The need for Bachelors of Education students well trained in math and science
Ten thousand new jobs for math and science teachers across the United States.
That was President Obama’s mandate back in 2010 when he partnered with various private and public organizations as part of the “Educate to Innovate” campaign, put in place to create more future jobs in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) by 2020.
With a high demand for jobs comes high demand for educators who will prepare students to hold those jobs, equipping a new generation with the knowledge and training needed to enter into a high-intelligence field such as STEM.
“The quality of math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math,” stated President Obama in a 2010 White House press release.
Though only approximately 5 percent of the U.S. workforce is made up of science and engineering professions, these positions create more job opportunities in other areas, benefiting the economy as a whole. For every one job in software, technology and life sciences, five jobs are created — driving 50 percent of U.S. economic growth.
Because most of STEM jobs require some post-secondary education, students as early as elementary school and through high school are in need of good teachers to provide them a good education and get them college-ready.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) findings, the U.S. ranked below 29 of the education systems in the world in math and below 22 world education systems in science.
The state of Missouri, according to the U.S. Department of Education, was the only state whose scores in 8th grade math dropped between 2009 and 2011, as opposed to remaining the same or increasing. Though in recent years Missouri’s test scores in math and science have remained above the national average, there is still room for improvement.
There is an assortment of William Woods University courses offered to ensure our Bachelors of Education students are well educated in all subjects, including math and science, to ensure that their future students get to best education. A few of these courses include MAT231: Mathematics for Elementary Teachers and EDU341: Teaching Mathematics (Elementary). For Secondary Education majors with a passion for teaching science, there is the option to pursue a B.S. in Biology Education.