Revising the Economic Imperative for US STEM Education: e1001760

Summary Over the last decade macroeconomic studies have established a clear link between student achievement on science and math tests and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth, supporting the widely held belief that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education are important...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS biology 2014-01, Vol.12 (1)
Main Authors: Donovan, Brian M, Mateos, David Moreno, Osborne, Jonathan F, Bisaccio, Daniel J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement tests
Mathematics education
Science education
Secondary school students
Teaching
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Over the last decade macroeconomic studies have established a clear link between student achievement on science and math tests and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth, supporting the widely held belief that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education are important factors in the production of economic prosperity. We critique studies that use science and math tests to predict GDP growth, arguing that estimates of the future economic value of STEM education involve substantial speculation because they ignore the impacts of economic growth on biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, which, in the long-term, limit the potential for future economic growth. Furthermore, we argue that such ecological impacts can be enabled by STEM education. Therefore, we contend that the real economic imperative for the STEM pipeline is not just raising standardized test scores, but also empowering students to assess, preserve, and restore ecosystems in order to reduce ecological degradation and increase economic welfare.
ISSN:1544-9173
1545-7885
DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001760