K-12 STEM Education and Workforce Development in Rural Areas (2025) / Chapter Skim
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Promoting these assets and removing barriers are both critical for ensuring the inclusion of rural students in STEM education and workforce development and enhancing the ability of rural people to engage in and contribute to their communities or scientific exploration and discovery. Recognizing both the assets inherent in rural communities and schools and the challenges to providing extensive, rigorous STEM education and workforce development opportunities in those areas, Congress directed the U.S.
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, sponsored by NSF, was directed to undertake a consensus study to • take stock of existing federal programs that support rural STEM education and workforce development; • examine the role of broadband in rural STEM education and work force development; • develop recommendations for federal, state, and local action to improve rural STEM education and workforce development; and • provide guidance to the National Science Foundation on imple menting programs focused on rural K–12 STEM education and workforce development and online education. In response, under the auspices of the Board on Science Education in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, in collaboration with the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Board on Higher Education and the Workforce, and Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the National Academies established a 15-member committee to develop a consensus report.
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Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics terms, which are used in much education research. Rural communities differ tremendously across a variety of dimensions that shape the K–12 STEM education and workforce development landscape: remoteness; geography (i.e., mountainous, desert, island)
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This measure should be used both to monitor geographical disparities in STEM education and workforce develop ment and to inform development and administration of programs for rural STEM education and workforce development. The federal government, through a statistical agency such as the • National Center for Education Statistics or the Bureau of Labor Statistics, should develop this common measure.
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Furthermore, some rural communities, districts, and schools lack the capacity (e.g., staffing, time, and expertise) to identify potential funding opportunities to advance STEM education and workforce development opportunities, complete the application process, and meet the reporting requirements if funding is awarded.
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TRENDS IN AND ACCESS TO STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES To develop a baseline understanding of the status of rural K–12 STEM education and workforce development, the committee examined trends in student achievement, aspirations, course taking, and persistence in STEM career pathways. We also examined access to learning opportunities in STEM, including coursework, out-of-school programs, and work-related experiences (see Chapter 4)
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They do, however, often have access to such opportunities at home or in nature, and rural STEM educators can significantly improve students' learning by leveraging these experiences. Rural districts and schools in remote areas with low population density and limited access to affordable broadband face unique challenges for supporting K–12 STEM education and workforce development initiatives and these challenges are often not adequately addressed by federal and state programs.
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But in rural communities these learning opportunities are sometimes constrained by funding and availability. Promising models for designing STEM enrichment education and workforce development programs in rural areas (a)
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The closure of small colleges may hamper the ability of rural areas to build programs and sustain pathways for STEM workforce development. Inequitable access to broadband in rural communities creates challenges for STEM education and workforce development and digital literacy in preparation for work and life.
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Recommendation 10: Rural school districts should explore consortium models for STEM education and workforce development that pool resources to maximize opportunities across regions. Such consortia or other collaborative models could seek to provide • opportunities for students to participate in advanced STEM coursework, • job-embedded internships and apprenticeships for students, • professional learning for preK–12 STEM educators, and • improved access to out-of-school STEM learning experiences.
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Recommendation 14: Institutions that offer school counselor prepara tion pathways should incorporate rural-focused coursework and rural internship opportunities for prospective counselors to learn about the diversity of rural communities and their assets, how to recognize those assets in different contexts, and ways to leverage the assets when advis ing students about STEM courses or career pathways. Recommendation 15: Rural districts should work with regional teacher preparation programs to explore ways to address the shortage of STEM teachers in rural areas.
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Recommendation 18: Agencies that fund programs in STEM educa tion and workforce development should conduct evaluations at the portfolio level that examine and document what makes a program or approach successful for rural populations and/or in rural settings. This could include assessing how a program overcomes challenges that are unique to rural • settings; how programs leverage assets of rural communities, including • local rural knowledge; the capacity of rural organizations to apply for and manage • grants (e.g., reporting requirements)
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As noted, rural communities have many assets relevant to STEM education and workforce development that are often not leveraged sufficiently. In developing priorities for rural STEM education and evaluating proposals, NSF should explicitly call out the need to clearly describe how a program or project will identify and leverage community resources and be designed to connect to local community priorities and needs.
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, Preparing Rural STEM Educators, NSF should expand the Robert Noyce Teacher Schol arship Program Tracks 1 and 2 to intentionally recruit STEM majors and professionals from rural areas; prepare them to leverage local, natural, and community assets in their STEM teaching; place them in rural areas for their teaching commitments; and support them after placement. In addition, NSF should expand the definition of eligible "STEM major" for the Noyce scholarships to include agricultural and health sciences, given their high relevance to rural areas.
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how broadband infrastructure affects preK–12 STEM education and literacy in rural areas. The committee identifies the following three areas where more research is particularly needed: • Intersecting research on preK–12 STEM education and workforce development in rural areas: There is a lack of studies examining preK–12 STEM education, especially in earlier grades, across the diversity of rural schools and communities.
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• Better availability and usability of datasets: Definitions of rurality should be improved to recognize that rural communities are not monolithic and that rurality exists on a continuum, and datasets are needed that are specific to rural students, teachers, and schools and that leverage the diversity of rural settings and STEM learning. • Informal and nonformal STEM learning and workforce develop ment in rural areas: Research is needed to enhance understanding of the impacts of informal and nonformal STEM learning and workforce development for students in rural areas.
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