Stem and Humanities Education Discussion 2022

Running head: STEM AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION
STEM and Humanities Education
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

STEM AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION1
Universities play an extremely crucial role as instructors and leaders when it comes to
an individual’s education and research. Moreover, universities not only train individuals to
pursue their professional ambitions, but they also aid to holistically develop one’s overall
personality. Thus, university education is extremely significant when it comes to all sectors
of the society. However, nowadays there is a colossal dilemma when it comes to imparting
university education. While some believe that universities should teach STEM subjects,
others hold the opinion that humanities subjects, including art or drama, are more beneficial
for students (Olmos-Penuela, Benneworth & Castro-Martinez, 2015). The focal point of this
discussion is to evaluate whether STEM subjects are more important or humanities subjects,
when it comes to a student’s university education.
In order to fully examine which subjects complement an individual’s educational
journey, it is essential to first understand the intricacies of these subjects. Firstly, STEM
subjects are identified as science, math, engineering and technology (Breiner et al., 2015).
This term accurately categorizes these subjects together. It is believed that STEM subjects aid
to nurture competitiveness when it comes to development in the fields of science and
technology. These STEM subjects are extremely essential because it forms the
foundation of a great number of careers. Some of the career paths that would be feasible if
one is an expert in the STEM subjects are research scientist, doctor, engineer and even an
accountant. Furthermore, studying these subjects also provides university students with an
opportunity to accelerate their learning and strengthen their foundation in learning (Meyrick,
2011). Performing exceptionally in STEM subjects also aids one to adequately compete in
today’s global world (Ismail, 2018). In addition to these STEM subjects, it is believed that
vocational courses must also be pursued. These vocational courses may be classified as
architecture and construction, business and management and even creative arts and design.
These subjects place a great amount of emphasis on manual work. There are hoard of

STEM AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION2
benefits of studying vocational education. This form of education allows one to perform
exceptionally while undergoing an exceptional learning experience. Since these vocational
skills are universal, the opportunities for one’s work and career are tremendously heightened.
Thus, this type of education helps to provide stable jobs. Therefore, it can be said that the
STEM subjects and vocational education go hand-in-hand (Williams, 2011). A great
advantage of garnering expertise in both of these fields would be the sharpening of an
individual’s problem solving skills. Along with this, these programs aid to develop an
individual’s ability to work within a team. Additionally, building proficiency in these subjects
would be extremely beneficial since the demand for jobs in these fields are developing in an
exponential manner. Thus, it can be deciphered that studying these STEM and vocational
subjects would be extremely beneficial when it comes to learning and research (Cushman,
2010).
Another aspect of education that may be critically analyzed is the humanities and art
subjects. Many individuals advocate in favour of placing a great deal of importance on
the humanities subjects rather than the STEM and vocational subjects (Bennett, 1984). The
humanities include subjects like literature, arts, history and philosophy. The greatest reason
that many believe that humanities education should be focused upon is because these
subjects aid an individual to understand others through their distinct language, history
and even culture. Moreover, it is also believed that indulging in the humanities subjects
imbibe the emotion of empathy. While studying other cultures and their history, it is natural
for one to comprehend why certain individuals have behaved in a certain manner. In fact, it is
accepted that the humanities subjects aid one to consider all of the aspects in a situation to
make a well-informed decision. This is an aspect that is not encouraged when it comes to the
STEM subjects. Thee rationality gained while studying the arts assists an individual to foster
the qualities of equality and justice within them. While the STEM subjects focus on practical