Last week, RTE Radio 1 broadcast a segment called STEM. “What’s STEM?”, the presenter asked, while a classroom full of Irish kids enthusiastically roared back: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths.
Hearing children blare out these four prophetic words at the top of their lungs felt apt: a perfect metaphor for education in Ireland right now. On the same day, an Irish Times headline posed the question “Are arts degrees past their sell-by date?” (the writer’s conclusion was no, but it’s telling that the question is being asked at all).
In today’s world, STEM is seen as a saviour. Innovative, empowering and cutting-edge are just a few of the buzzwords that regularly orbit the term. STEM, we believe, holds answers for the economy, for our education system and for Ireland’s place in the global order.
The acronym STEM started in the US. It isn’t clear exactly who coined the term, but it first came into popular use around the turn of this century, amid efforts to tackle the perceived skills gap in high-tech roles.
Attempts to reduce gender disparity at these upper tiers helped to drive the term’s usage, with continued low numbers of women in STEM remaining a sticking point for policymakers today. Immigration policy also featured heavily in the conversation, with a STEM qualification being, for many, their one-way ticket to an American visa.
Always eager to be ahead of the curve, it’s hardly surprising that the US would channel so much energy and funding into the tech sector. But STEM isn’t just an American phenomenon and, since the term’s inception, it has found its way into headlines and policy the world over.
In Ireland, the dialogue has tended to focus on education in order to boost the country’s international competitiveness. According to a 2016 report specifically examining STEM education, “expertise in STEM disciplines is necessary to drive our economic ambitions, support innovation and provide the foundations for future prosperity”.
To make good on this, the government is constantly funding new incentives to widen the STEM funnel. Computer science will be piloted at Leaving Certificate level from September. Many argue that primary school children should be learning to code too, something which will be reflected in the revised maths curriculum over the next few years.
If that’s not enough, the Department of Education’s most recent STEM policy even seeks to increase STEM learning in pre-school settings
If that’s not enough, the Department of Education’s most recent STEM policy even seeks to increase STEM learning in pre-school settings. Beyond that, there are endless other high-profile initiatives nudging young people down this path, from the BT Young Scientist competition to Trinity’s own Walton Club.
Through its infiltration of policy and public consciousness, the term STEM has helped shape how we think about education and learning. Banding this particular bunch of subjects together might seem natural to us now, but it hasn’t gone unchallenged.
People have rightly expressed concerns about the absence of arts from the exclusive STEM umbrella, with some suggesting the revised term ‘STEAM’, among other amendments. By virtue of existing at all, STEM is rooted in opposition to the arts, with STEM’s reputation as increasingly important and highly useful reinforced at the expense of the lower-paid arts. Having such a compact, convenient and populist acronym to hand has made it easier for people to play the two off one another.
Clearly, the drive to promote STEM makes good, practical sense in a number of respects. To compete within the flourishing international STEM sectors, it’s profitable for Ireland to have a more finely attuned workforce. Urging people into STEM is sensible for curbing unemployment also, what with powerful tech giants like Google and Facebook trading in STEM graduates. They’re not the only ones either. Many other fast-growing, hire-happy tech companies, from Indeed to Hubspot, are now hoovering up STEM talent fresh from university.
As well as essentially guaranteeing STEM graduates a job, these companies have carved out reputations for themselves as great places to work. Colourful couches, free lunch on Wednesdays and cold beers in the company fridge are a stark contrast to the stodgy offices of old. This has helped create further appeal for the younger generations. As one commentator in the Irish Times recently put it: “The message has also been drummed into school leavers in recent times: science is cool, sexy and the future.”
But this is only one side of the story. Not only are such strategies deployed by companies as part of efforts to exert even greater control over their employees, there’s also a bigger picture here.
At the same time as we’re herding people like cattle towards STEM, we’re simultaneously becoming more and more anxious about the potentially grave ethical and social implications posited by rapidly increasing technology. Amid this unpredictable environment, we’ll also need vast numbers of sharp, well-rounded, and socially intelligent young graduates in the game more than ever, pulling the reins in.
By continuing to give priority to these “hard” and “rational” subjects, we also devalue many female-dominated disciplines
With this in mind, it’s questionable how wise the rigid demarcation that STEM depends on really is. Think of Black Mirror. Ostensibly, it’s a show about technology. But it’s clear to anyone that the real hook is the human side of what’s happening. It’s the English graduates who have compared and contrasted dystopian worlds, or the philosophers who have argued about the nuances of bioethics, who are in positions to not only commentate critically, but make decisions on these kinds of issues.
This cult of personality around STEM may also be counterproductive to serving its own aims. Its cultural image might deter people who are more creatively inclined, even though industries such as fashion and design really need STEM graduates too and studying a subject like engineering might be a useful entry route.
Crudely speaking, STEM has often been seen as a boys’ club, which contributes to explaining the lack of women in these fields. By continuing to give priority to these “hard” and “rational” subjects, we also devalue many female-dominated disciplines and play into classic gender dichotomies. This doesn’t necessarily do equality in the STEM fields any favours, and fewer women means lower numbers overall.
Isolating STEM from other disciplines has been a convenient exercise for many policymakers, but it might be time to take a more interdisciplinary approach. STEM has successfully shrouded itself in a shiny and exciting veneer, but going forward into an unknown future, Ireland’s going to need all its young people on their best form – not just the STEM graduates.
