Summary

An effective education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) both develops STEM literacy skills and can prepare students for high-quality, well-paying careers. There have been consistent calls to ensure that all students have access to high-quality STEM education, but efforts to expand access to high-quality STEM education and workforce development often overlook rural communities and the students in them.

Improved access to STEM education¹ can enhance rural communities and provide additional options for rural students who choose to stay in place to apply their STEM knowledge in ways that can benefit their communities. But a number of barriers limit rural students’ access to STEM education and STEM-related careers. At the same time, unrecognized assets in rural communities can support STEM education for their students. Promoting these assets and removing barriers are both critical for ensuring the inclusion of rural students in STEM education and workforce development and enhancing the ability of rural people to engage in and contribute to their communities or scientific exploration and discovery.

Recognizing both the assets inherent in rural communities and schools and the challenges to providing extensive, rigorous STEM education and workforce development opportunities in those areas, Congress directed the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a program to support work on rural STEM education activities as part of the 2022 CHIPS and

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¹ The committee defines STEM education as both the individual disciplines and the interdisciplinary learning experiences that emphasize their connections.

Science Act. In conjunction, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies), sponsored by NSF, was directed to undertake a consensus study to

• take stock of existing federal programs that support rural STEM education and workforce development;
• examine the role of broadband in rural STEM education and workforce development;
• develop recommendations for federal, state, and local action to improve rural STEM education and workforce development; and
• provide guidance to the National Science Foundation on implementing programs focused on rural K–12 STEM education and workforce development and online education.

In response, under the auspices of the Board on Science Education in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, in collaboration with the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Board on Higher Education and the Workforce, and Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the National Academies established a 15-member committee to develop a consensus report.

COMMITTEE APPROACH

The committee gathered evidence and input relevant to its charge through discussion with outside experts (including staff of the Federal Communications Commission, researchers, and practitioners), examination of existing research and promising programs, and a commissioned scan of federal programs. The committee sought to develop an understanding of the diversity of rural contexts across the United States, including its territories² and Freely Associated States.³ Specifically, we explored the assets for and challenges to K–12 STEM⁴ education and workforce development that are unique to rural areas. In reviewing research on effective programs and approaches, the committee determined that few studies focus on rural communities and explore variation across rural areas. For this reason, the committee drew on the broad research literature related to effective STEM

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² The 14 U.S. territories include the permanently inhabited territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the others are smaller islands, atolls, and reefs.

³ The Freely Associated States are the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

⁴ While the committee recognizes the importance of examining and supporting STEM education for students at the preK level, the research base for rural preK STEM education is insufficiently robust to support evidence-based conclusions and recommendations.

education and workforce development to make inferences about potential approaches in rural areas.

The following sections summarize the committee’s conclusions and present the committee’s recommendations and suggested research agenda.

DEFINING AND CHARACTERIZING RURAL COMMUNITIES

The committee began by exploring characteristics of rural communities and examining implications for STEM education and workforce development (see Chapter 2). The members found that multiple definitions of rural are used by researchers and across and within federal agencies. This makes it difficult to both accurately identify the number of districts and schools served by federal programs and ensure that resources are equitably distributed. It also makes it difficult to aggregate findings across studies in order to build a rigorous knowledge base about what works to improve rural STEM education and workforce development.

Most federal agencies base their definitions of rural communities on one of two sources, one developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and the other by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Both definitions define rural mainly as nonurban, which fails to adequately capture important characteristics that vary across rural areas, such as population density and remoteness. Rural schools, however, are classified using the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics terms, which are used in much education research.

Rural communities differ tremendously across a variety of dimensions that shape the K–12 STEM education and workforce development landscape: remoteness; geography (i.e., mountainous, desert, island); racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic make-up of the population; and the types of STEM-related resources and industries that are present. This variation leads to differences in the types of challenges a given community may face in implementing K–12 STEM education and workforce development initiatives, the kinds of assets that are available to leverage, and the strategies for improving STEM education and workforce development that are likely to be successful.

