Repositioning ethics at the heart of engineering graduate attributes

Abstract

The integration of ethics in engineering education has largely been focused at the curriculum design level. The authors posit that this integration be done at the accreditation level and investigate how ethics may be more extensively incorporated in the documentation of a particular engineering accreditation body's qualification standards. The paper proceeds, by means of a narrative review, to justify an expanded conception of the teaching of ethics within engineering education. It builds a synthesis of contrasting conceptual approaches to the teaching of ethics within engineering and proposes a conceptual framework to guide both regulators and educators to identify and engage with different elements of the ethics across the curriculum within an engineering programme. The South African case study provides a context to engage with existing policy formulation around programme accreditation and to demonstrate the application of the proposed conceptual framework across the graduate attributes so to indicate how ethics might be more comprehensively integrated within a programme. This demonstrates that ethics needs to be repositioned at the centre of the preparation of engineers, rather than at the periphery. The expected consequence of this integration is the more extensive incorporation of ethics within and across accredited engineering programmes.

Engineering ethics education for systemic change: a case for Sub-Saharan Africa

“…A survey of engineering ethics educators at two South African universities also revealed that whilst ethics education was viewed as important, ethics educators had different understandings of what should be covered in ethics courses [10]. Few of the engineering programmes explicitly highlighted ethics in learning outcomes or assessment procedures, and educators felt that they did not have the skills to teach the subject.…”

“…The authors of the study subsequently suggested that engineering ethics educators needed more support to master their subject. In another study, the same authors also advocated the repositioning of ethics within the engineering curriculum as a transdisciplinary area that provides context and rationale for the selection and 50th Annual Conference in September 2022 2105 practice of technical skills and knowledge developed in the discipline [11]. The authors suggest that such an approach will help to bring ethics from the periphery of curriculum design consideration to a position where ethics is viewed as the basis by which engineers make the necessary technical, mechanical and process choices in pursuance of their professional and ethical responsibilities and obligations.…”

A european vs australasian comparison of engineering laboratory learning objectives rankings

“…What negative consequences can result on the engineering profession if data collection and communication is not been completed ethically? As is implied by Gwynne-Evans, Chetty[11], does ethics need repositioning?…”