Rise in STEM Enrollment and Qualification in US Higher Education - Essay Sample

Introduction

Recently there has been a rise in the access and involvement of more learners in higher education across the states of America. Among the growing fields of study are scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematics. This field combination has abbreviations as STEM. Higher education enrollment in various courses is increasing rapidly, and more professionals are given out on an annual basis. Nevertheless, there exists a high inequality in the enrolment and qualification assessment to studies in the STEM fields. The disparity lies in gender. More women experience this inequality than men. Actually, in this era, women who pursue the STEM fields are few and considered to be abnormal. According to the UNESCO report in 2017, only 28% of the total students enrolled annually in these fields are female- nevertheless, only half of these female learners make it to the end of the course (UNESCO, 2018). The areas are regarded as demanding, and women cannot persevere to the fullest. The inequality begins right from the social setting to the education sector. Challenges faced by the women who study in the stem field can get into description as a result of educational set factors. "Why do males have more priorities in the areas? Why can women not deliver similar to male learners? And why is the enrolment grades limited above the capabilities of women?" All these questions have a summary in a simple answer- inequality (Blackburn, 2017). However, the title IX ensures that educational discrimination and stereotyping is regulated. The statute governs institutions in compliance with the law of enrollment and STEM courses training. Through technical support, the statute works towards its mission of promoting student achievement and preparation for competitiveness through fostering educational excellence and gender educational equality. This research paper filters into the STEM field's details to identify the factors, reasons, and the statute roles in the topic discrimination of women in STEM higher education with concrete examples and Title IX facts.

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The History of STEM

Within the range of early years of the 2000s in the USA, STEM became more interpreted as a result of several published reports. The national academy of science, engineering, and medicine concentrated on the joining of success and knowledge jobs, reliability in science, and technology. A continued innovation goal of improving on the fields of societal problems was set. Through the formation of such a project (Granovskiy, 2018). The American students could now have a shade light to a better career approach. Initially, the students were not enjoying the best in such disciplines. Through a proposal report for the field of stem formation done in 2005, which was named Rising above the Gathering storm, risks of development were identified too. Among the challenges is a significant, poorly managed workforce. Therefore, a particular focus on the stem field was developed on the basis to cater to gender equality and the field's development. In the same token, Trends in International mathematics and science study a periodic comparison of the STEM knowledge and other areas. In 2006, the Program for international student performance made a report on the evaluation of poor American achievement in the STEM fields and proposed a better way of handling.

The goals in the United States of America plan for STEM were attained through the formulation of ways to better the evolving education and workforce. In essence, educational panels were made to prepare the objectives to be incorporated into institutional guides and higher education laws. From several meetings held in Pennsylvania, several assignments were given to the panel. First, to identify the educator's needs in the process of STEM development. In that research, the Carnegie Melton University and the Intermediate Unit Centre for STEM education were involved. Results showed that U.S educators were unsure of the stem implications. The scientific and technological areas had the most significant problem. There lacked general information on the stem career choices, qualifications, and literacy goals to students that could manage stem. Secondly was a role in finding out the interdisciplinary relations in the STEM courses offering learning institutions (Granovskiy, 2018). This research could aid in the preparation determinants pf the kind of inputs to better stem. Results showed a weak linkage between other faculties and the stem department in most of the high institutions. In response to these findings, a measure to ensure proper equipment and educators training were set, more so, an integration process was subjected in the tertiary education institutions.

Since the research era, there has been a massive implementation of the CMU ns IU1 study in the framing of STEM. The implementation paginates from the area of study, Pennsylvania. The stem programs have later developed into other state universities. However, the majority of the schools in the United States of America have not got to a level of offering the best stem education. The work by a professional biologist named Judith Ramey will be remembered as of significant input in the development of STEM. The biologist rearranged the words from SMET to STEM and focused on curriculum extension within and out of the United States of America (Granovskiy, 2018). There is a great unity in the USA and other nations, including China, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Theoretical Framework for STEM Inequity-Liberal Feminist Theory

Liberal feminist theory dictates freedom and describes how freedom can be achieved for women. However, for cases that involve women, there are assumptions in the way of justice and interpretation of freedom. The education sector is a liberal sector where the lives and rights of women are highly dictated. The STEM field is the most significant area where the liberal freedom of study has complications (Baehr, 2018). Following that, the liberal theory entails two sections, liberal feminism, and classical liberal feminism; the inequity of women can be described as developed by males.

