Evidence of Sociotechnical Thinking in Engineering Students

Abstract

The ability to acknowledge and respond to the combination of the social and technical aspects of structures and processes encompassed in engineering design is called Sociotechnical Thinking (STT). Integrating STT into engineering education is important, as considering sociotechnical aspects can help students develop more thorough understandings of engineering practice and create more well-rounded and inclusive designs. While numerous attempts have been made to promote STT in undergraduate engineering courses, researchers and instructors characterize STT in different ways. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis was to inductively develop a framework for deductively analysing students’ capacities for STT. An inductive thematic analysis of the research literature was conducted to identify themes of STT in engineering education. Using these themes, a framework for deductive analysis was created. The framework was then used to assess publicly available undergraduate engineering reports written for a second-year technical communication class. All six themes in the STT framework were identified in the reports, though the themes occurred with varying frequency and at varying degrees. Students showed evidence of dualistic, or “instrumental” thinking. This work is a pilot phase of a larger research study that aims to develop a theoretical background for STT, which will explain its characteristics, elements, and thinking processes for use in the teaching and assessment of engineering education.