Teachers with professional experience are important for improving students' learning experiences and understanding of practical industry skills in engineering. This study explores why upper-level professional engineers decided to enter teaching with their Master of Arts in Teaching or Master of Teaching programmes and how pre-service teachers with…

This chapter discusses three main topics: (1) volunteer as a form of civic engagement, (2) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and (3) basic skills including literacy, numeracy and digital problem-solving skills. Volunteering, STEM background, and basic skills are important social and economic indicators of societies. Yet,…

National university systems have traditionally been characterised by major differences in both internal structures and external conditions. However, the global rise of the knowledge economy has made external conditions of universities more similar across countries. This paper investigates to what extent this convergence has been mirrored…

A "crisis account" of shortages of well-qualified scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists has shaped education policy in the UK and the USA for decades. The apparent poor quality of school science education along with insufficient numbers of well-qualified teachers have been linked to skills shortages by government and…

The science and engineering (S&E) labor force helps to create and advance our scientific and technological knowledge, transform these advances into goods and services, and fuel America's economy, security, and quality of life. This report details several aspects of the U.S. S&E workforce, including growth, demographic makeup, earnings, and…

Braille-reading mathematicians, scientists, and computer scientists were asked to examine the usability of the Unified English Braille Code (UEB) for technical materials. They had little knowledge of the code prior to the study. The research included two reading tasks, a short tutorial about UEB, and a focus group. The results indicated that the…

Previous research confirms that many employees work in jobs not well matched to their skills and education, resulting in lower pay and job satisfaction. While this literature typically uses cross-sectional data, we examine the evolution of mismatch and its consequences over a career, by using a panel data set of scientists in the USA. The results…

The U.S. workforce has undergone significant changes in the past few decades. Increasingly sophisticated technology, changes in the structure of the economy and the growing global marketplace have resulted in employers putting a higher premium than ever on educated workers. Much has been said about the importance of increasing the labor supply for…

In today's job market, middle and high skills jobs--jobs that require some education and training beyond high school--comprise the majority of job openings and typically provide the best wages and opportunities for advancement. And almost every day, there is an article or news story discussing the "skills mismatch" phenomenon, the…

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) has been a powerful engine of prosperity in the US since World War II. Currently, American students' performances and enthusiasm in STEM education are inadequate for the US to maintain its leadership in STEM professions unless the government takes more actions to motivate a new generation of…

A summative evaluation of the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) was conducted during the spring, summer and fall of 2008. The main objective of the evaluation was to measure the relevance, impacts, and cost-effectiveness of the program. Given the timing of the evaluation…

More engineers are needed to support the infrastructure of the United States and to solve economic, human, and environmental problems. Women have been cited as the untapped resource who can provide new perspectives, solutions, and diversity. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years, colleges have not learned how to graduate more women, keeping…

In the last 50 years, more than half of America's sustained economic growth was created by the five percent of the workforce who create, manage, and maintain the processes and products of innovation: engineers, scientists, and advanced-degree technologists. America's science, technology, and math workforce is aging while jobs requiring specialized…

"Science and Engineering Indicators" (SEI) is first and foremost a volume of record comprising the major high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI is factual and policy neutral. It does not offer policy options, and it does not make policy recommendations. SEI employs a variety…

Institutions of higher education, the major source of the nation's scientists and engineers, perform about one-half of the nation's basic research. Therefore, the level, distribution, and characteristics of federal academic support are of much interest to officials at federal, state, and local levels and in nongovernmental sectors. The data…