Page 79 - Standards for K-12 Engineering Education

Standards for K-12 Engineering Education?

64 STANDARDS FOR K–12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION?

systems analysis; and systems evaluation as well as abstract reasoning about how the different
elements of a work process interact (Peterson, 1999).
st
• National Research Council Workshop on 21 Century Skills

Finally, a number of engineering education programs have already been introduced in
schools (NAE, 2009). Although these programs are not based on national standards, they
provide a critical entry point into the school system. Thus, there are many opportunities for
engineering education, and the first step in realizing them is clarifying the purposes and
developing the standards.

Barriers to the Development of Standards

There are few barriers to the development of standards for K–12 engineering education.
With a sufficient budget, time, and expertise, the task of developing standards is clearly doable.
There are, however, substantial barriers to realizing those standards in national and state
education policies, school programs, and classroom practices. The education system into which
the standards will be incorporated has very strong antibodies, to use a biological metaphor, that
would be activated in the form of federal laws (e.g., No Child Left Behind), state standards and
assessments, teachers’ conceptual understanding and personal beliefs, instructional strategies,
budget priorities, parental concerns, college and university teacher preparation programs, teacher
unions, and the list goes on.
The power and position of science and mathematics in STEM education and the tendency
to say STEM when one really means science or mathematics is a significant barrier. S, T, E, and
M are separate but not equal. The inequality becomes clear, for example, when one considers
that science, technology, and mathematics have national standards and that by 2012 all three will
have national assessments. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) approved a
special national assessment of technological literacy for 2012, and work on the assessment
framework is being coordinated by WestEd. Science and mathematics also figure prominently in
international assessments, such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
A constellation of obstacles appears when one considers the educational infrastructure.
For instance, state standards and assessments currently include only mathematics and science,
which dominate the views of policy makers, school administrators, and classroom teachers. The
financial situation for most states and school districts simply will not support the major changes
in curriculum, instruction, and assessment that will be necessary for new national standards for
engineering education.
Another potential problem is that national standards for the E in STEM could create
another “silo.” Because national standards for science, technology, and mathematics already
exist and dominate the educational system, engineering education standards developed with little
or no recognition of other STEM disciplines could be a disservice to STEM education, especially
when one considers engineering’s natural connections to science, technology, and mathematics.
Finally, engineering education has little leadership or political power to take advantage of
critical leverage points in national, state, and local educational systems, such as international
assessments, national assessments, state teacher certification requirements and teacher education
programs, state standards and assessments, and programs for the professional development of
current classroom teachers.

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