Integrating the engineering design process into K-12 schools: The Kansas experience

The Information Age has brought with it an increased demand for more highly educated workers, especially in STEM-related fields. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that by 2020, 60% of U.S. jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education [1]. Kansas City has a goal of 60% of its adults over the age of 25 holding at least an Associate's degree by 2025 [2]. Student enrollment in postsecondary education peaked at 18.3 million in 2010 and has been declining since that time, in part because of a drop in the birth rate. Postsecondary enrollments are projected to increase again in 2023, but the bulk of new enrollments will be students from low-income families and/or who are the first in their families to seek postsecondary education. In response to workforce needs, we need to be thinking in terms of a K-16 system-a system that ensures that students who graduate from high school are well prepared for postsecondary education and that postsecondary institutions are focused on ensuring student success. Changes being made in K-12 education will most certainly affect faculty members in postsecondary education.