Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Feb 5;116(6):1865-1869. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1807201115.
The nature of work is changing rapidly in the digital age, increasing the demand for skills in specific disciplines. Across the United States and beyond, this evolution has led to an increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at every level. Meanwhile, at US institutions of higher education, the proportion of undergraduate students who earn a degree in the humanities is declining. However, while the public discussion often pits the disciplines against one another, the sciences, arts, and humanities are-as Albert Einstein once wrote-"branches of the same tree" [(2006) ]. They are mutually reinforcing. Therefore, the best way to prepare the next generation for the future of work, life, and citizenship is to provide broad, holistic educational experiences that integrate the STEM disciplines with the arts and humanities. A new study from the Board on Higher Education and Workforce of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine bolsters the case for such an approach, finding considerable evidence that the mutual integration of disciplines leads to improved educational and career outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students.
在数字时代，工作的性质正在迅速变化，对特定学科技能的需求也在增加。在美国乃至全球范围内，这种演变导致了各级科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育的重视程度不断提高。与此同时，在美国的高等教育机构中，获得人文学科学位的本科生比例正在下降。然而，尽管公众讨论常常将这些学科相互对立，但正如阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦曾经写道的那样，科学、艺术和人文学科是“同一棵树的分支”[(2006)]。它们是相互加强的。因此，为下一代人做好未来工作、生活和公民身份的准备的最佳方式是提供广泛的、全面的教育体验，将 STEM 学科与艺术和人文学科相结合。美国国家科学院、工程院和医学院的高等教育与劳动力委员会的一项新研究支持了这种方法，该研究发现了大量证据表明，学科的相互融合为本科生和研究生带来了更好的教育和职业成果。
