How Different are Pre and Post-Secondary STEM Educators?

Abstract

This Research Work in Progress Paper presents the differences found between pre- and post-secondary educators. Pre-secondary educators are those at the K-12 level, while post-secondary educators teach at the college and university level. Educators are often taken for granted, with few considering the differences between the motivations and teaching styles of those who work in pre- versus post-secondary education. These researchers recognized this gap in the literature and developed a survey that they distributed to a nationwide audience. The survey was created to obtain the opinions of a broad spectrum of educational professionals at different levels and in different STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. This distribution was done through a variety of professional teaching organizations and educator networks, with the intent of reaching educators teaching STEM at all levels. In addition to collecting demographics on the study participants, the survey had three constructs. These constructs focused on teaching practices, beliefs about teaching STEM subjects, and the educator's perceived ability to teach across disciplines. The researchers have separated the data provided by the participants into two groups: K-12 educators and post-secondary educators. The focus is on the comparison of some of the basic demographic style questions as reported by the survey participants. The survey reached predominantly male educators teaching technology or engineering at the undergraduate level. Approximately 87 percent of respondents were post-secondary educators, with the remaining 23 percent representing pre-secondary educators. The surveyed population represented all disciplines of STEM. The survey showed that most STEM educators at the pre-secondary level had little to no experience outside of academia, while most educators at the post-secondary level had at least one year of experience. The pre-secondary educators responding have been teaching for fewer years on average than those at the post-secondary level. The researchers suggest that this understanding and future research will support the need for industry connections at the K-12 level and more insight into how students can best be served as they transition from high school to college, based on differences in course stile and educator experience. Evaluating these differences may allow educators to adapt their teaching style at the pre- and post-secondary level to help students entering college transition from learning in classrooms of around 20 students to lecture halls.