View in EDS

Mismeasuring STEM?: Assessing STEM Course Taking Among US Bachelor's Degree Graduates.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Mismeasuring STEM?: Assessing STEM Course Taking Among US Bachelor's Degree Graduates.
Authors: Douglas, Daniel1 douglasd@montclair.edu, Salzman, Hal2,3, Khudododov, Khudodod3
Source: Journal for STEM Education Research. Apr2026, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p375-399. 25p.
Subject Terms: *STEM education, *Graduates, *Employment, *College students
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: STEM refers to four fields of study and occupation: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But STEM has taken on social and political meaning far beyond the sum of its component parts. Public and policy discussions of STEM, whether in education or employment, rest on a startling lack of clarity about what counts as STEM. Most studies of postsecondary STEM education focus on students' programs of study as the measure of STEM education, but we find this metric leads to substantial mismeasurement. Instead, we argue that examining STEM course taking is a more accurate measure of STEM preparation among college students. This descriptive study establishes conceptual and operational definitions of STEM coursework and uses nationally representative college student transcript data to develop a more accurate measure STEM course taking. Finally, we analyze the extent of potential mismeasurement and estimate STEM course taking using this revised classification system. Among bachelor's degree students, we find wide variation in the number of STEM courses completed by students both within and between programs of study. Moreover, we find that many students in non-STEM programs of study complete substantial amounts of STEM coursework at levels comparable to that of many STEM students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal for STEM Education Research is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 194451478
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Mismeasuring STEM?: Assessing STEM Course Taking Among US Bachelor's Degree Graduates.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Douglas%2C+Daniel%22">Douglas, Daniel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> douglasd@montclair.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Salzman%2C+Hal%22">Salzman, Hal</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Khudododov%2C+Khudodod%22">Khudododov, Khudodod</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+for+STEM+Education+Research%22">Journal for STEM Education Research</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p375-399. 25p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22STEM+education%22">STEM education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graduates%22">Graduates</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employment%22">Employment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+students%22">College students</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: STEM refers to four fields of study and occupation: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But STEM has taken on social and political meaning far beyond the sum of its component parts. Public and policy discussions of STEM, whether in education or employment, rest on a startling lack of clarity about what counts as STEM. Most studies of postsecondary STEM education focus on students' programs of study as the measure of STEM education, but we find this metric leads to substantial mismeasurement. Instead, we argue that examining STEM course taking is a more accurate measure of STEM preparation among college students. This descriptive study establishes conceptual and operational definitions of STEM coursework and uses nationally representative college student transcript data to develop a more accurate measure STEM course taking. Finally, we analyze the extent of potential mismeasurement and estimate STEM course taking using this revised classification system. Among bachelor's degree students, we find wide variation in the number of STEM courses completed by students both within and between programs of study. Moreover, we find that many students in non-STEM programs of study complete substantial amounts of STEM coursework at levels comparable to that of many STEM students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal for STEM Education Research is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=194451478
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s41979-025-00143-6
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 25
        StartPage: 375
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: STEM education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Graduates
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Employment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Mismeasuring STEM?: Assessing STEM Course Taking Among US Bachelor's Degree Graduates.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Douglas, Daniel
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Salzman, Hal
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Khudododov, Khudodod
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 25208705
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 9
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal for STEM Education Research
              Type: main
ResultId 1