National Science Foundation's Education Research Articles

Is the Education Directorate Headed for a Failing Grade?

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONEducation researchers say that a sinking budget, a leadership vacuum, and an administrative reshuffle put NSF's education activities at great risk. ([Read more][1].) [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5764/1092

Employment in the Life Sciences: A Mixed Outlook

Have employment opportunities matched the tremendous growth in the production of biological scientists? Has job growth been consistent across the various biological and agricultural disciplines? And has compensation for these highly trained professionals kept up with other fields? This article examines these issues using national data from two sources: (1) the National Science Foundation's education and employment databases, the Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System (WebCASPAR) and the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT); and (2) 2004 employment and salary membership information collected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. We find a fairly mixed picture for life scientists at the beginning of the 21st century. Degree production has continued to grow steadily at all levels of postsecondary education, led by an increasing number of women interested in the field. Current job prospects seem fairly positive overall, with low unemployment, but job opportunities vary by sector and subdiscipline. Salaries, while lagging behind those for medicine and engineering, are above national averages. Negative findings include a distinct decline in tenure rates, and a huge salary gap between men and women.

Small increase in National Science Foundation's budget

Last May the Bush administration proposed a minimal 1.6% increase in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s 2002 budget, disappointing those scientists who had hoped for a repeat of last year's 13% increase. Because most of the increase planned for in this proposal was to go towards the NSF's education and human resources programmes, the R&D budget would actually decline. Now, the Senate Appropriations Committee has drafted a bill that would increase the NSF's budget by 5.8%, bringing it to a total of US$4.67 billion. In the Senate plan, the NSF's R&D would receive a 4% increase, for a total of US$3.4 billion, of which US$507 million would be allocated to the biological sciences. AB

Growth in Visas Boosts NSF Education Programs

Last week Congress rushed through an immigration bill that gives a big boost to education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The measure, which almost doubles the number of skilled foreign workers eligible for high-tech U.S. jobs under so-called temporary H1-B visas, marks a hard-fought victory for high-tech companies scrambling for talent. In addition, it provides more than $100 million to help NSF tackle what policy-makers say is the real problem: the need for more homegrown scientists and engineers.

NSF education grants

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals for the development of educational materials and training workshops for science and mathematics programs in elementary and secondary schools. Proposals may be submitted at any time and must specifically deal with projects in mathematics, engineering, the natural sciences (including atmospheric, earth, and ocean sciences, physics, astronomy, chemistry, and biology), and computer science.Projects for materials development may deal with programs for the continuing education of teachers; the development of teaching aids to improve classroom instruction; analyses of current elementary and secondary level programs; the improvement of communication among professionals in the field; or applied research directed at understanding and improving instruction and learning.