On Sept. 30, the National Academies Press released a much anticipated pre-publication copy of Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. The forthcoming report—with its detailed synthesis and recommended approaches—is the result of a 2006 request by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and other policymakers who championed diversifying the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline to meet 21st century labor demands and dramatic shifts in the country’s demographics.
The publication draws on a multitude of disquieting statistics that depict continued inequity between America’s underrepresented minority population and those who obtain advanced STEM degrees. Its authors walk readers through the proverbial STEM pipeline and its many hazards that lead to racial/ethnic achievement gaps. They also touch on evidenced practices and the role and responsibility of institutions in retaining students in scientific fields and attracting and promoting minority faculty.
We know this landscape well. Decades of empirical research articulate the barriers and interventions that respectively impede and advance underserved populations in STEM.
The field needs better K-12 math and science teachers, engaged college professors, diverse pedagogies, and support for students in transition. We need sustained pathways to the STEM doctorate for minority men and women, equity within the professoriate, the redistribution of institutional resources, and leadership and commitment at both two- and four-year institutions.
These are prescriptions to a problem that has plagued higher education for more than 40 years. They are informed by data, empirical analyses, programmatic evidence, and theoretical positioning.
The National Academies report—incredibly comprehensive for its descriptive statistics, literature synthesis, snapshot of federal and other investments, and personal accounts—bases its recommendations on a nearly complete set of foundational evidence (glaringly absent is a conversation on men and women of color as distinct populations, something I’ll address in a later post).
Yet, not unlike its predecessors, including A Nation at Risk and Rising Above the Gathering Storm, the report devotes relatively little of its 217 pages to actionable policy recommendations. In fact, chapter eight entitled, “Recommendations and Implementation Actions,” is just 13 pages in length. To be fair, recommendations are strewn throughout the report in various formats, yet the translation of research into practical policy action is limited.