Notwithstanding the variability, some challenges to and assets for K–12 STEM education and workforce development are common across many rural communities. Challenges include out-migration, difficulties with recruitment and retention of STEM teachers, absence or low density of STEM-related institutions/organizations (e.g., museums, colleges and universities, industries), and closure and consolidation of schools. Assets include proximity to the natural world, close social ties, community resources, and local rural knowledge.

programming and allocating funding. This might include adoption of culturally responsive and sustaining approaches to teaching, providing supports for multilingual learners, and diversifying the teacher workforce.

FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

K–12 STEM education and workforce development programs in schools, districts, and communities are shaped by multiple layers of policy and funding based on federal, state, and district policies. Policies and funding streams at these different levels and across different policy domains (assessment, curriculum, graduation requirements, etc.) interact to facilitate or constrain program implementation at the local level. While all states have a significant population of rural students, federal and state policies do not always attend to the unique needs and strengths of rural communities. As a result, policy decisions and processes often do not take into account potential negative unintended consequences for rural districts and schools.

Recommendation 5: When developing state-level policy for STEM education and workforce development, education policy- and decision makers should ensure that representatives of rural districts are involved in the policymaking process or are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the policies and how they might impact rural districts and schools.

Through a commissioned scan of federal programs focused on rural STEM education and workforce development (see Chapter 3) the committee determined that, although there are many federal programs in K–12 STEM education and workforce development that rural districts, schools, and out-of-school programs can apply to, few target rural districts and schools specifically. In addition, rules for eligibility (including the definition of rurality), program requirements, and the demands of the application process can prevent rural schools, districts, and communities from applying for and receiving funding. Furthermore, some rural communities, districts, and schools lack the capacity (e.g., staffing, time, and expertise) to identify potential funding opportunities to advance STEM education and workforce development opportunities, complete the application process, and meet the reporting requirements if funding is awarded.

Recommendation 6: Because some rural communities (including youth-serving organizations), districts, and schools lack the capacity to identify potential funding opportunities, complete the application process,

and meet the reporting requirements if funding is awarded, federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropies, and other groups with rural education portfolios should

• consider how timelines or burdens for preparing and submitting applications for funding might create barriers for applicants in rural areas,
• consider how requirements for receiving funding could create barriers for applicants in rural areas, and
• provide opportunities for rural communities, districts, schools, and teachers to build capacity to successfully respond to funding opportunities.

Recommendation 7: There is a need for coordinated attention to K–12 STEM education and workforce development in rural areas across existing federal agencies and initiatives. For example,

• the federal Rural Partners Network, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House Domestic Policy Council, should prioritize issues related to K–12 STEM education and workforce development in their work; and
• the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on STEM Education should prioritize K–12 STEM education and workforce development in rural areas in their work.

TRENDS IN AND ACCESS TO STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

To develop a baseline understanding of the status of rural K–12 STEM education and workforce development, the committee examined trends in student achievement, aspirations, course taking, and persistence in STEM career pathways. We also examined access to learning opportunities in STEM, including coursework, out-of-school programs, and work-related experiences (see Chapter 4).

Many rural students lack access to STEM coursework (e.g., computer science classes, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses in math) and programs (e.g., Talented and Gifted and Career and Technical Education [CTE] programs, dual enrollment, and third- and fourth-year CTE courses) that can better prepare them to pursue diverse STEM-related education and careers. These disparities in STEM learning opportunities translate into STEM achievement and aspiration gaps

between rural and nonrural students, and these gaps grow as students move through K–12 schooling.

In addition, many students in rural communities lack access to structured out-of-school learning opportunities, which are an important complement to in-school STEM learning. They do, however, often have access to such opportunities at home or in nature, and rural STEM educators can significantly improve students’ learning by leveraging these experiences.

