Chapter 4: Bridging the Gap Between Community Colleges and Four–Year Universities to Maximize Effectiveness in Stem Education for Latino Males

The world has been changing at an unparalleled pace over the past few decades. The shift from the postindustrial/mass production economy to the knowledge economy has created an economic imperative for a workforce composed of critical thinkers and innovators who possess strong skills and backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Florida, 2002; Schirato & Webb, 2003; Thussu, 2010). According to the National Science Board (2008), global and national economies are threatened by shortfalls of workers to meet these needs. As a result,

leading countries around the world are faced with the challenge of investing and encouraging their citizens to pursue both education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to fill the knowledge-economy pipeline.