We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, yet most education institutions do not provide STEM education for all students. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have been a special focus of both industry and federal education initiatives in recent years. STEM is a proven way of building student skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. The purpose of this study is to determine why education decision-makers resist implementing STEM programs equitably for all students. The context of this inquiry is district and school-based leaders throughout the United States, from elementary to high school, who have none to some STEM or career and technical education programs throughout their schools and districts. My research answers questions about barriers to STEM program adoption broadly and identifies a scalable framework of practices that includes all students in STEM programs.
","abstract_html":"<p>We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, yet most education institutions do not provide STEM education for all students. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have been a special focus of both industry and federal education initiatives in recent years. STEM is a proven way of building student skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. The purpose of this study is to determine why education decision-makers resist implementing STEM programs equitably for all students. The context of this inquiry is district and school-based leaders throughout the United States, from elementary to high school, who have none to some STEM or career and technical education programs throughout their schools and districts. My research answers questions about barriers to STEM program adoption broadly and identifies a scalable framework of practices that includes all students in STEM programs.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Simpson, Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Sarah Lukas","Dr. Lorrie Butler"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z","subjects":["STEM Education","Equitable Practices","21st Century Skills","Career and Technical Education (CTE)","Educational Equity","Project-Based Learning","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Educational Technology","Elementary Education and Teaching","Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching","Other Engineering","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching","Vocational Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/821","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Sarah Lukas","Dr. Lorrie Butler"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Simpson, Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-05-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["STEM Education","Equitable Practices","21st Century Skills","Career and Technical Education (CTE)","Educational Equity","Project-Based Learning","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Educational Technology","Elementary Education and Teaching","Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching","Other Engineering","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching","Vocational Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/821"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, yet most education institutions do not provide STEM education for all students. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have been a special focus of both industry and federal education initiatives in recent years. STEM is a proven way of building student skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. The purpose of this study is to determine why education decision-makers resist implementing STEM programs equitably for all students. The context of this inquiry is district and school-based leaders throughout the United States, from elementary to high school, who have none to some STEM or career and technical education programs throughout their schools and districts. My research answers questions about barriers to STEM program adoption broadly and identifies a scalable framework of practices that includes all students in STEM programs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Evaluation of the Equitable Practices for STEM Education to Prepare All Students for the 21st Century"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Sarah Lukas","Dr. Lorrie Butler"],"dc:creator":["Simpson, Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2024-05-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, yet most education institutions do not provide STEM education for all students. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have been a special focus of both industry and federal education initiatives in recent years. STEM is a proven way of building student skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. The purpose of this study is to determine why education decision-makers resist implementing STEM programs equitably for all students. The context of this inquiry is district and school-based leaders throughout the United States, from elementary to high school, who have none to some STEM or career and technical education programs throughout their schools and districts. My research answers questions about barriers to STEM program adoption broadly and identifies a scalable framework of practices that includes all students in STEM programs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/821"],"dc:subject":["STEM Education","Equitable Practices","21st Century Skills","Career and Technical Education (CTE)","Educational Equity","Project-Based Learning","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Educational Technology","Elementary Education and Teaching","Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching","Other Engineering","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching","Vocational Education"],"dc:title":["An Evaluation of the Equitable Practices for STEM Education to Prepare All Students for the 21st Century"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z"}