Rural districts and schools in remote areas with low population density and limited access to affordable broadband face unique challenges for supporting K–12 STEM education and workforce development initiatives and these challenges are often not adequately addressed by federal and state programs. There is also limited research on these remote communities.

Recommendation 8: Federal and state agencies should recognize that many students in rural areas lack opportunities in STEM education and therefore are not able to and/or do not pursue STEM careers at the same rate as their suburban and urban peers. These agencies should direct funding, resources, and policymaking designed specifically for rural districts and schools to address these disparities in STEM education and workforce development.

KEY COMPONENTS OF K–12 STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

In developing recommendations for improving K–12 STEM education and workforce development in rural areas the committee considered the major components of education and workforce development where policymakers and education leaders can make impactful policy, programmatic, and funding decisions. These include STEM learning experiences, pathways to STEM careers, the STEM educator workforce, and infrastructure and materials (including school buildings, equipment, internet access, and technology). Where possible, the committee examined evidence related to each of these components that was specific to rural areas. When such evidence was not available, the members drew on the broader body of evidence and considered implications for rural settings. The committee’s major conclusions for each component are summarized below.

Learning Experiences and Supportive Pathways

Students’ competencies in STEM begin in the early grades (preK–2) and build over time (see Chapter 5 for a detailed discussion of STEM learning experiences and pathways). This means that learning experiences in the core STEM subjects throughout the elementary grades are essential for building

the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that develop STEM literacy and lead to later success, including in STEM and related careers.

STEM learning experiences that connect to and leverage students’ local rural knowledge and experiences are important components of effective K–12 STEM education in rural settings. Place-based learning experiences, often through local partnerships and the adaptation of instructional materials for local relevance, can be especially productive for building rural students’ competency and motivation (e.g., interest, identity) in STEM. Given the diversity and changing demographics of many rural areas, instructional approaches that connect to and leverage learners’ cultural knowledge and experiences are especially important. To support teachers in providing effective STEM learning experiences, high-quality instructional materials with connected professional development that can be adapted for local relevance are essential.

Pathways to and through STEM education are enriched by STEM learning opportunities in schools, afterschool programs, summer camps and programs, public libraries, museums, local businesses, and virtual platforms. But in rural communities these learning opportunities are sometimes constrained by funding and availability. Promising models for designing STEM enrichment education and workforce development programs in rural areas (a) involve partnerships among K–12 and local higher education institutions, Tribal Nations and other tribal leaders, and local government and business; (b) provide students with job-relevant experiences (e.g., internships, apprenticeships); and (c) target flexible and transferable knowledge and skills relevant to STEM education and job opportunities available locally. State education agencies maintain accountability systems that can be used to provide incentives to rural school districts to develop these kinds of partnerships.

Educators

Educators are the heart of STEM education and workforce development (see Chapter 6). But rural schools, especially in remote locations and reservations, struggle to fill STEM teacher positions. If a position goes unfilled, a course (or courses) either may not be taught or may be taught by a teacher who does not have the qualifications to teach the subject(s).

Teacher preparation programs often use a generalized approach for training and do not adequately prepare future educators for rural spaces. There are limited opportunities for student teaching in rural areas, and some new educators may not be prepared to deal with associated issues such as how to identify and leverage local assets and knowledge related to STEM, isolation, how to enter and build relationships in a tight-knit community, and lack of professional development opportunities. Promising

strategies for addressing the lack of STEM-focused professional learning and mentorship opportunities include use of remote and online options (e.g., repositories of resources and online opportunities to collaborate with other teachers), teacher-industry externships, consortia among districts, and regional service centers. In addition to teachers, school counselors are a key resource for supporting rural youth on their path to STEM degrees and careers. Both teachers and school counselors can play a vital role in improving STEM education and workforce development in rural areas.

