Paper Session I-C - Career Outcomes Assessment and Human Resource Policy in Science and Engineering

Based upon our experience with programs targeted to increase participation in careers in science and engineering (S/E), this paper discusses career outcomes assessment as an approach that enables policy makers and program administrators to identify and interpret indicators of participant-related outcomes, such as changes in career-related behavior and performance

Lessons Learned Across Settings, and the Way Forward

This section identifies design principles that the initiatives discussed in previous chapters have in common, and summarizes lessons learned in terms of what programs, policies, and practices are effective or at least promising. It is important to emphasize that what works for students from underrepresented minorities (URM) works for all students. It is equally important to add that there must also be activities targeted to URM learners. These lessons can be a catalyst to create direction and strategies to develop, sustain, and institutionalize innovative programs and practices addressing STEM teaching and learning as issues of social justice: commitment; communication; partnerships; institutional linkages; transformative pedagogy; community; robust evaluation; and research

Introduction and Overview: STEM and Social Justice: Teaching and Learning in Diverse Settings

Over the last half-century, there have been many dramatic social, historical, cultural, demographic, and political changes worldwide. National boundaries have dissolved or shifted to the extent that society is conceptualized not only on a national level, but also on an international one. The global economy is based on information, invention, and innovation deriving from science and technology. Competing successfully in today’s global economy necessitates developing a well-educated and well-trained science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. In the global knowledge-based economy, the most important resources are human resources. Bringing together people with a variety of perspectives to address problems results in better solutions and enhances both innovation and creativity (Medin, Lee, and Bang, 2014; Phillips, 2014)