Encouraging students to SHAPE the future
[[{“value”:”
Encouraging students to SHAPE the future
Professor Julia Black, President of the British Academy and co-founder of the SHAPE initiative, explains the importance of the Social sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and Economy.
Why SHAPE?
SHAPE stands for Social sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy (and Environment). We wanted to promote the case for the importance of social sciences, humanities and the arts, and we realised we needed a name for them, in the same way that science, technology, engineering and mathematics have STEM. Over the course of our discussions, we got to thinking about what unites such a diverse set of disciplines. In the social sciences, humanities and arts there are so many different methods, mindsets and modes of expression. So, what unites them all?
They are all about people and societies. The social sciences, humanities and arts connect us and contribute towards our well-being. They also play a significant role in the economy. These disciplines are about our interactions with one another and with the world around us.
This led to the acronym of SHAPE. SHAPE is a great word because it’s a noun and a verb, so it’s wonderfully malleable. You can SHAPE the world, SHAPE the future and consider the SHAPE of things to come.
What motivated you to start the SHAPE campaign?
The political narrative towards SHAPE can be quite derogatory – for some, they are considered the ‘woke’ disciplines, and for them, woke is not considered a positive thing. SHAPE disciplines are underappreciated, their value is not fully recognised, and there is a sense that SHAPE degrees are of ‘no real use’. At the government level, everything has been about how we need more people in STEM, and political funding has been skewed towards STEM training and research, at the expense of SHAPE. We want to push back against this and argue for a broad-based curriculum. We want to illustrate the importance of SHAPE disciplines, highlight the value of the skills you will gain by studying SHAPE subjects, and showcase the opportunities available in SHAPE careers.
Why is it important to promote SHAPE subjects and careers?
In the UK, there has been a decline in students studying SHAPE subjects in recent years. In particular, the highly specialised English and Welsh education system forces students to choose subjects at an early age, and fewer are choosing to study SHAPE subjects at school, college and university.
And yet, SHAPE disciplines are hugely valued by businesses. Employers want employees with a range of skills, an ability to analyse and think creatively, and an understanding of the context behind their work. SHAPE disciplines provide all of these. For example, not only do social scientists have the data skills needed to analyse social statistics, but they also have an understanding of the people, behaviours and cultures behind the data.
The idea that SHAPE subjects ‘won’t lead anywhere’ is completely unfounded on evidence. It is important that we demonstrate to students and their parents/carers, teachers and career advisors that you can pursue a huge range of interesting, diverse and well-paid careers if you’ve studied SHAPE subjects at school and university.
We also need to provide students with role models in SHAPE careers, so they can be inspired to follow in their footsteps. If students don’t have people around them working in areas of SHAPE that they find interesting, they won’t know that these career options exist or how to get started on a pathway to lead them there. Part of the SHAPE initiative is about showcasing the range of possibilities in SHAPE and broadening students’ horizons.
How are you analysing the state of SHAPE?
The British Academy’s SHAPE Observatory seeks to provide data about all aspects of SHAPE. It provides the evidence for people who want to make the case for SHAPE disciplines and careers in their own area (e.g., schools, universities, government organisations). In the SHAPE Observatory, we gather data about the number of students who take different subjects at different educational levels, which is providing evidence of the decline in students studying SHAPE subjects. We also gather data about what SHAPE graduates go on to do after university. For example, there are lots of myths that you ‘can’t do anything’ with a degree in English or history, so we prove otherwise – there are so many things you can do after studying English or history! We collect data about SHAPE graduates’ salaries, to show that there are many highly paid SHAPE careers. And we survey employers to ask what skills they want their employees to have. Their answers prove that SHAPE knowledge and skills are very much in demand. Our recent report on media studies, for example, demonstrates that these courses are critical to the UK’s creative industries, the fastest growing sector of the UK economy. Employers want a diverse workforce containing people with a range of skills, experiences and disciplinary backgrounds.
How do SHAPE and STEM complement each other?
It’s incredibly important that promoting SHAPE is not at the expense of STEM, in the same way that promoting STEM should not be at the expense of SHAPE. The British Academy’s Connected Knowledge campaign highlights how SHAPE and STEM disciplines work productively together. For example, addressing the challenges of public health and climate change requires collaborations between people with SHAPE and STEM backgrounds.
Chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are now the biggest killers in Western countries. To address these health issues, it is not enough to just have STEM professionals who understand how the body works and how to treat these conditions medically. We also need SHAPE professionals who understand how behaviours, societal influences and economic structures lead to these conditions.
We need people working in STEM to understand the dynamics of our climate and to develop green technologies to help us mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, but we also need people working in SHAPE to develop the policies for deploying these technologies and to understand the willingness of individuals and governments to act.
SHAPE and STEM are both vital for a functioning society. We want to encourage more young people to SHAPE the future!
Do you have a question for Julia?
Learn what influences young people’s aspirations:
www.futurumcareers.com/what-influences-young-peoples-aspirations
The post Encouraging students to SHAPE the future appeared first on Futurum.
“}]]