Chapter 6: Steaming STEM: Insights from Joseph Schwab and the Ideal of a “Liberal Education”

In this chapter, my goals are to use the writings of Joseph Schwab and the curricular window of the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS) in Dayton, Ohio, within the context of the region as a commercial and military hub, to critique the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education “reform” movement. Schwab’s insights about “practical” versus the “theoretical” curricula will provide a focused lens in which to view STEM education. Last but not least, after reading Schwab and understanding his support for the arts, humanities, and a liberal education, we can reappraise and hopefully reconsider the central themes of the STEM education movement. The central argument of this chapter is that STEM should be renamed Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Technology (STEAM), especially in light of the argument that the arts and humanities are a central aspect of being, knowing, and living as a productive member of a Democratic society (Connelly, 2012; Piro, 2010; Platz, 2008; Robelen, 2011; Rydeen, 2013). Further, the entire STEM advocacy movement should be flipped to lend special attention and importance to the arts, humanities, and a liberal education.