Global Priority
STEM education is becoming a global priority
In today’s globally competitive economy, employers of all shapes and sizes are increasingly seeking workers skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Therefore, STEM education is becoming a global priority, and is even more critical to reclaim nations engineering and technologically innovative finesse on the way to becoming global leaders.
Who should embrace STEM?
It is vital for educators, school managements, teachers, students, policy makers, industry champions, and community stakeholders to embrace STEM. It is critical to take advantage of the momentum and further the progress of under-represented students as it concerns access to a quality math and science education for long-term socioeconomic mobility and a place at the table of innovation.
Investing to ensure a pipeline of workers skilled in STEM competencies is a workforce issue, an economic-development issue, and a business imperative. And the best way to ensure return on these investments is to start fostering these skills in young children.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to define a STEM “job”. Regardless of the industry, employers are looking for a talent pipeline that can produce workers proficient in the STEM disciplines. Concepts at the heart of STEM “curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking” are in demand. They also happen to be innate in young children.
It is believed that one can’t start early enough. Young children are natural-born scientists and engineers, and high-quality early-learning environments provide them with a structure in which to build upon their natural inclination to explore, build, and question. Research confirms that the brain is particularly receptive to learning math and logic between the ages of 8 and 14. Early math skills are the most powerful predictors of later learning and academic success, and early childhood education is a workforce-pipeline issue.
