External Factors Affecting A Successful and Inclusive Secondary School STEM program

This paper discusses three broad but fundamentally sound factors to consider when educators brainstorm about possible effective STEM programs to implement; namely School Climate/Teacher Attitudes, Career/Job Forecasting, and Student Motivations/Demographics. We discuss these broad factors in some detail and find that the literature identifies these factors as critical to establishing a positive framework for a supportive STEM program. While not definitive, this framework supports ongoing research to accommodate 21st-century secondary STEM programs to prepare students for careers in science and engineering.