SLU School of Education’s J. Cameron Anglum, Ph.D., and K-State Researcher Obtain NSF Grant

11/30/2022

Saint Louis University School of Education’s Assistant Professor J. Cameron Anglum, Ph.D., in collaboration with Kansas State University’s Assistant Professor Tuan Nguyen, Ph.D., recently secured a more than $490,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Anglum, the co-principal investigator, and Nguyen, the principal investigator, are studying employment patterns of public school teachers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

The study, “Preparing for the Future of the STEM Teacher Workforce in the 21st Century: Leveraging Multi-contextual Evidence," will provide the most comprehensive and current examination of STEM teachers both nationally and specifically in two largely rural Midwestern states — Missouri and Kansas.

The three-year project aims to inform educational policies and interventions in support of student growth in STEM fields through the detailed identification of trends in the demographics and turnover behaviors of the STEM-teacher workforce. Through their research, Anglum and Nguyen aim to inform recruitment and retention practices, particularly in high-needs schools, as well as to examine issues of equity in the STEM-teacher pipeline. Diverse data sources will enable the researchers to examine long-term trends in STEM-educator career trajectories—for longer than a decade—and to identify variation in local circumstances, school attributes, and teacher characteristics, nuance critical to context-conscious policymaking. 

“As we continue to grapple with the challenging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student academic growth and well-being, it is critical that we also devote careful attention to the nation’s public school educators,” Anglum said.

STEM teachers represent an especially important part of teacher-labor markets and improved understanding of trends in their career trajectories and demographic representation will be useful in crafting policies and supports for vulnerable student populations." 

J. Cameron Anglum, Ph.D.

“We are grateful for NSF’s support, further signaling the importance of actionable research designed to inform responsive policymaking and sound educational practice in support of hard-working public school educators and their students,” Anglum said.

For more information about Saint Louis University’s School of Education, please call 314-977-3292 or visit the website.