Students Lacking Interest in STEM-based Space Science

NASA is planning to send a crew to Mars in the 2030s. To meet tomorrow's ambitious goals, the country will need thousands of today's students to follow career paths that will create the next generations of scientists, engineers and space explorers. According to a national survey of 1,000 teachers, as reported by the Aero News Network  ...while just 38 percent of teachers report that a majority of students seem naturally interested in STEM, 83 percent see discussing space-related careers as a potential way to increase student focus on STEM. Other polling highlights include:

• 52 percent of teachers believe a near-term return to the moon would increase students' interest in STEM
• 43 percent of teachers say their schools' curriculum is sufficiently preparing students for a STEM career (12 percent of which say very sufficiently preparing students)
• 23 percent of teachers agree that the current school curriculum is sufficiently preparing students for a career in space exploration

Mars Rover Curiosity Illustration courtesy of NASA/JPL. Our thanks to Charlee Smith of BSI Adhesives for sharing this STEM education-related story!