STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and space.
Take, for example, the assertion that spaceflight activities are important drivers of STEM degree conferrals.
Eligar Sadeh, for example, argues that there is evidence of a link between NASA's budget and the rate at which students in the United States obtain degrees in STEM fields: During the Apollo program, there was a significant rise in the number of American citizens seeking postgraduate degrees in STEM fields.
The number of students entering STEM disciplines corresponded with the decreasing trend in NASA's budget when the Apollo program was ended and funding reduced, particularly for graduate courses at the Ph.D. level.
A general lack of interest in STEM subjects is one factor contributing to these developments.
The notion that money spent on the space program would be better spent in the educational system, encouraging kids to pursue STEM fields, is a fallacy, since the United States is already one of the world's top spenders per student.
The bottom line is that students need motivation to pursue their goals.
As shown by elements of the Apollo paradigm and the inspiring value of Apollo, the beneficial effect of space exploration on STEM education is unprecedented.
Sadeh is right that there is a strong link between NASA's budget and STEM degree conferral rates during the Apollo era (approximately 1960 to 1975), at least when the former is measured in absolute dollars and the latter is measured in total doctorate degrees awarded in different STEM fields.
However, as shown in Table A.52 in Appendix A, doctorate conferral rates in most fields were similarly favorably linked with NASA's budget, and in many instances even more strongly with the overall government budget, during the same time period.
Thus, identifying NASA's activities as the primary drivers of degree production would be premature, especially given that overall federal science spending followed a similar pattern over the same time period— a spike in the mid-1960s, followed by a steady return to prior levels of funding (at least as a percentage of the federal budget) by the mid- to late-1970s.
A more cautious theory is that students were reacting to— or “inspired by”— anticipated improvements in job possibilities in many areas, particularly the space industry.
Comparing total U.S. degree conferral rates (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees) with different categories of U.S.
government outlays allows for a preliminary evaluation of this theory.
At the time of study (fall 2018), complete data on degree conferral rates was only available for the years 1970 to 2015, which were the years for which data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Digest of Education Statistics was accessible for all fields.
As a result, I'll concentrate on the years 1970 to 2015.
To see whether change in degree conferral rates can be explained by variance in funding levels in a priori relevant domains, multiple linear regression models were employed.
These models were built to answer specific questions like
"Does financing for biomedical research predict biomedical degree conferral rates?"
rather than broad ones like
"What, if anything, predicts biomedical degree conferral rates?"
Degree conferral rates were entered as percentages of the US population, while funding levels were input as percentages of total government outlays to account for the effects of population growth, yearly budget changes, and other factors.
Three models were created for each field, accounting for three possible delays between the funding year and the degree conferral year: four years, six years, and eight years.
Degrees awarded in 1970 correspond to funding levels in 1966, 1964, and 1962, respectively; degrees awarded in 1971 correspond to funding levels in 1967, 1965, and 1963, and so on.
The rationale for this is that financing changes are unlikely to have an immediate effect on degree conferral rates, but are more likely to have an impact years later.
I'll just talk about the findings of the analysis; for further information on the methodology, outcomes, and data sources, see Appendix A.
Only positive correlations with a p-value of less than 0.05 are reported.
Agriculture degrees, which are positively linked with energy and natural resources financing after a four-year delay, are among the disciplines for which funding sources can explain the bulk of variance in degree conferral rates (adjusted R2 >.500).
Degrees of agricultural research are positively linked with six- and eight-year delays.
• Biology and Biomedical Research degrees, which are linked to financing for healthcare, health research, and training, as well as NASA, for all delays.
- Money for health research and training is by far the most important contribution (NASA funding is only significant at p 0.05 on a four-year delay).
• Communications degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for health care services and labor services after a four-year delay, with the latter being a two-order-of-magnitude larger contribution.
- The only substantial positive relationship on six- and eight-year delays was with health-care spending.
• Computer science degrees, which are favorably linked with NASA funding after a four-year wait.
- The only substantial positive relationship on six- and eight-year delays was with funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Engineering degrees, which are linked to financing for military research and development, energy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Corps of Engineers/Civil Works after a four-year wait.
- Funding for the Corps of Engineers/Civil Works is by far the most significant donor.
- Engineering degrees are positively associated with funding for military research and development, energy, HHS, the Corps of Engineers/ Civil Works, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after a six-year delay, with funding for the Corps of Engineers/ Civil Works being the strongest contributor once again.
Degrees are positively linked with spending for military research and development, HHS, and the EPA after an eight-year delay, with funding for the EPA being by far the most significant contribution.
Degrees in English and Literature are favorably linked with financing for higher education as well as primary, secondary, and vocational education after six and eight years of delay.
• Foreign language degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for higher education as well as primary, secondary, and vocational education after six and eight years of delay.
• Health-related degrees, which are positively associated with funding for health-related services, research, and training for all delays.
On an eight-year lag, the latter is an order of magnitude greater contributor.
• Mathematics and Statistics degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for military research and development after a four-year wait.
Degrees are favorably linked with NASA funding after a six-year delay.
Degrees are positively associated with funding for the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation (NSF) after an eight-year delay, with the latter being an order of magnitude stronger.
• Physical Sciences degrees, which are positively associated with funding for energy, NASA, and the NSF after a four-year delay.
Degrees are positively associated with funding for military by an order of magnitude, funding for the NSF was the most significant contribution in each instance.
• Psychology degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for health care services and health research and training after four and six years, with health research and training being an order of magnitude larger contribution.
Degrees are favorably linked with financing for health care services after an eight-year delay.
• Public Administration and Social Work degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for health care services and consumer and occupational health and safety after a four-year delay, with the latter being three orders of magnitude greater.
Degrees of delay are positively linked with financing for health care services over a six-year period.
Degrees are positively linked with financing for health care services and the Department of Education after an eight-year delay, with the latter being by an order of magnitude the larger impact.
• Social sciences and history degrees are favorably linked with NSF funding after a four-year delay, according to Tables A.43–A.45.
Degrees are favorably linked with funding for labor services and the NSF after a six-year delay.
Degrees are positively linked with financing for labor services and the NIH after an eight-year delay, with the former being by an order of magnitude the larger contribution.
• Visual and Performing Arts degrees, which are favorably linked with financing for elementary, secondary, and vocational education after a four-year wait.
Degrees with six- and eight-year delays are positively linked with Department of Education funding.
Architecture , Business (see Tables A.10– A.12), and Education (see Tables A.19– A.21) are among the disciplines for which financing sources do not explain the bulk of variance in degree conferral rates.
Thus, financing in a priori important fields seems to have the ability to explain a large portion of the variance in degree conferral rates across a variety of disciplines.
However, it's worth noting how seldom NASA money emerges as a major, positive contribution to conferral rates, with just a few instances where it stands out as the only positive contributor or the greatest contributor.
This does not offer a solid foundation for claiming that NASA expenditure or space research funding has a major role on students' educational choices.
As a result, we have adequate reason to defer judgment on the need to boost spaceflight expenditure in order to encourage students to pursue STEM degrees.
These statistics, it should be noted, do not support any firm causal inferences regarding the relationship between financing and degree conferral rates.
Comparing degree conferral rates to federal funding is probably too simplistic a strategy, because there are other factors to consider, such as the effects of higher education corporatization, shifts in state and local education and research funding, shifts in demand from the public and private sectors, and so on.
Variations in financial position, aptitudes and talents, items of student interest, and social, peer, and familial pressures, among other things, are all probable contributors.
Taking inventory of all pertinent factors is a job that is above my sociological capabilities.
~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan
You may also want to read more about Space Exploration, Space Missions and Systems here.
