Maybe we look at STEM Education all wrong?
STEM education and the way it is perceived in Malaysia
For any STEM enthusiasts and educators, the lack of students enrollment in STEM and STEM recruitment, the demand and supply, is a hot button issue. And every professor, expert and policymaker wants to share their opinions on why this is happening.
Some say that STEM is too hard; we ought to make it easier.
Some say the way STEM is taught is too rigid; we ought to make it more interesting.
Some say that the educators aren’t trained in STEM education; we ought to…
I was a STEM graduate myself. Since I was able to read, I have always dabbled in STEM and I couldn’t imagine myself not working in STEM field. I did, for a year — then life happens. I migrated to another job that concern STEM the least. Regardless, being educated in STEM helped in to have another view on the job.
My job aside, I understand the concern. It was reported that Malaysia is having less and less students enrollment in STEM. Malaysia’s target for 60:40 quota for science:art streams students is never achieved. The highest we had was in 2012 with 48.15% enrolment in STEM. 2017 recorded 45.74%. UK has put up more dire image of STEM recruitment. According to a survey, the employers are lacking 173,000 skilled workers with 89% percernt business reported struggle in recruiting staff. Overall, the cost to the industries is estimated at 1.5 billion pound. Although the focus of the article is on the weak immigration policy in the UK, the numbers paint a picture of STEM crisis.
In the wake of Industrial Revolution 4.0, one would argue that the line between technology and traditional industry is blurred. Almost all industries are either supported or disrupted by technology — hence creating new industries. STEM plays a pivotal role in this development, but are we really in the crisis?
THE CRISIS IS NOT AS WE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE
He argued that STEM, in itself is a misleading concept. It is an amalgamation of “specific, non-interchangeable skills in each discipline, sub-discipline and sub-sub-discipline.”
TARGETJobs, a UK-based graduate job recruiting website argue that there is nothing wrong with the supply of STEM graduates — it’s the recruitment. Unattractive renumeration for STEM workers, even the skilled ones, is an on-going issues. Shortage was never the real issue, since it is only a matter of projection. Professor Sean Moran of University of Nottingham stretches the matter further in his article from ElSevier SciTech Connect. He argued that STEM, in itself is a misleading concept. It is an amalgamation of “specific, non-interchangeable skills in each discipline, sub-discipline and sub-sub-discipline.”
Let’s take engineering for example. It is a very diverse field and it is almost impossible for a network engineering to work in mechanical engineering, and worse if the engineer has years of experiences — that is what it means by non-interchangeable skills. With the rapid evolution of how work is perceived and done, the trend of available jobs are rapidly changing as well. One of the most lucrative fields, the oil and gas sector changes in just a year when oil prices plunged to its lowest in 2014. Consequently and accordingly, the falling in revenue in oil and gas sector forcing significant job cuts. Sadly, these well-trained engineers and technicians aren’t suited for other jobs, even within the same disciplines, due the technical skills acquired aren’t what’s needed!
Other gap in STEM is the demand aspect that is mainly forecasted and assumed to be filled in by the fresh graduates. Tracer Study that tracks students’ employment by Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education implies higher employability rate for STEM students. However, there is no data whether the students are actually working in STEM. Regardless, high employability may imply one thing — that STEM graduates are versatile, regardless of sectors they are working in. My anecdotal experience point to liberalisation of some sectors in recruiting, namely administration, auditing and consultation, and banking.
RE-LOOKING AT STEM
For every policy, there must be a quantifiable output or outcome. For STEM, the jobs created and its effect to the economy are the main indicators. Academic certification must translate to employment which then empower individuals and society to actively participate in economic activities. The aspect of well-being, however, is too easy to be overlooked and forgotten while STEM education is shaped and molded to fit the future technocrats these students may or may not be (unfortunately, the latter is more prevalent).The well-being aspect, although as aren’t as easily quantifiable, should be taken into consideration.
Science Literacy
Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has conducted a survey on science awareness and literacy among Malaysians. The survey were adapted from National Science Foundation to able international comparison. 2014’s survey found that in comparison to the USA and EU, Malaysian respondents showed the lowest level of interest in STI issues. On average, 78% of Malaysian respondents were interested in STI compared to 89% in the USA and 83% in the EU. Unfortunately, Malaysians are still sub-par when it comes to general scientific concept. Less than 50% of respondents answered all question correctly.
Science literacy is at threat in this age of (dis)information, especially in public health. Anti-vaccination movement, for example, quote (pseudo-)science and religion to gain mass support. Scientific jargon like alkali, nutrients, detox are being falsely used to convince the public that their products are “scientifically” based.
The challenge of STEM education is not just to produce future employee (some say future-proof)but also to assure improvement to the well-being of society. STEM education must deliver to students, among others, the importance of sciences and technology and the attitude to be open to new ideas and interpretation. Besides STEM as a discipline for job prospect, the philosophy of science should be inculcated among students.
The philosophy of science is beyond the science itself. It concerns on the attitude towards science and how do we approach the nature — in the spirit inquiry, openness and skepticism.
