Abstract
This paper explores how undergraduate students understood the social relevance of their engineering course content knowledge and drew (or failed to draw) broader social and ethical implications from that knowledge. Based on a three-year qualitative study in a junior-level engineering class, we found that students had difficulty in acknowledging the social and ethical aspects of engineering as relevant topics in their coursework. Many students considered the immediate technical usability or improved efficiency of technical innovations as the noteworthy social and ethical implications of engineering. Findings suggest that highly-structured engineering programs leave little room for undergraduate students to explore the ethical dimension of engineering content knowledge and interact with other students/programs on campus to expand their “technically-minded” perspective. We discussed the issues of the “culture of disengagement” (Cech, Sci Technol Human Values 39(1):42–72, 2014) fueled by disciplinary elitism, spatial distance, and insulated curriculum prevalent in the current structure of engineering programs. We called for more conscious effort by engineering educators to offer meaningful interdisciplinary engagement opportunities and in-class conversations on ethics that support engineering students' holistic intellectual growth and well-rounded professional ethics.
Highlights
Engineering ethics has been an integral part of the engineering profession worldwide for a long period of time (Hess & Fore, 2018; Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1997; Zandvoor et al, 2000)
Encouraged by the ABET’s new criterion coupled with growing interest by the public and evolving discussions within professional societies, engineering ethics and engineers’ social and ethical awareness have emerged as an important topic among scholars and educational researchers (Herkert, 2005; Hersch, 2017)
There is no shortage of literature reporting multiple challenges in Teaching Engineering Ethics, confirming the hardship of raising the generation of engineers equipped with a well-rounded professional ethics (Li & Fu, 2012; Martin et al, 2021)
Summary
Engineering ethics has been an integral part of the engineering profession worldwide for a long period of time (Hess & Fore, 2018; Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1997; Zandvoor et al, 2000). Scholars recognize that facilitating students’ critical awareness of and commitment to the profession’s shared responsibility to the welfare of larger society is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish through the programmatic and instructional means currently available in higher education (Martin et al, 2021). This calls for a fundamental perspective change in engineering education—including how to conceptualize, address, and teach engineering ethics—to discuss to ensure that the generation of professional engineers is equipped with a robust, more holistic concept of engineering ethics
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
