Exploring applications of complexity theory in engineering education research: A systematic literature review

Sigahi, Tiago Fonseca Albuquerque Cavalcanti; Sznelwar, Laerte Idal

doi:10.1002/jee.20438

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Although the findings from this study are limited to a small group of students from a single course offering, the students' responses suggest that the course was successful in shifting their conceptual paradigms of engineering from a technocentric ideology towards a more sociotechnical approach. Following complexity theory in engineering education research [42,43], these results are promising for extrapolation to larger and broader student populations, and for educators who are interested in cultivating the development of sustainability-conscious engineers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

What Is Engineering and Who Are Engineers? Student Reflections from a Sustainability-Focused Energy Course

et al. 2022

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In the spring of 2021, the University of San Diego’s Department of Integrated Engineering taught the course, “Integrated Approach to Energy”, the second offering of a new required course, to nine second-year engineering students. The sociotechnical course covered modern energy concepts, with an emphasis on renewable energies and sustainability, and it exposed the students to other ways of being, knowing, and doing that deviated from the dominant masculine Western White colonial discourse. Following the course completion, we interviewed five students by using a semistructured protocol to explore how they perceived of and communicated about engineers and engineering. We sought to identify the takeaways from their course exposure to sustainability and the sociotechnical paradigm, which were central to the course. The findings suggest that the students were beginning to form sociotechnical descriptions, and that they were still developing their understanding and perceptions of engineers and engineering. Moreover, we observed that they were still wrestling with how best to integrate sustainability into those perceptions. There was an a-la-carte feel to the students’ conceptualizations of sustainability as it related to engineering, as in, “you can ‘do’ sustainability with engineering, but do not have to”. We argue that engineering students likely need these pedagogical paradigms (sociotechnical engineering and sustainability) woven through the entirety of their engineering courses if they are to fully accept and integrate them into their own constructs about engineers and engineering.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

What Is Engineering and Who Are Engineers? Student Reflections from a Sustainability-Focused Energy Course

et al. 2022

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“…The question is not in which ways a new engineering education paradigm would be better than the current one, but rather in which situations the current paradigm comes to its limits, and a new one can help (Frei and Serugendo, 2011a, 2011b; Frei and Marzo Serugendo, 2012; Sigahi and Sznelwar, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The question is not in which ways a new engineering education paradigm would be better than the current one, but rather in which situations the current paradigm comes to its limits, and a new one can help Serugendo, 2011a, 2011b;Frei and Marzo Serugendo, 2012;Sigahi and Sznelwar, 2022). The prevailing paradigm in engineering education is called the classical engineering paradigm (Mina et al, 2006;Piqueira, 2018).…”

Section: The Limitations Of the Classical Engineering Paradigmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not taking into account elements of complexity in engineering training and practice can result in serious damage to people, organizations and society (Frei and Serugendo, 2011a; Frei and Marzo Serugendo, 2012; Piqueira, 2018). Therefore, the academic community, as well as relevant representative entities (Royal Academy of Engineering, 2018, 2019; UNESCO/ICEE, 2021), have called for approaches that integrate concepts of engineering education, sustainability and complexity, shedding light on new paradigms in the training of these professionals (Rampasso et al , 2021; Sigahi and Sznelwar, 2022). The present paper intends to contribute to address this gap and enhance the debate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Classical paradigms versus complexity thinking in engineering education: an essential discussion in the education for sustainable development

Sigahi

Rampasso

Anholon

et al. 2022

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Purpose This paper aims to discuss how the theory of complex thinking can be considered an interesting element in engineering education, especially in the context in which challenges toward sustainable development are multidisciplinary. Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint synthesizes the main reflections and discussions generated during a process of debate, research and creation of a proposal for an undergraduate engineering course at a higher education institution in Brazil. The literature on engineering education, sustainability and complexity was considered in an integrated way. Debates were conducted considering the authors’ knowledge and experience as professors of engineering courses and researchers in the field of sustainability. A qualitative and reflexive approach was used to organize the main discussions. Findings The prevailing classical engineering paradigm trains professionals to think from a Cartesian, reductionist perspective, appropriate for solving well-structured problems with known solution paths and convergent answers. However, addressing sustainability challenges requires a different kind of thinking capable of dealing with situations characterized by uncertainty, emergence and incompleteness of knowledge. Complexity thinking can be useful for this purpose as it provides a broad system approach to deal with ill-defined, ill-structured and unpredictable problems. This study can be understood as a call to researchers and professionals to consider the value and importance of complexity thinking to advance engineering education for sustainability. Originality/value The need to overcome the limits of the classical engineering paradigm is emphasized in the context of sustainability. Complex thinking is considered as a path toward a paradigm shift in engineering education for sustainability. It can contribute to the training of professionals to face pressing challenges now and in the future. This viewpoint provides some insights to enhance debates on education engineering.

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“…All this is obviously according to the available instruments provided by human ingenuity to achieve the immanent purpose of understanding it. Hence, knowledge is only one element of a more general system, where education and didactic strategies to facilitate the solution of problems can be the effective means to achieve the assimilation of all the complexity involved in explaining the world from the sciences and humanities ( Ryoo and Linn 2015 ; Sigahi and Sznelwar 2022 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traits of Complex Thinking: A Bibliometric Review of a Disruptive Construct in Education

et al. 2022

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The purpose of this research is to contextualize the behavior of publications on complex thinking in education. A total of 428 documents compiled in Scopus from 1937 to 2022 were analyzed with a bibliometric study considering criteria such as “complex thinking”, “complex thought”, and “reasoning for complexity”, all combined with education. The results show 153, 47, and 5 publications for each criterion with their related disciplines, citations, types of documents, universities, prominent authors, researching countries, and the general diachronic evolution of the subject, this allows to establish an idea about the implications of the present study according to one of the most important databases in the world. It is concluded that complex thinking and its relationship with education awakens a greater interest in the academy, not only because of its incidence in diverse fields that are nourished by it for the generation of new multidisciplinary knowledge but also because of the published research that demonstrates its transcendence.

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Exploring applications of complexity theory in engineering education research: A systematic literature review

Cited by 16 publications

References 78 publications

What Is Engineering and Who Are Engineers? Student Reflections from a Sustainability-Focused Energy Course

What Is Engineering and Who Are Engineers? Student Reflections from a Sustainability-Focused Energy Course

Classical paradigms versus complexity thinking in engineering education: an essential discussion in the education for sustainable development

Traits of Complex Thinking: A Bibliometric Review of a Disruptive Construct in Education

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