NOAA's Education Program: Review and Critique

摘要

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is responsible for understanding and predicting changes in the Earth's environment and conserving and managing coastal and marine resources to meet the nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. Since it was created in 1970, the agency has supported education projects that cover a range of topics related to the agency's scientific and stewardship mission, including ocean, atmospheric, climate, and environmental sciences. Given human dependence on the Earth for health, wellbeing, and economic growth, the importance of these interconnected fields and environmental stewardship cannot be overstated. Education efforts at NOAA are distributed across a range of internal offices. Some of them have long had mandates to engage in education activities, but it was not until 2007 that NOAA received an agency-wide mandate for education through the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act. The act calls for NOAA to support and coordinate formal and informal educational activities to enhance public awareness and understanding of issues related to its mission. The act also requires that NOAA develop a 20-year education plan, to be reevaluated and updated every 5 years. The Committee for the Review of the NOAA Education Program was established by the National Research Council (NRC) to take stock of the existing education portfolio and review the education strategic plan mandated by the America COMPETES Act. The committee was specifically asked to comment on: 1. NOAA's role in education, 2. its education goals and outcomes, 3. the composition and management of its education portfolio, 4. its education evaluation practice, and 5. the impact of its education efforts.