Applying Concepts from Political Science and Economics to Advance the Study of Engineering Education

Abstract

Background: There are myriad social, political, and economic factors that influence decision-making processes in and around engineering education. Although the engineering education community may study those processes and their effects using a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods, a more systematic use of concepts from political science and economics could help advance the study of engineering education. Purpose:In this article, we outline concepts and tools from the study of political science and economics that can help clarify aspects of the engineering education system that many researchers may already intuit by providing precise language and analytical formalisms to describe and explain aspects of engineering education more directly.Scope: By way of introduction to the field of engineering education, we begin by outlining definitions. We then illustrate six main phenomena within engineering education where researchers can potentially apply these ideas to further understand and improve elements of how we educate engineers. Conclusions:By focusing on the political and economic factors influencing engineering education, researchers, faculty members, administrators, and/or stakeholders can have an alternative set of conceptual tools at their disposal for studying, analyzing, and changing engineering education systems. *Author affiliations can be found in the back matter of this article 29 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 30 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 31 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 32 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 33 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 42 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education 46 Katz and Main Studies in Engineering Education

What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements

“…Therefore, in this study, we focus on the demand side of the conceptual framework by analyzing job advertisements. The decision to focus on the demand side is also consistent with Katz and Main's (2022) suggestion to leverage concepts from political science and economics such as principal–agent theory for understanding phenomena in engineering education. In this scenario, the principals are employers with certain skill demands and the agents are the education systems preparing students according to those demands.…”