The Department for Education administrators, educators, parents and kids know what STEM stands for. Anyone with a stake in education knows that STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Whether any of the skills needed for STEM education are included in the calls for more STEM education is debatable.

Setting that idea aside for later discussion, there are many other reasons that STEM skills are important - and not just to the professions that demand those skills. The ability to use written language effectively and manage research is a given. Reading and writing are integral parts of the skills that need to develop in pace with STEM skills. Alongside those, but maybe less well understood, is the fact that kids also need the types of skills that help them:

  • think creatively
  • solve problems
  • seek solutions from different perspectives
  • invent and imagine
  • have a developed spatial awareness (something gaming’s good for)
  • communicate effectively
  • work as a team and accept others’ ideas

Your Superprof now lays out some considerations that generally do not. Or at best, feature only minimally in mainstream conversations about STEM fields and the skills required to work in any of them. Remember that this needn't be a one-sided discussion; please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

The best Academic tutoring tutors available
Daniel
5
5 (18 reviews)
Daniel
£90
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Siddharth
5
5 (39 reviews)
Siddharth
£70
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Gokhan
4.9
4.9 (22 reviews)
Gokhan
£45
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Marianne
5
5 (12 reviews)
Marianne
£30
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Syed
5
5 (47 reviews)
Syed
£60
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Dr amin
5
5 (5 reviews)
Dr amin
£35
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Dr fouzia
5
5 (30 reviews)
Dr fouzia
£90
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Aya
5
5 (6 reviews)
Aya
£35
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Daniel
5
5 (18 reviews)
Daniel
£90
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Siddharth
5
5 (39 reviews)
Siddharth
£70
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Gokhan
4.9
4.9 (22 reviews)
Gokhan
£45
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Marianne
5
5 (12 reviews)
Marianne
£30
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Syed
5
5 (47 reviews)
Syed
£60
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Dr amin
5
5 (5 reviews)
Dr amin
£35
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Dr fouzia
5
5 (30 reviews)
Dr fouzia
£90
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Aya
5
5 (6 reviews)
Aya
£35
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Let's go

The STEM Debate in a Nutshell

The chief focus for parents tends towards academic subjects. When considering their kids' education, caregivers focus on reading, writing and arithmetic - the so-called three Rs. Some include subjects like science and languages in those broad categories.

Schools also direct their focus on academic subjects because intellectual learning can be easily measured, tested, and scored. Society at large prefers focusing on academics as well. Examinations the schools administer lead to qualifications - demonstrable proof that an individual is qualified, albeit up to a given capacity.

However, some of the most essential skills kids need are those associated with STEM learning. These skills ensure their continued success with academic learning and, later, their working life beyond formal education. But judging by all the trouble interpreting school timetables, kids are already lagging in cultivating those skills.

Two men wearing business casual attire stand near a folding table upon which rests a series of upright blocks, all but one coloured red.
STEM education and career fields have typically been reserved for men but things are changing quickly. Photo credit: COD Newsroom on Visualhunt.com / CC BY

At first glance, parents might rate STEM skills as less important than other academic skills like reading and writing. That same attitude overshadowed students in Ancient Greece. Then, the learned believed that the powers of oration were far more marketable than any scientific or mathematical capabilities. Indeed, Plato applied mathematical modes of argument to philosophy while dismissing maths as a legitimate study.

It's not just parents who embrace the Sciences v. Humanities split. Our schools' curricula are set up in much the same way, usually giving more weight to the latter.

We only need to think about how GCSEs are structured to make this point clear. Students are required to sit exams in five core subjects: three Humanities and two Sciences. Of the electives on offer - subjects the student chooses to test in beyond the required ones, statistics show that Humanities prevail. And this disparity is clear throughout education systems worldwide.

Besides marked favouritism for the Humanities, STEM classes show a decided gender bias. It is not necessarily evident in primary or even secondary school classrooms but it's clear in higher education. Visit any university Maths, Engineering, Science or Technology classroom and you'll find that females are in scarce attendance. Those statistics are mirrored across STEM career fields.

One unpopular argument contends that women simply don't have the mind for science or engineering. Another theory, more relevant due to the growing number of legal cases, is that women are unequally treated. Women in STEM fields work for lower pay, have fewer advancement opportunities and suffer outright discrimination. Let's compare Jocelyn Bell Burnell with Stephen Hawking to make our point.

We all know who Sir Hawking is but mention Dame Burnell and you'll likely be met with blank stares. They are both physicists, who made important discoveries and significant contributions to their field. They were only one year apart in age yet, only one of them is internationally renowned. The same disparity holds across all professional STEM fields.

Among the list of economists that won a Nobel prize, only one is female. The list of Chemistry Nobel recipients includes only six females. Marie Curie narrowly missed being left off of the Physics Nobel prize she earned jointly with her husband and another scientist. Just two other physicists who are female won the prize; both of them in the last two years.

A profound gender disparity in STEM, coupled with the lack of emphasis on STEM education worldwide would be bad enough. It certainly makes sitting GCSE Science much harder. But now, let's add glossing over teaching STEM skills in mainstream education into the mix.

What Do We Mean by STEM Skills?

At one point, innovation drove technology. In 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a mechanical device that separates cotton fibres from seeds. It is a prime example of innovative thought paving the way for later, greater inventions.

Henry Ford's assembly line is another such innovation. The parts of his invention had been in use for a long time. But visualising how those parts could be used in concert revolutionised the concept of factory production.

