Students' perceptions of the social responsibilities of engineers

Abstract

Engineering social responsibility is the responsibility of engineers to evaluate the broader impacts of their work on public welfare. Despite the central role of social responsibility to the engineering profession, social responsibility does not seem to be adequately emphasized in engineering curriculum. This study seeks to understand how students understand the social responsibilities of engineers. Interviews with ten students and three professors in engineering were analyzed with thematic analysis. The results from this study indicate that students are aware of ways that engineers can both benefit and harm society. When asked what influenced their views on social responsibility, students identified personal and extracurricular experiences, not engineering courses. Engineering programs are encouraged to incorporate more explicit instruction about the social dimensions of engineering to support the development of socially responsible engineers.