An Analytical Approach to Understanding Underrepresented Justice-Involved Youth Potential in STEM

This is a research, Work in Progress paper surrounding the topic of STEM education in juvenile justice facilities. While science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the fastest growing fields today, students are not math and science ready to enter college. This leaves a gap between the number of STEM workforce jobs and the number of graduates to fill these positions. Meanwhile 30,000 students go unaccounted for each day. This is the number of youths that will enter a juvenile justice facility everyday. This is a vast amount of students who hold the potential to become a part of this growing STEM workforce that are overlooked and unsupported. Recent studies have demonstrated the need for educational reform within these facilities and detention centers. This project introduces foundational research on juvenile justice-involved youth's interest and knowledge in STEM subject matters and careers. This foundational reserach compares STEM education methods between traditional school settings and detention centers focusing on three specific areas of measure: formative assessment, qualitative skills, and personal development. Through surveys, this project will gauge the effectiveness of STEM education in juvenile detention centers, as well as provide an understanding of the potential this group of youth possess in the future STEM workforce. This is a work in progress; results of the surveys and work are still being processed.