network Staff in Native Briefs. Discussion »

Critical Disparities

Native Brief: WASHINGTON - American Indians, along with African Americans and Hispanics, lag behind non-Hispanic Whites and Asians in science, technology, engineering and math, commonly referred to as STEM, education and jobs.

This information was released Monday at a Brookings Institution forum on advancing STEM education in the United States by Acting US Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank in findings from the Economics and Statistics Administration's third and final report.

The report called, "Education Supports Racial and Ethnic Equality in STEM," analyzes the demographic composition and educational background of STEM workers, looking at representation disparities within these critical fields that promote US innovation and economic competitiveness.

Findings suggest that across all racial and ethnic groups, higher college graduation rates are associated with higher shares of STEM workers, and these workers earn substantial wage premiums over their non-STEM counterparts, regardless of their background.

Non-Hispanic Whites and Asians have much higher college graduation rates than Hispanics, non-Hispanic Blacks and other racial and ethnic groups (including American Indians and Alaska Natives), and are more prominently represented in STEM jobs. With greater equality in educational attainment, the report finds that demographic disparities within the STEM workforce can be diminished, helping to boost STEM employment and US leadership in technology and innovation.

"ESA's final report shows the value of higher education as a gateway to high-quality, high-paying STEM jobs," Blank said.

“Our competitiveness as a nation depends on our ability to prepare America's students for the jobs of tomorrow. That's why the Obama Administration is so strongly committed to strengthening STEM training in the US.”

The President's fiscal year 2012 budget proposes $206 million in STEM training programs. This includes funding for the US Department of Education to develop teacher training in grades K-12 around STEM related topics, as well as funding for the National Science Foundation to conduct research on effective teacher training in STEM fields.

Launched in 2009, the Educate to Innovate campaign is also designed to improve US students' participation and performance in STEM subject areas, particularly focused on women and underrepresented demographic groups. In January 2010, as part of this effort, more than $250 million in public-private investments were made to help prepare 10,000 new math and science teachers and provide additional training to more than 100,000 existing teachers.

Other key findings of today's report include:

posted September 12, 2011 6:00 pm edt