ABSTRACT
Dual educational trends have emerged that contribute to the development of viable STEM-centered workforces and the promotion of STEM disciplines. Consequently, global issues have manifested in national and educational policies at the micro, macro, and meso levels. In the US and England, higher education institutions had to develop infrastructures, programs, and funding sources that could allow them to be compliant with supranational policies (NAFTA, the EU). This led to the proliferation of international science collaborations and exchanges; federal grant initiatives; and the development of university departments/offices. This chapter:
discusses policy developments/definitions and their implementations on the micro, macro, and meso levels;
examines ways in which university and external factors led to policy formation;
articulates how evolving policy contexts can affect systemic changes and external policies; and
offers a proposed synthesis that will highlight critical points regarding comprehensive matters to ascertain future research.
Research by the authors at major urban research universities in the US and England demonstrates that the continued promotion and diversification of STEM is in the interests of nations that desire both social benefits and economic competitiveness.