What is a career anyway? What does STEM career education look like from PreK–12?
The 2024 NSF ITEST PI Meeting engaged the ITEST community in an examination of project implementation through the lens of the three program pillars: (1) Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning; (2) Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation; and (3) Strategies for Equity in STEM Education. Discussions across the two days raised topics of interest and challenges felt by projects across these pillars. Questions related to pillar two centered on career and workforce preparation, including:
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What skills are most important for future STEM careers?
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How can STEM education instruction/curriculum be more integrated in schools?
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Is there a sustained “piece of knowing and enjoying” for students that can transfer to any new technologies?
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How can we ensure students have the skills needed by industry/business? What skills are they looking for in employees?
The STELAR team recognized that a central challenge felt by ITEST projects is determining what youth need now to prepare them for an uncertain and ever-evolving future. Thinking about STEM career development in a constantly shifting environment can be difficult, especially for younger students for whom emerging or future careers are nebulous or do not yet exist. What skills, competencies, and mindsets are most important for future STEM careers? What are the different pathways to prepare students for careers in STEM fields? What are effective strategies (e.g., mentoring, project-based learning) for engaging students in technology careers in STEM at each grade span?
STEM career development is central to the ITEST program. A deeper understanding of how career awareness, exploration, and preparation develop in youth across ages and grade levels will help ensure that our efforts have maximum impact on the development of a robust future STEM workforce. To support this, the STELAR has undertaken a review of career development theory and research efforts, and will produce a series of informative webinars and learning resources in support of STEM career education.
We hope that you will join us for the first of these sessions, an interactive presentation of the theories of career development, to be held on Tuesday, December 10, at 2 pm. Stay tuned as we continue this work in the new year with an examination of career development across ITEST projects, and an exploration of ITEST career development competencies.
Be sure to sign up to receive the STELAR newsletter and watch for our announcements to learn how you can participate in these efforts, and join us for our December webinar: Theories of Career Development on .
