STEM and CTE: a perfect match.

Blosveren, Kate ; Voytek, Steve

On the surface, science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the components of the well-known acronym "STEM"--a term that is used widely to describe the four major fields of study in the educational enterprise known collectively as STEM education. As the demand for workers prepared for success in STEM careers continues to grow, policymakers and the wider education and workforce development community are focusing their attention on ways to better support and expand STEM education.

Programs in this area often employ an applied-learning approach, use problem-based activities and encourage hands-on learning for students. Yet STEM is not unique in this regard. Career and technical education (CTE) programs, delivered via the National Career Clusters [R] Framework, have these elements in common with STEM programs, making the line between CTE and STEM virtually non-existent. In fact, many STEM programs are actually CTE programs, just with a different label.

Despite this reality, federal legislation still narrowly defines STEM around the four fields of study contained in its name, creating barriers for many other programs seeking to access federal initiatives aimed at supporting STEM education more broadly.

This narrow definition also undercuts the broader STEM competencies that have value across education and across the workforce. The related knowledge, skills and competencies found in STEM disciplines are increasingly becoming a necessity in the modern workplace. For instance, familiarity with modern technology or mathematical concepts is now a critical ingredient for workplace success, regardless of industry or economic sector. A report from the Brookings Institution estimates that as of 2011, 26 million U.S. jobs--20 percent of all jobs--require a high level of knowledge in any one STEM field, half of which require less than a bachelor's degree and nearly all of which pay well above the national median salary. (1)

Another analysis from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce notes:

"The deeper problem is a broader scarcity of workers with basic STEM competencies across the entire economy. Demand for the core competencies is far greater than the...traditional STEM employment share suggests, and stretches across the entire U. S. job market, touching virtually every industry." (2)

Expanding STEM

More recently, the national debate has centered on the inclusion of other subjects as part of STEM education. Computer science, for instance, a fast-growing and increasingly important area of study for many students, is not explicitly included in the federal definition of STEM, despite its clear relationship to many STEM fields. Advocates from the computing industry and their allies have long called for its official inclusion in federal legislation.

Another part of the STEM debate revolves around the need for a well-rounded education that incorporates all aspects of learning, as opposed to a singular focus on core academic and technical coursework. Advocates of this broader view of STEM have called for a rebranding of the acronym to "STEAM"--a moniker which would include the arts as a central feature in this area. There's also a movement to use the acronym STEAM to include agriculture in the name. And, finally, some groups argue that just as STEM fields are at the heart of virtually every industry and sector in the global economy, so too is the creative wherewithal, promoted through the arts, necessary to realizing STEM's full potential.

Inclusion of the arts, agriculture and computer science (and CTE) would send an important signal from the national level to local communities that devoting resources to these areas is a worthwhile investment. It would also alleviate certain policy barriers to accessing federal resources for the promotion of STEM programs. As these conversations continue, our understanding of STEM will likely evolve, just as the fields of science, technology, engineering and math have over the past century. And as this process proceeds, the lines between STEM and CTE will continue to blur.

STEM Across the Career Clusters

The National Career Clusters Framework provides a vital structure for organizing and delivering quality CTE programs through learning and comprehensive programs of study. As an organizing tool for curriculum design and instruction, the framework helps guide the development of programs of study, bridging secondary and post-secondary curriculum and individual student plans of study for a complete range of career options. Critically, the 16 Career Clusters and the corresponding 79 Career Pathways address the full world of work, demonstrating that CTE can prepare students for any industry or career.

It can be easy to look at the framework and see that STEM is simply represented by a single career cluster and is therefore limited in its scope and place within the broader set of CTE programs. This underestimates the intent and inherent flexibility of the career clusters, as well as the permeability of STEM disciplines and competencies across sectors and careers.

In fact, most of the career clusters and related career pathways arc directly connected to the STEM disciplines and specific STEM careers. Or, put another way, students can be prepared for the full array of STEM careers by CTE programs aligned to most, if not all, of the 16 Career Clusters.

For example, within the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster, students can gain the foundational knowledge and skills to pursue careers in horticulture, animal science, environmental science, mechanical engineering or food science, among other areas. Health Science, Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics are lour career clusters that immediately bring to mind STEM careers, such as medical professionals, aviation mechanics, computer programmers and petroleum engineering technicians, to name a few.

Even those career clusters individuals might not immediately associate with STEM can help prepare students for careers in the STEM field. For example, students in the Business Management & Administration Career Cluster will gain skills, such as strategics for analyzing information, understanding the life cycle of a research and development process, organizational management skills, and so on, that could transfer to running a STEM-focused business. Or, students can learn about science and technology policy, intellectual property, and patents and public health issues, as well as how to conduct statistical analyses to evaluate a policy or program through the Government & Public Administration Career Cluster.

Through the Arts, A/V Technology & Communications Career Cluster, students can become prepared for careers in graphic or web design, video production, fiber optics and other diverse industries. All these skills have grounding in the basic STEM competencies, and have a direct application of science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics knowledge.

Table 1 provides specific examples of the types of STEM-focused or STEM-related careers students can prepare for by participating in CTE programs aligned to the National Career Clusters Framework. These are just a sampling; there are many more careers, with different levels of education and training required, that could be included in the table. Importantly, every position listed requires some education and training beyond high school, often an associate degree or above.

Flexibility in the Framework

While the National Career Clusters Framework is organized a specific way, what makes it so powerful and useful is its flexibility. Nearly every state uses the framework to organize its CTE programs; but many have chosen to interpret or modify the framework to better align to their workforce needs.

