Suárez Offers Commentary on the New NASEM Report on Equity in K-12 STEM Education at NARST2025

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UMass Math, Science, & Learning Technologies faculty Dr. Enrique (Henry) Suárez was invited to offer commentary at the President’s Administrative Session during the 2025 National Association of Research in Science Teaching conference (NARST2025) on March 24. 

The session was dedicated to the new report on Equity in K-12 STEM Education from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), unpacking the consensus study’s implications for science education, specifically science education research and science teacher education. 

Dr. Suárez commented on the implications of the consensus report for practice, focusing on what it means to enact equity-oriented science pedagogies and the role university-based teacher education programs play in this moment. 

“No doubt we’re living through an intense attack on public education, especially when it comes to serving minoritized students. But now more than ever universities ought to be in solidarity with and serve teachers in our neighboring communities, and make sure that we’re doing everything we can to prepare future teachers who are committed to education for a more democratic and socially just world,” Suárez says. 

This report, which started being written in 2020, convened an expert committee to examine the range of inequities in preK-12 STEM education, identify promising approaches to advancing equity, and outline potential steps toward more equitable STEM education. Specifically, it highlights Dr. Suárez’s research and teaching as embodying principles of equity-oriented science education for emergent bilingual students (Suárez, 2020, 2022; Suárez & Otero, 2024).