The Engineer’s Identity Crisis: Homo Faber or Homo Sapiens?

Dias, Priyan

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7762-0_11

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Dias argues that there is not one crisis, but three crises [18]. Depending on what is meant by 'crisis' it is possible to distinguish other crises to those distinguished by Dias.…”

Section: The Engineer's Identity Crisismentioning

confidence: 97%

A historical overview of recent developments in the search for a philosophy of engineering education

Heywood

2011

2011 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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The origins of this historical overview are summarized; namely, the substantial interest in philosophy and engineering and the application of philosophy to engineering education that has emerged in the last five years. Engineering faces a number of identity crises not least among them are on the one hand how it differs if at all from applied science, and on the other hand how it differs from technology. Related to this is the problem of the public identity of engineering and the influence that engineers are able to wield on public policy. Another crisis relates to the engineers role. Is an engineer a scientist or manager? A related question that has a special bearing on education is the relative status assigned to science when compared with design. Attempts to develop a philosophy of engineering are summarized. The argument that engineering educators should have a defensible philosophy of education is summarized, and the value of screening aims and objectives demonstrated. Arguments for teaching engineering students are summarized, more particularly those that advocate the teaching of the philosophical method as an aid to learning engineering on the one hand, and those that programs focused in one way or another on the teaching of philosophy per se. Finally, some recent developments in the teaching of ethics to engineering students are discussed and the recent interest in moral development following Kohlberg's theory is noted.

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“…Dias argues that there is not one crisis, but three crises [18]. Depending on what is meant by 'crisis' it is possible to distinguish other crises to those distinguished by Dias.…”

Section: The Engineer's Identity Crisismentioning

confidence: 97%

A historical overview of recent developments in the search for a philosophy of engineering education

Heywood

2011

2011 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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“…Students who assume this identity generally do better in their degree programs [22]. Sub-themes to the question of identity are often played out around what an engineer is and reflect views of engineer as scientist, engineer as designer, or engineer as manager [13]. A Theory A approach seeks to build an engineering identity around one of these models and a role of faculty is to identify which are the most transformative experiences that create this shift in identity.…”

Section: Engineering Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Priyan Dias [13] explores some of the tensions inherent to engineering and claims that engineering has an identity crisis that arises from three sets of tensions that are ethical, ontological, and epistemological in origin. The first tension identified by Dias is an ethical one that questions whether the influence of the engineering profession on society is, on the whole, positive or negative.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Problem Solvers to Problem Seekers: The Necessary Role of Tension in Engineering Education

Cheville

Heywood

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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In this paper it is proposed that the current focus on problems in engineering education and technological literacy may be more constructively reframed by focusing on tensions. Priyan Dias claims engineering has an identity crisis that arises from tensions inherent in: 1) the influence of the profession on society, 2) the role engineers play, and 3) what constitutes valid knowledge in engineering. These are ethical, ontological, and epistemological tensions respectively, which Dias frames as a tension between identities of homo sapiens and homo faber. Beyond the tensions in engineering there are additional tensions that arise for engineering educators that impinge on identity, but derive from educators' beliefs about the aims of education and beliefs about teaching. With respect to the aims of engineering education the tension arises between utilitarian and humanistic aims and plays out through debates about the importance of diversity (inclusion vs. professionalization), discussion of which courses should be included in a curriculum, and the long simmering debate on four year vs. five year engineering degrees in the United States. Tensions that arise from beliefs about teaching are seen in the discussions on the relative merits of summative vs. formative assessment, student-vs. instructorcentered learning, and the relative merits of inquiry-based and active learning. Given that one aspect of the identity of an engineering education is being a problem solver, faculty may perceive these tensions as a problem or conflict to be solved. An alternative view is to see tensions as both necessary and generative. Tensions are necessary since they are a natural part of human affairs and generative in that tensions highlight dialectics from which new truths or perspectives emerge. From this viewpoint a key element of faculty development is developing a defensible personal philosophy that both lets one navigate and learn from the inevitable tensions that will arise in practice as well as contribute to larger dialogs from which new systems and forms of education emerge. IntroductionIn the United States there is a long history in engineering education of critical self-reflection and focusing on problems. This is not surprising because as early as the nineteenth century the United States possessed a Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education that had sponsored the first of these major reflections, and subsequently several more. Socially relevant issues in engineering education (and STEM education more generally) are often identified by nationally distributed reports from blue ribbon panels. In engineering these date back to the Mann report of 1918, through the 1923 Wickenden study, the 1940 Hammond Report, the 1955 Grinter Report, the Goals of Engineering Education report (1968), Engineering Education and Practice in the United States (1985), The Engineer of 2020Engineer of (2004, to the more recent Rising Above the Gathering Storm reports to name a few. The fact that issues are perceived as problems may arise since ...

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“…Además, se aprovechó para revisar las reflexiones que otras personas autoras han hecho al respecto. Entre quienes ha abordado ampliamente el tema del estatus epistemológico de la Ingeniería se encuentran artículos escritos por personas educadoras, filósofas y algunas ingenieras (Bulleit, 2012;Coronado, 2002;Covarrubias, 1998;Dias, 2013;Figueiredo, 2008;Galland, 2011;Herrera, 2016;Koen, 2003;Poser, 1998). En el caso particular de Costa Rica, existen muy pocos registros formales de estudios en la materia, más bien, se han centrado en documentos propios de la Universidad de Costa Rica donde se analiza el tema para la justificación curricular.…”

Section: Referentes Teóricosunclassified

La construcción epistemológica en Ingeniería Civil: Visión de la Universidad de Costa Rica

Zúñiga

Mora

2018

Act. Inv. en Educ.

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Definir el ámbito de estudio de una disciplina es un requisito indispensable para su desarrollo académico y pedagógico. Para la Ingeniería Civil, en Costa Rica, no existe registro de que este ejercicio se haya realizado anteriormente. En el presente artículo se sintetiza el proceso de construcción del marco epistemológico de la Ingeniería Civil en Costa Rica como parte del proceso de actualización del perfil de egreso del estudiantado de Licenciatura en Ingeniería Civil de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Se utilizó un abordaje mixto, cualitativo y cuantitativo, junto con la observación participativa de una comisión de docentes conformada por 14 personas y creada dentro de la Escuela de Ingeniería Civil, con el fin de atender específicamente este reto. Se realizaron consultas por medio de entrevistas, talleres y encuestas a poblaciones clave. Las muestras comprenden personas docentes (74), personas investigadoras (10), personas profesionales destacadas (10), estudiantes (278), personas graduadas (1506) y empleadoras (306). Las respuestas de las distintas poblaciones de estudio fueron contrastadas entre sí y complementadas con referentes internacionales. Los principales resultados de la investigación llegaron a la definición adaptada al contexto local de conceptos clave: ingeniería, ingeniería civil y sus especialidades. También fueron identificadas transformaciones históricas de la disciplina en Costa Rica, las cuales han repercutido significativamente en cómo se enseña y se aprende en la carrera. Finalmente, se logró identificar algunos cambios que complementan una visión tradicional de la disciplina con la revolución tecnológica actual.

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The Engineer’s Identity Crisis: Homo Faber or Homo Sapiens?

Cited by 11 publications

References 11 publications

A historical overview of recent developments in the search for a philosophy of engineering education

A historical overview of recent developments in the search for a philosophy of engineering education

From Problem Solvers to Problem Seekers: The Necessary Role of Tension in Engineering Education

La construcción epistemológica en Ingeniería Civil: Visión de la Universidad de Costa Rica

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