For example, a number of states, such as Nebraska and Colorado, have bundled the 16 Career Clusters and the 79 Career Pathways into six broader fields or sectors for ease of communication and to align to the states' workforce development sectors. In Colorado, the STEM Career Cluster is paired with the Information Technology and Arts, A/V Technology & Communications Career Clusters; in Nebraska, the STEM Career Cluster is paired with the Manufacturing, Architecture & Construction, and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Career Clusters, demonstrating the multiple and valid interpretations of where STEM fits into the framework.

Colorado, Florida and Georgia have added a 17th career cluster--Energy--to reflect the importance of that industry in their respective economies. In Florida, the Energy Cluster includes programs that prepare students for careers in energy generation, solar- energy technology, power distribution and turbine maintenance. Georgia has two three-course pathways within the Energy Cluster--Energy Systems and Energy & Power: Generation, Transmission and Distribution. This addition further demonstrates how the career (lusters can be augmented and infused with new pathways, in STEM fields or otherwise.

Conclusion

As mentioned previously, the relationship between CTE and STEM is abundantly clear, particularly through the lens of the career cluster framework. This is driven both in terms of the specific careers CTE (and STEM) programs prepare students for, as well as the knowledge, skills and competencies they can impart for any student, regardless of his or her future career.

As interest in STEM education continues to grow, it is important that any supportive policies distinguish between providing students with opportunities to master specific STEM competencies and preparation for entry into specific STEM careers. In other words, policies shouldn't solely incentivize programs that train students to become engineers; rather, policies should support STEM and GTE programs that can successfully build STEM competencies in students, such as the ability to problem solve, be innovative and design solutions for real-world problems. Such a focus may require changes in the way STEM is defined in federal and some state policies.

STEM must not be viewed as a separate enterprise from CTE. While a state's CTE programs may not encompass everything within a state's STEM strategy, high-quality CTE programs can provide a strong foundation for this purpose and serve as a delivery system of STEM competencies and other skills for a broader range of students. CTE can and should be a central feature in any effective STEM strategy, just as STEM must be a part of any successful CTE strategy. (4) Tech

Kate BlOSVeren is the associate executive director at NASDCTEc and can be reached at kblosveren@careertech.org.

Steve Voytek is the government relations manager at NASDCTEc and can be reached at svoytek@careertech.org.

ENDNOTES

(1.) Rothwell, J. (2013, June 10). The hidden STEM economy. Retrieved from: www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2013/06/lO-stem-economy-rothwell

(2.) Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N. & Melton, M. (2011, October 20). STEM. Retrieved from: http://cew.georgetown.edu/stem

(3.) Derived from 0*NET Online. Retrieved from: http://www.onetonline.org/find/stem?t=0

(4.) For more on the relationship between CTE and STEM, see "CTE Is Your STEM Strategy" at http://careertech.org/sites/default/files/CTEYourSTEMStrategy-FINAL.pdf.

By Kate Blosveren and Steve Voytek

EXPLORE MORE

ACTE's CareerTech VISION 2015 will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 19-22. VISION will offer a career cluster-focused strand of 10 concurrent sessions featuring this critical framework for organizing high-quality CTE programs of study.

Table 1. STEM-focused Careers Aligned to the National Career
Clusters Framework

Career Cluster                  Sample STEM Careers (3)
Agriculture, Food &           * Agriculture Technician
Natrual Resources             * Agriculture Engineer
                              * Forest & Conservation Worker
                              * Food Science Technician
                              * Veterinarian
                              * Marine Biologist
                              * Water Resource Specialist
Arts, A/V Technology &        * Graphic Designer
Communications                * Telecomm Engineering Specialist
                              * Multimedia Artists & Animators
                              * Audio Technician
Education & Training          * STEM K-12 or Postsecondary
                                Teacher
                              * Speach-language Pathologist
                              * Loan Officer
                              * Investment Banker
Government & Public           * Patent Officer
Administration                * Cryptographer
                              * Policy Analyst
                              * Climate Change Analyst
                              * Intelligence Analyst
Hospitality & Tourism         * Museum/Zoo/Aquarium Personnel
                              * Parks and Gardens Ranger
                              * Brewer
                              * Pastry and Specialty Chef
Information Technology        * Programmer
                              * Hardware, Software Engineer
                              * Information Security Analyst
                              * Database Administrator
                              * Webmaster
                              * Video Game Designer
Manufacturing                 * Aircraft Mechanic and Service/Avionics
                                Technician
                              * Automotive Mechanic
                              * Mechanical Engineer
                              * Electronics Engineering Technician
                              * Welder
STEM                          * Any/all of the careers listed
Career Cluster                  Sample STEM Careers
Architecture &                * Architect
Construction                  * Civil Engineer
                              * Civil Enginering Technician
                              * Surveyor
                              * Drafter
                              * Cost Estimator

Business Management &         * Accountant
Administration                * Auditor
                              * Operations Research Analyst

Finance                       * Actuary
                              * Financial Analyst
                              * Financial Planner


Health Science                * Physician
                              * Nurse
                              * Geneticist/Biotechnology Researcher
                              * Biologist
                              * Dietitian/Nutritionist
Human Services                * Developmental Psychologist
                              * Personal Trainer
                              * Mental Health Counselor
                              * Massage Therapist
Law, Public Safety,           * EMT
Corrections & Security        * Firefighter/Inspector
                              * Fire-prevention and Protection
Engineer
                              * Brownfield Redevelopment Specialist
                                and Site Manager
Marketing                     * Interactive Media Specialist
                              * Market Researcher
                              * Forecasting Manager
                              * Inventory Manager/Analyst


Transportation,               * Transportation Planner/Engineer
Distribution & Logistics      * Occupational Health and Safety
                                Technician
                              * Transportation Vehicle, Equipment
                                Systems Inspector