Interviews with high achieving middle school girls enrolled in a math and technology summer program showed that one fourth of the girls were interested in careers in IT. The girls were interviewed four years later when they were in high school. We found that all of them were still interested in math and most of them were taking, or had taken, advanced math courses. However, only several were taking or had taken a computer science course and only one girl expressed interest in pursuing a career in IT. They showed a general lack of information about computer science, computer scientists and

Today’s technology-based global economy places a high premium on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Educators committed to increasing the interest and achievement of females in engineering struggle to find appropriate resources. The Gender and Science Digital Library (GSDL) from Education Development Center, Inc., (EDC) is a unique on-line collection of exemplary resources aimed at encouraging girls and women to pursue science and engineering education and careers. Participants will receive an on-line tour of the GSDL and a hands-on look at exemplary

Building a Foundation for Tomorrow: Skill Standards for Information Technology, is a cooperative effort of the NorthWest Center for Emerging Technologies, the Regional Advanced Technology Education Consortium, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the Washington Software and Digital Media Alliance (WSDMA), and the Society for Information Management (SIM). The goal of this Advanced Technology Education project was to identify voluntary skill standards that reflect industry expectations in information technology career clusters and which can be used to: Improve the

Developed by a panel of experts, this practice guide brings together evidence and expertise to provide educators with specific and coherent evidence-based recommendations on how to encourage girls in the fields of math and science. The objective is to provide teachers with specific recommendations that can be carried out in the classroom without requiring systemic change. Other school personnel having direct contact with students, such as coaches, counselors, and principals may also find the guide useful. The guide offers five recommendations and indicates the quality of the evidence that

A 2011 report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows that 65 percent of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) occupations earn more than Master’s degrees in non-STEM occupations. Similarly, 47 percent of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM occupations earn more than PhDs in non-STEM occupations. Furthermore, people with only STEM certificates can earn more than people with non-STEM degrees; for instance certificate holders in engineering earn more than Associate’s degree-holders in business and more than Bachelor’s degree

Using May 2009 data from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, this visual essay takes a closer look at STEM occupations.

The focus of this literature review is out-of-school time activities in informal environments, a “vastly understudied” set of experiences (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1992), and the role these experiences can have in shaping the direction of youth to pursue STEM careers.