Let me begin with this. I have an undergraduate degree in biology and I got into educational research because I became interested in student learning through an original interest in teaching this subject matter. However, I have spent much of my career in higher education wondering why sciences receive special treatment and why so many students want to take courses in the social sciences instead. Why do university administrators assume that courses and facilities in certain fields especially for the purposes of general education somehow require better resources? The focus on STEM education has long caused me to ask the same questions. If you are interested in my analysis, you can explore the comments available via this link. Somehow, there is this assumption that there is a link between economic competitiveness and STEM education. I get this, but the general focus rather than the focus on the a narrow range of student makes no sense to me. As far as economic concerns go, more ethical behavior rather than more science would be appreciated.
It is nice to see that I am not the only one asking such questions. Here is a Huffington Post piece by Alfie Kohn reaching very similar conclusions.