Report Seeks More Minorities In Science

Boosting minority participation at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education should be an urgent national priority, according to a report released last week. This is because U.S. jobs in science and engineering are forecast to grow in coming years, yet non-U.S. citizens are accounting for nearly all of the growth in STEM doctorates. The report from the National Academies offered two key recommendations for the short term. One involves providing strong academic, social, and financial support to minority undergraduate students in STEM. “A cadre of qualified underrepresented minorities already exists who attend college, declared an interest in majoring in the natural sciences or engineering, and either do not complete a degree or switch out of STEM before graduating,” the report says. The second recommendation involves support for undergraduates who would teach K–12 science or mathematics, secondary school programs that provide advanced courses and academic advice, and efforts that help minority undergraduates transition to STEM graduate work. This report joins two recently released federal studies on improving STEM education (see page 28).