STEM Education Infrastructure and Materials

Many rural districts and schools lack adequate infrastructure and materials to support high-quality STEM education and workforce development (see Chapter 7). Specifically, they often have old buildings with outdated systems, lack laboratory space and equipment, lack access to fast and affordable broadband, and have insufficient funding. In addition, some rural schools and districts face pressures to consolidate or close to address infrastructure or funding issues, and such changes can have negative impacts on student outcomes.

Community colleges and tribal and regional colleges and universities play critical roles in supporting STEM education and workforce development in rural areas. The closure of small colleges may hamper the ability of rural areas to build programs and sustain pathways for STEM workforce development.

Inequitable access to broadband in rural communities creates challenges for STEM education and workforce development and digital literacy in preparation for work and life. Improvements require reliable and affordable access to broadband. Recent legislation has led to large investments in broadband connectivity across the United States, and many federal and state agencies are working to improve access and adoption. But broadband access alone will not ensure access to STEM education and workforce development opportunities and resources. It is difficult to determine the extent to which connectivity and access efforts will address broadband-related challenges for rural K–12 STEM education because the efforts are not well coordinated, some do not attend to affordability, and broadband access alone cannot address outdated or lacking computers, routers, or other hardware.

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING RURAL STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Drawing on the review of evidence related to implementing effective K–12 STEM education and workforce development, the committee developed

recommendations primarily for state and local actors to guide improvements in rural areas and focused on the major components identified above. In developing these recommendations, the committee took into account the unique assets and challenges of rural contexts and was attentive to the current and increasing diversity of rural communities (discussed in Chapter 2). The committee also recommends continued funding for existing federal programs that support rural K–12 STEM education and workforce development.

Learning Experiences and Supportive Pathways

Recommendation 9: STEM curriculum developers should take into account the assets, resources, and constraints of rural districts and schools when developing instructional materials and accompanying professional learning resources and opportunities. These materials should be designed to allow for the adaptability of instructional methods to leverage local rural funds of knowledge and take place-based approaches.

Recommendation 10: Rural school districts should explore consortium models for STEM education and workforce development that pool resources to maximize opportunities across regions. Such consortia or other collaborative models could seek to provide

• opportunities for students to participate in advanced STEM coursework,
• job-embedded internships and apprenticeships for students,
• professional learning for preK–12 STEM educators, and
• improved access to out-of-school STEM learning experiences.

Recommendation 11: State education agencies should provide funding and other incentives, including in accountability systems, to encourage rural districts to partner with each other and with institutions of higher education, community organizations, out-of-school programs, and industry to advance K–12 STEM education and workforce development and better engage and support preK–12 students, parents, and educators in rural areas.

Recommendation 12: Rural districts should seek community and/or industry partners with whom they can develop a variety of STEM learning opportunities. These opportunities should include project- or placed-based learning experiences that build foundational knowledge in STEM disciplines for students across preK–12, exposure to STEM professions, access to rigorous courses in the core STEM disciplines, opportunities to develop job-related skills, and a requirement to complete

a real-world internship, apprenticeship, or other work-based learning experience. Career-specific exploration and preparation could begin as early as middle school, should be based on an expanded definition of STEM that includes any job that requires proficiency in STEM-related knowledge and skills, and should emphasize STEM fields that can contribute to the viability and sustainability of local areas.

Educators

Recommendation 13: Institutions that offer teacher preparation pathways should incorporate rural-focused coursework and opportunities for rural field placements in their licensure programs. These rural-focused components should provide opportunities to learn about the diversity of rural communities and their assets, how to recognize those assets in different contexts, and ways to leverage the assets in STEM and STEM-based Career and Technical Education curriculum and instruction.

Recommendation 14: Institutions that offer school counselor preparation pathways should incorporate rural-focused coursework and rural internship opportunities for prospective counselors to learn about the diversity of rural communities and their assets, how to recognize those assets in different contexts, and ways to leverage the assets when advising students about STEM courses or career pathways.

