Abingdon Living Mar - Apr 2020

Why it's
never too
early to
put STEAM
on the
curriculum
Dr Katie King, science subject leader at Headington Prep
School, outlines the importance of studying STEAM at a
young age - particularly for girls...
What’s the point in focusing on STEAM
when children are still mastering the
basics of learning to read and write? Is
there really any advantage to spending
time, energy and resources on concepts
likely to be alien to Prep or primary-aged
children? In short, the answer is yes,
particularly when we’re talking about
girls’ education.
Stereotyping is perhaps at its strongest
at this age group. Girls are surrounded by
pink princesses and expected to enjoy
caring and nurturing play while boys are
encouraged to get stuck into construction
toys and physical play. Many will already
confidently say what they want to be
when they grow up.
Fast forward a few years and while the
girls may be out of their pink princess
dresses, the proportion of girls studying
Physics to A Level is a fraction of that
of boys. Minuscule proportions of
engineers are female and women are
under-represented at the highest levels in
challenging STEAM-related careers.
Does this mean that fewer women have
the skills and inclination? Highly unlikely
– far more likely that they perhaps never
even considered this as a possible career
path. Thus opening their eyes to the
world of STEAM at the earliest possible
opportunity becomes that much more
appealing.
At Headington Prep School we have just
finished our Year of Science, Technology,
Engineering, Art and Maths. It has
been thrilling, exciting, challenging and
genuinely inspiring. It was a celebration of
all that the subjects offer, from problemsolving
and teamwork, to the traits of
perseverance and resilience. Whether
these girls eventually follow careers in
these fields or pursue other options,
these will be invaluable skills both now
and in the future.
If you work with role models who are
passionate about their field of learning
then you can share their enthusiasm and
excitement – and an intangible career
concept becomes a real opportunity
worth considering. In Oxford we are
lucky enough to benefit from countless
professionals working either in the city’s
two universities, the world-leading
research hospital the John Radcliffe or
the nearby Science Park. When we bring
in people like Oxford University professor
of molecular genetics and metabolism
Prof Anna Gloyn to show children as
young as 7 or 8 how to extract DNA
from strawberries, or challenge 11 year
olds to break codes with teams from
Bletchley Park, or invite researchers from
the Oxford Vaccine Group to unpack
the spread of disease and the purpose
of vaccines with Key Stage 2 children,
it feels real. It’s no longer a distant and
incomprehensible thing that ‘somebody
else does’ but something they have
actually experienced in action. It also
shows them that women work in these
critical industries – so too could they. It’s
a cliché but if you don’t plant the seeds
of ideas then they will never germinate
into fully-fledged realities.
Children of this age are less likely to
have already decided they ‘can’t’ do
something. They have less experience
of failure and disappointment, of being
told it’s not for them. It is as they grow
older and they suffer setbacks or get
things wrong that it becomes harder to
take risks in their learning. They become
less likely to take on something new and
exciting if it comes, psychologically, with
a risk of failure.
If we start at this age and take advantage
of these enquiring minds, the thirst for
knowledge and new things which is
such a wonderful trait in so many young
children, then they will grow up armed
with everything they need to make an
educated decision on what they truly
want to be – and what they CAN be.
10 | www.abingdonliving.co.uk