Changing the World One Engineer at a Time -- Unmaking the Traditional Engineering Education When Introducing Sustainability Subjects

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      15
    • Education Level:
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Educational Change; Sustainability; Computer Science Education; Curriculum Implementation; Computer Software; Change Strategies; Foreign Countries; College Students; Student Attitudes; Student Experience
    • Subject Terms:
      Sweden
    • Accession Number:
      10.1108/IJSHE-03-2022-0071
    • ISSN:
      1467-6370
      1758-6739
    • Abstract:
      Purpose: The information technology (IT) sector has been seen as central to society's transformation to a more just and sustainable society, which underlines teachers' responsibility to foster engineers who can contribute specifically to such ends. This study aims to report an effort to significantly update an existing engineering programme in IT with this ambition and to analyse the effects and challenges associated with the transformation. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a combination of action-oriented research based on implementing key changes to the curriculum; empirical investigations including surveys and interviews with students and teachers, and analysis of these; and a science and technology studies-inspired analysis. Findings: Respondents were generally positive towards adding topics relating to sustainability. However, in the unmaking of traditional engineering subjects, changes created a conflict between core versus soft subjects in which the core subjects tended to gain the upper hand. This conflict can be turned into productive discussions by focusing on what kinds of engineers the authors' educate and how students can be introduced to societal problems as an integrated part of their education. Practical implications: This study can be helpful for educators in the engineering domain to support them in their efforts to transition from a (narrow) focus on traditional disciplines to one where the bettering of society is at the core. Originality/value: This study provides a novel approach to the transformation of engineering education through a theoretical analysis seldom used in studies of higher education on a novel case study.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2023
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1394333