Recommendation 15: Rural districts should work with regional teacher preparation programs to explore ways to address the shortage of STEM teachers in rural areas. Strategies to consider include

• housing assistance,
• transportation funds,
• “grow your own” programs in rural areas, and/or
• flexible and ongoing professional learning opportunities.

Infrastructure and Materials

Recommendation 16: When making decisions about adoption of new technology, online services, or equipment, states and districts should take into account the “total cost of ownership,” including the initial investment, ongoing costs for access and maintenance, and professional development needed for teachers and administrators to use the technology, service, or equipment effectively. The total cost should explicitly account for challenges in rural areas that might affect costs

(for example, costs of professional development for teachers who are spread out geographically, or of tech maintenance if schools are separated by long distances).

Implications for Federal Programs

Recommendation 17: The federal government should continue to support and expand programs that enhance preK–12 STEM education and workforce development initiatives in rural areas, with an emphasis on programs that

• provide funding for training, placement, and continuing education (professional development) for STEM educators in rural schools;
• explore strategies for using technology, including improving internet access to online platforms and AI tools, expanding educators’ abilities to teach robust, integrated STEM subjects, and expanding student opportunities to learn and gain experience in STEM fields, rather than as a technique to reduce staff, teachers, or costs, or to close schools; and
• complete connection of all schools and students’ homes with internet access at minimal cost and using the technology (fiber optics, cable, satellite, mobile hotspots) available locally.

Recommendation 18: Agencies that fund programs in STEM education and workforce development should conduct evaluations at the portfolio level that examine and document what makes a program or approach successful for rural populations and/or in rural settings. This could include assessing

• how a program overcomes challenges that are unique to rural settings;
• how programs leverage assets of rural communities, including local rural knowledge;
• the capacity of rural organizations to apply for and manage grants (e.g., reporting requirements); and
• effective practices to increase the capacity of rural organizations.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO NSF FOR IMPLEMENTING RURAL STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

As stipulated in the statement of task the committee makes specific recommendations to NSF to inform the funding and implementation

of programs under sections 10512 (National Science Foundation Rural STEM Activities) and 10513 (Opportunities for Online Education) of the CHIPS and Science Act. The committee first recommends embedding a rural focus in existing relevant programs in order to move forward more quickly.

To qualify for this rural focus, an initiative must clearly show how the questions asked, the programs implicated, and the knowledge generated are relevant to rural communities, schools, students, and families. In addition, throughout its strategies and programs, NSF should attend to the different dimensions of rurality—population size and density, extent of urban (built-up) area, remoteness, and demographic diversity. Further, NSF should require proposers and grantees to describe the settings where the project takes place and the populations and communities involved in ways that will enable NSF to document different dimensions of rural diversity.

NSF should develop a strategy to encourage the development and funding of projects that focus on rural Indigenous communities, including work on reservations and with Tribal Nations, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. NSF should also develop a strategy to encourage projects that focus on rural migrant, Black, and Latine communities and individuals with intersecting marginalized identities in rural communities.

To kick off development of the strategy for focusing on rural STEM education, it may be useful to convene experts in rural STEM education and workforce development to provide input on the needs and areas for research, building on this report. As more grants are funded for rural preK–12 STEM education and workforce development, NSF should hold a meeting of the project principal investigators to encourage information exchange and the deepening of a professional community around rural STEM education and workforce development.

To accomplish the goals outlined in the legislation, projects must include genuine, trusting, mutually beneficial partnerships between institutions of higher education, nonprofits, preK–12 education, local industries, and communities. In making awards, consideration should be given to how funding is shared with districts, schools, and communities to support their work.

As noted, rural communities have many assets relevant to STEM education and workforce development that are often not leveraged sufficiently. In developing priorities for rural STEM education and evaluating proposals, NSF should explicitly call out the need to clearly describe how a program or project will identify and leverage community resources and be designed to connect to local community priorities and needs.

