The arts and humanities and the ‘English Baccalaureate’: STEAM not STEM

There is something about a change of UK government
that often seems to trigger a bout of reforming zeal
on the part of new ministers to effect perceived
‘improvements’ in the English education system.
Modification – radical or otherwise – seems to be
endemic, perhaps because education always has
been (and probably will continue to be) a contested
concept. At present (2011), there are new initiatives
to effect changes across all formal education sectors,
from early childhood through to higher education.
Among these are two that have a particular impact
on my own professional life in the worlds of music
education and teacher education, namely the review
of the National Curriculum (NC) and the introduction of
a so-called ‘English Baccalaureate’.

Citation:
Welch, G. (2011) ‘The arts and humanities and the ‘English Baccalaureate’: STEAM not STEM’ Research in Secondary Teacher Education, 1(2), pp. 24-28..