The geoscience community has a vested interest in the use of the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In those K-12 schools where the ideas from those documents are being implemented, Earth and Space Science courses and content will have a more prominent role than they have in most classrooms up to this time. It is important, therefore, that members of the geoscience community support the implementation of those ideas in ways that are guided by information about the practical needs of teachers, schools, and students.

U.S. geoscientists remain substantially less racially and ethnically representative than the general population, which means a large pool of talent is not entering the geosciences. A number of barriers have been identified, including scarce role models, lack of strong geoscience departments at minority serving institutions, and limited career awareness in the general population. The geoscience community has invested decades into addressing this problem, especially recruiting new underrepresented individuals into the discipline.

The promotion of access and inclusion in the geosciences for students and geoscience practitioners with disabilities has increased over the past decade, perhaps partially due to the National Science Foundation’s definition of traditionally underrepresented groups, which now includes mention of individuals living with disabilities.

A critical question facing the geosciences is ‘Who will be the geoscientists in the future to address the challenging societal questions that all nations face?'  For the last few decades, geosciences have faced a crisis in student interest in the geosciences.  There are many causes, including perceptions relative to the rigor of the geosciences, concern about long-term employment opportunities, and a general lack of interest in science and mathematics.  At the same time, there is a generational shift in the geoscience workforce.  In the developed world, the baby boomer generation is leaving

Building public awareness of the geosciences remains a challenge largely undertaken with charitable support from organizations that are promoting the science.  These initiatives are effective in engaging the public with a predilection towards geoscience, or at least an appreciation of the natural world.  However, this group remains a minor proportion of the general public.  Only a few efforts have been made to pursue geoscience outreach in the commercial realm and to engage the community beyond those predisposed towards the science.  One such effort, the American Geosciences Institute's EAR

The great demographic shift underway in many developed nations is impacting the geosciences extraordinarily hard.  We examine the situation in the United States as an example of how there are four clear overarching issues to establishing a sustainable geosciences workforce: Carrying Capacity of the Educational Sector, the fundamentals of meeting future demand, the issue of graduate quality, and the emerging challenge of sustaining the capacity building of future geoscientist generations.  The United States currently hosts about half of all geoscientists globally and is facing the imminent,

With the economic malaise in the United States, colleges and universities are assessing the impact of academic programs related to their overall mission and constituency. Geoscience departments are facing pressure to demonstrate the return on investment of their educational program provides. The metrics of these inquiries are variable, but usually center on the employment of graduates; often from partial data gathered by alumni offices. Many departments do not have structured longitudinal tracking of their graduates, thus limiting the extent of their supporting information.