Recommendation 19: When implementing the suite of programs outlined in articles 10512 and 10513 of the CHIPS and Science Act, NSF should employ the following strategies:

• Build on existing NSF programs when possible.
• Capture the diversity of rural settings and populations.
• Elevate expertise related to rural STEM education and workforce development.
• Support mutually beneficial partnerships between institutions of higher education, nonprofits, preK–12 education, local industries, and communities.
• Emphasize an asset framing of rural communities.
• Create quick-turnaround, short-term funding opportunities to allow for pilot work and strategy development.
• Connect to existing rural STEM education and workforce development programs across other federal agencies.

Recommendation 20: As relates to Section 10512(a), Preparing Rural STEM Educators, NSF should expand the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Tracks 1 and 2 to intentionally recruit STEM majors and professionals from rural areas; prepare them to leverage local, natural, and community assets in their STEM teaching; place them in rural areas for their teaching commitments; and support them after placement. In addition, NSF should expand the definition of eligible “STEM major” for the Noyce scholarships to include agricultural and health sciences, given their high relevance to rural areas.

Recommendation 21: As relates to Section 10512(a2B), Rural STEM Collaborative, NSF should leverage regional collaborative structures both within NSF (e.g., INCLUDES, TIP programs) and in higher education or nonprofit organizations (e.g., Regional Hubs in the Rural Schools Collaborative). The new regional structures should include preK–12 formal schooling institutions, organizations that provide informal or out-of-school STEM learning experiences, higher education institutions, and local industries.

Recommendation 22: As relates to Section 10512(b) Broadening Participation of Rural Students in STEM, NSF should

• leverage existing programs like EPSCoR, Advanced Technological Education and other community college–focused programs, and the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings;

• be clear, nuanced, and inclusive when defining rural, by requiring use of either the Index of Relative Rurality or the definitional base for rural categorization in applications for funding;
• support longitudinal research in rural STEM education;
• fund participatory research that engages rural students in research methods or includes educators or educational leaders (e.g., research-practice partnerships); and
• consider a variety of partnership models, including fully virtual collaboration, to ensure that all rural areas, including remote areas with few colocated partners, can apply for funding.

Recommendation 23: As relates to Section 10513, Opportunities for Online Education, NSF should attend to the existing technological infrastructure in rural communities and fund research that examines

• the impact of differential connectivity on student and teacher STEM learning outcomes and
• how online tools (including artificial intelligence) and communities can support students and educators in formal and informal settings.

DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH

There is an urgent need for more comprehensive, evidence-based, and broad-scale national research that focuses specifically on rural students in STEM. When developing research programs or priorities focused on rural STEM education, funders (federal agencies, foundations, and state agencies) should require applicants to describe how the research team will center the needs and priorities of rural communities, districts, and schools. Funders should also consider calling for research models that require equal partnership and collaboration between researchers and practitioners, such as research-practice partnerships.

Federal agencies and philanthropic organizations should fund education researchers to engage in longitudinal research that examines (a) the impacts of rural STEM and STEM-based CTE programs on rural communities and (b) how broadband infrastructure affects preK–12 STEM education and literacy in rural areas. The committee identifies the following three areas where more research is particularly needed:

• Intersecting research on preK–12 STEM education and workforce development in rural areas: There is a lack of studies examining preK–12 STEM education, especially in earlier grades, across the diversity of rural schools and communities. In some cases rurality

• was a variable but not the study focus. Research is needed to explore the challenges faced by rural students, especially those with intersectional identities, how they impact students’ outcomes, and what strategies might alleviate these challenges.
• Better availability and usability of datasets: Definitions of rurality should be improved to recognize that rural communities are not monolithic and that rurality exists on a continuum, and datasets are needed that are specific to rural students, teachers, and schools and that leverage the diversity of rural settings and STEM learning.
• Informal and nonformal STEM learning and workforce development in rural areas: Research is needed to enhance understanding of the impacts of informal and nonformal STEM learning and workforce development for students in rural areas.