The Two Cultures of Engineering Education: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Diana Adela Martin, Madeline Polmear

Onderzoeksoutput: Hoofdstuk in Boek/Rapport/CongresprocedureHoofdstukAcademicpeer review

1 Citaat (Scopus)
262 Downloads (Pure)

Samenvatting

The prevalent historical model of engineering education is centered on a conception of engineering as a technical discipline. However, engineering students are increasingly expected to develop nontechnical competencies for their workforce preparation and professional responsibility. In particular, ethics is an important outcome of engineering education. Ethics has roots in the humanities and social science (HSS), creating a tension between the technical culture of engineering and its engagement with these disciplines. There is a persistent disconnection between the engineering and HSS cultures, which impacts how ethics is valorised and integrated in the curricula. This chapter explores the dichotomy between how technical and nontechnical learning outcomes are addressed in engineering education and its implications for ethics. Drawing on two studies that were independently designed and conducted in Ireland and the US, this chapter synthesizes the perspectives of educators across the two national contexts. Educators in both countries completed semi-structured interviews to understand their practices and perceptions related to engineering ethics. The interviews uncovered four themes related to the de-prioritization of ethics in engineering education: the weight assigned to ethics in accreditation, the piecemeal integration of ethics in the engineering curriculum, the perceived status of ethics as soft and ancillary, and the lack of faculty training. Based on these findings, the chapter concludes with recommendations to bridge the divide between technical and nontechnical learning outcomes and support the more cohesive and interdisciplinary integration of ethics in engineering education.

Originele taal-2Engels
TitelEngineering, Social Science, and the Humanities
SubtitelHas their Conversation Come of Age?
RedacteurenSteen Hyldgaard Christensen, Anders Buch, Eddie Conlon, Christelle Didier, Carl Mitcham, Mike Murphy
UitgeverijSpringer Nature
Hoofdstuk8
Pagina's133-150
Aantal pagina's18
ISBN van geprinte versie978-3-031-11600-1
DOI's
StatusGepubliceerd - 17 jan. 2023

Publicatie series

NaamPhilosophy of Engineering and Technology
UitgeverijSpringer Cham
Volume42
ISSN van geprinte versie1879-7202
ISSN van elektronische versie1879-7210

Vingerafdruk

Duik in de onderzoeksthema's van 'The Two Cultures of Engineering Education: Looking Back and Moving Forward'. Samen vormen ze een unieke vingerafdruk.

Citeer dit