Institutionalization and Sustainability of the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education program

Abstract

This document reports on a study conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that examines the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. ATE aims to promote systemic reform of the nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The study analyzed the influence of the ATE program on the nature of STEM programs in community colleges, the partnerships they formed, and the characteristics of the colleges in which they are located. Six ATE projects and four national centers were examined between October 2000 and January 2002. Information was gathered through site visits and ATE project and center websites. The study aimed to answer questions regarding how the ATE centers influence STEM pedagogy, how inquiry-based teaching infuses underlying academic knowledge into the training of technicians, what role ATE programs play in developing and improving articulation between community colleges and four-year institutions, and a number of other questions. A central goal of the study was to analyze the ATE projects and centers with respect to the institutionalization and sustainability of ATE-initiated or funded activities once funding ceases. The study found that output strategies have been more prevalent in the programs than process-oriented approaches, in spite of the fact that process-oriented strategies are more sustainable. The NSF would like to see the innovations and reforms that it funds institutionalized and sustained once ATE funding ends. (Contains 36 references.) (NB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document.