At some point in the last 50 years or so, our technological advances have outpaced our ability to imagine what could be. Now, we hold 'Technology Drives Innovation' as the immutable truth on entire business models is built.

The only trouble is, if we lack the minds to keep up with technology, civilisation will become stagnant. Innovation will be a rarity and progress all but halted. That is why skills such as creative thinking and problem-solving; communication, collaboration and inquisitiveness are in such high demand.

To succeed in STEM subjects, students need a whole range of skills. This is why creative, experiential and social activities in schools are as important as academics since they help develop these skills. However, schools' hands are pretty well tied with curriculum demands and other prominent issues. So it's good to know that parents, caregivers and tutors can help their charges cultivate those skills.

A group of young women wearing green, purple and blue dashikis with matching hats smile as they play with their science invention in a room with orange walls.
Far from being dry and boring, developing STEM skills can be fun and engaging for kids. Photo credit: SandiaLabs on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

How to Develop the Skills Associated with STEM

Many essential skills like thinking critically are personal traits that often develop outside the formal learning environment as much as in it. This is where parental involvement matters. Caregivers should encourage a variety of activities rather than just reading or academic study at home.

Personal skills are regularly overlooked, yet are important to a young person’s ongoing achievement. Think of a child who is sociable and able to communicate well, meaning they express their ideas through the spoken and written word. They are more likely to be listened to and respected, which builds their confidence - another valuable life skill.

It also illustrates how much the child’s success is governed by what goes on at home. Learners need an atmosphere which supports and values time spent learning and doing a range of activities. They thrive in spaces where they can be inquisitive and have discussions about all the questions they have. All of this builds skills which reflect upon a young person’s academic and personal success.

Parents shouldn’t just focus on academic skills as a way of supporting their child’s educational achievement. Instead, they should incorporate a range of activities that will build a diverse range of skills. They might choose from the collection of ideas in this article with suggestions for activities which encourage this kind of personal development.

As Darwin suggested and many employers uphold, diversity will help our species succeed. Individuals with diverse intelligence and skill set who become more employable and successful. STEM skills help that happen.

Three students wearing white tee-shirts with blue and green writing on them adjust their science fair fair project in a room with orange walls.
Hopefully, STEM fields will welcome more women into their ranks Photo credit: SandiaLabs on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

The Social Impact of Minimising STEM Skills

It's not just that we need to look to the future or the fact that our lives are now completely dominated by technology. It's not that there is a lack of recognition or desire to accept input from half of the population in planning or realising future innovation. And it's certainly not that we have no need for diversity in our thinking. It's that, slowly, our ability to think, visualise, create and execute is eroding.

If nothing else, the COVID pandemic illustrated a profound lack of reasoning skills across societies. For instance, the idea that cellphone towers will infect you may take a measure of creativity to dream up but has no basis. How does it escape proponents of the theory that an electronic device cannot infect you with a biological agent?

Problem-solving is a key STEM skill that is woefully disregarded. In part by the ease and convenience afforded us by our modern standards of living and in part because of the long-held belief that students are empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge.

How do you put an elephant in the fridge?

Children under five can answer this simple question correctly. Older children and adults of all career paths and walks of life struggle to find a way to fit a very large animal into a limited-size appliance. The thing is, nowhere in that question is indicated how large (or small) the refrigerator - or the elephant is.

You might think it strange that such a question would feature in a job interview. Hiring managers ask these seemingly nonsensical questions to get a handle on how quickly you can think and do the math. How well you answer shows how you work under pressure and how you use your reasoning skills. Being unable to give a satisfactory answer could mean the difference between the career of your dreams and perhaps lower-prestige employment.

More and more people are losing out on career opportunities precisely because they've not been trained to think quickly or well. Even students sitting GCSE Engineering have little more than paper credentials. Where will that leave the workforce if we don't start now to build the skills needed to succeed?

Contrary to popular belief, critical thinking has nothing to do with, say, picking apart the latest film, song or YouTube offering. It involves information analysis, evaluation and coming up with creative solutions to persistent problems.

One language learner was having trouble mastering perfective and imperfective verbs in the language he was studying. His teacher's advice was not helpful because that particular language's grammar rules were fraught with exceptions. He finally mastered the use of those verb forms by hunting for and analysing reams of phrases using each form of the verb, in turn. He then formulated simple, concise rules to help him remember which verb form to use.

This is a rather trivial example of someone using critical thinking to master a difficult concept they had no points of reference. Our planet and civilisation are faced with much more challenging circumstances that demand immediate solutions.

How will we mitigate climate change? How will we level inequality - both economic and civil? How will we protect ourselves from as-yet-unknown diseases? Perhaps it is time for another Age of Reason.

The Age of Enlightenment (or Reason) gave way to some of the greatest ideas and innovations of the 17th and 18th Centuries. During that time, significant advances were made in the fields of philosophy and law, politics and sociology. Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon and many others unbound themselves from the convention. They took the license to think in every possible direction and shaped human existence for centuries to come.

We need great thinkers again, which demands that people be taught how to think. The world needs people who can visualise creative solutions to the challenges blocking the way to future security. But first, we need people who can see both the obstacles and the ways around them.

The world needs people with STEM skills, not just people who are adept at mathematics but entertain no other creative thoughts. We need visionaries to fill the jobs going vacant for the lack of problem solvers and communicators. And we can't train them soon enough.

Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!

5.00 (1 rating(s))
Loading...

Imogen

I'm an active energetic person. I enjoy long-distance running and have taken part in many organised events including the 2016 Prague Marathon. I'm a keen skier and love open-water swimming, when the weather is right!