Where is ‘Community’?: Engineering education and sustainable community development

Schneider, Jen; Leydens, Jon A.; Lucena, Juan

doi:10.1080/03043790802088640

Cited by 67 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…These include the legacies of the role of engineers in empire building and in the grand modernisation projects of the mid-twentieth century , the 'voluntourism' and 'deficiency' models of international service learning in engineering (Nieusma and Riley 2010), the influences of neoliberal economic prescriptions on global development engineering (Riley 2007), the narrow interpretation of global competence as a service project through multinational corporations (Downey 2011). One proposed pathway to counter this disconnect or bias in engineering education is by making community (composed of citizens, local stakeholders, and diverse social constituents who are going to contribute, develop, use, and incorporate technical innovations in their lives) a focus, context, and means for instruction (Schneider, Leydens, and Lucena 2008;Lucena, Schneider, and Leydens 2010).…”

Section: Engineers and Critical Engineering Educatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching global engineering in Canada, learning informality of the Global South

Gopakumar

2013

European Journal of Engineering Education

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Globalisation has inspired a wide assortment of curricular initiatives within engineering education in the USA and Europe. This interest could be categorised in multiple directions -international exposure, service learning, or critical understanding and praxis. In Canada, however, there has been far less consideration for integrating globalisation within the engineering curriculum. The recent episode of reform initiated by the Canadian Board of Engineering Accreditation could usher in changes on this front. Situating the development of a course titled Development and Global Engineering within these broader conceptual and organisational impulses, this paper will illuminate a pathway towards understanding globalisation, especially within the Global South, through a comprehension of complexity and informality. IntroductionA pervasive image of habitation in cities of the Global South 1 is the slum -densely packed clusters of housing structures stacked precariously on a hillside or teetering along the edge of a waterway. 2 These human settlements with their self-assembled houses, inadequate or non-standard infrastructures, vendored services, and the teeming masses of the urban poor who occupy them, are for many in the West emblematic of the 'developing country'and its unique condition of human existence. A key finding of The Challenge of Slums report was that nearly a billion people or about a third of the world's urban population lives in slums, a majority of which were concentrated in cities of the Global South (UN Habitat 2003). According to the report, this definition draws attention to physical/spatial and social attributes that characterise settlement patterns and nature of life within slums. In the Global South, the term slum refers to housing that is of lower quality or, of more relevance to this article, informal in nature. Robert Neuwirth, in his book Shadow Cities -a billion squatters, a new urban world, portrays (through the life stories of slum residents) some specific physical and social attributes of life in a slum. He makes clear that life in slums is not a static condition marked by despondency injected by dispirited individuals convinced they are 'children of a lesser god'. On the other hand, residents in slums are active, hard-working individuals who struggle and aspire to make the best of a less than perfect situation. A good example of this is the transformation in the settlement Neuwirth refers to as the 'Squatter Colony': *

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Section: Engineers and Critical Engineering Educatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching global engineering in Canada, learning informality of the Global South

Gopakumar

2013

European Journal of Engineering Education

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“…clean water). Further, often the community members may lack investment in the project itself, creating a situation where locals are less inclined to maintain the product provided Schneider, Leydens, and Lucena 2008). From providing clean water or electricity to constructing schools and clinics, student-led development projects impact recipient communities in ways that engineers are not always trained to perceive or address.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Teaching ‘community engagement’ in engineering education for international development: Integration of an interdisciplinary social work curriculum

Gilbert

Held

Ellzey

et al. 2014

European Journal of Engineering Education

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This article reviews the literature on challenges faced by engineering faculty in educating their students on community-engaged, sustainable technical solutions in developing countries. We review a number of approaches to increasing teaching modules on social and community components of international development education, from adding capstone courses and educational track seminars to integrating content from other disciplines, particularly the social sciences. After summarising recent pedagogical strategies to increase content on community-focused development, we present a case study of how one engineering programme incorporates social work students and faculty to infuse strategies for community engagement in designing and implementing student-led global engineering development projects. We outline how this interdisciplinary pedagogical approach teaches students from the two disciplines to work together in addressing power balances, economic and social issues and overall sustainability of international development projects.

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“…56 While most of the details of the activities were specific to each project, some of the more interesting or ambitious ones that related to community partners included a project partner dinner, development of new skills for the community. For students, a novel activity mentioned by one participant was meditation.…”

Section: Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Value into Engineering Learning Through Service Activities Using a Blueprint Model

Paterson

Bielefeldt

Swan

et al. 2014

IJSLE

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-Both course-based service-learning (S-L) and extracurricular community service activities, together referred to as Learning Through Service, provide the opportunity for rich learning, personal growth, and tangible beneficial outcomes for students, community partners, and faculty. However, to fully realize this potential careful planning and design of the Learning Through Service (LTS) effort are required. This paper describes a framework with nine important elements to consider for LTS program design: (1) stakeholders, (2) value propositions, (3) relationships, (4) channels, (5) key activities, (6) resources, (7) partnerships, (8) value stream returns, and (9) value stream costs/outlays. This LTS development framework is based on the Business Canvas Model used in developing and evaluating the business viability of an innovative product or service. For LTS, the stated program design attributes were identified based on the personal LTS experience of the research team and input from additional experts. These nine elements can be effectively presented as a blueprint for an LTS program. Thoughtful planning in each of these areas will help ensure that the program goals are met and provide optimal benefits for all of the stakeholders. These elements also help to identify where management and assessment efforts are best targeted. Specific examples for each of the nine attributes from thirty-four different LTS programs are presented. Some of these LTS programs were in the planning phases and missing elements that could make the programs more meaningful, such as student reflection or engaging community partners as equals. Together, the model and examples provide guidance for others who are interested in designing a new LTS program, or improving an existing one.

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Where is ‘Community’?: Engineering education and sustainable community development

Cited by 67 publications

References 10 publications

Teaching global engineering in Canada, learning informality of the Global South

Teaching global engineering in Canada, learning informality of the Global South

Teaching ‘community engagement’ in engineering education for international development: Integration of an interdisciplinary social work curriculum

Designing Value into Engineering Learning Through Service Activities Using a Blueprint Model

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