In the classical liberal feminism theory, equity feminism describes the state of an argument between the right to women's power in society and the social perspective. In the feminist theory, Joan Kennedy explains the striving that women get into the trial to gain political power. Education is the key to inequality in political affiliations in the community. Having that the political norm is developing, women need to acquire the best of technological and scientific knowledge for a competitive ideology. In this token, the male politicians subject hardships for women to study in the STEM fields (Baehr, 2018). According to the women's rights movements incorporate in theory, there is a clear depiction of the inequality across nations concerning women education, America is among the greatest oppressors of educationally capable women through political injustices. Controversially, politicians make laws on what the women should harvest from the STEM field of education (Begeny & Ryan, 2019). The women's employment options are one of the tools used in the fights. A woman will not be priorities over a man who has the same STEM qualifications or even more than that male professional.

In theory, the section of women's oppression is clear evidence of how women can be manipulated even in the education sector. With the theoretical slogan of "personal is political," a sure deal in the gender bias cases against women increases in all sectors, including STEM workforce and education. This slogan is an indicator of American government failed to recognize women and their achievements. Upon the state ejection, the women's right to conceive interference is doomed. The personal lives of women leaners who have the desire to achieve in the STEM field get to vain (Baehr, 2018). The cases will occur more rapidly in cases where a female learner wants to be a technology professional, but the potent force around her is against the desire. Husbands, fathers, and male relatives become a free barrier in such kind of educational indulgence. Act of women's support among themselves is another critical inequity form for the te education sector. The theory formulates that even though other factors discriminate against women, lack of interwoven mentorship ad unity in stem education and workforce is vital. Stem successful women do not give their hands to support other women who might be in the will for the same channel (Begeny & Ryan, 2019). Karen Lehrman contributes t the theory by indicating that in compelling women's revolution, women have to identify theirs on responsibility in the development of other women and the feminist work and educational sector. Elizabeth candy portrays the kind of relationship among women that gives a suitable environment for the inequality for stem education. She says there lacks great emancipation of responsibility of women's lives, and the solute personal only aims at their own lives. Therefore, gender is disintegrated and made prone to inequality.

The libertarian cultural section of the theory portrays the relation of beliefs and communal setting to the radical inequity of women in the STEM education and labor force. The ability and independence of women to venturing into the stem field is confined to the beliefs and misconception. A woman who gets into technology, for example, will be considered a failure to womanhood as much of their tome will be utilized in the field instead of the typical role of siring and casual communal contribution in more straightforward and least areas (Begeny & Ryan, 2019). Non-coercive oppression of learned women in the cultural setting is not easy to evade. Therefore much of the women find themselves getting into the acceptable field only to avoid confrontation with the traditional concepts of science and technology. More so, fewer resources are utilized in supporting women to get into STEM fields as compared to males. In lower grade education, there is less focus for the female learners in achieving more and attain the required qualifications to get into stem education at higher levels. This, therefore, reduces the number that reaches the grades. Cultural expectations are the fuel to inequity- the society expects a woman to be simple and never compete with the powerful males. Therefore, thispresents the STEM fields as a habitation for males and women getting into it is abnormal. The abnormality of participation in the inequality of its order. This culture extends to the higher institutions which enroll more male learners that female (Begeny & Ryan, 2019). The conditions are set through the allocation of more welfare services for male stem leaners that their female colleagues. This is interns of housing more STEM male learners.

The liberal feminist theory focuses on critics as a media that could bring inequity. Indeed the critics are a source of unfairness. The consequentialist argument in philosophy argues that critics are from all environments that a woman engages in. Stem fields must be the leading section of critics may be due to performance or failure. It is a tradition that when a woman makes a mistake in the stem work, the error is taken more seriously than a similar error that could be caused by a male (Begeny & Ryan, 2019). This is simply due to the critics of women to be weak and poor in delivery. Similar in the higher STEM education, Ashlie's Warnes describes a woman's failure as an offense but that of male learners as mere fall that can be rectified.

According to contributors to the theory, liberty restricting policies that are best for women are not into co...