Can instruction in engineering ethics change students' feelings about professional responsibility?

Area of Science:

• Engineering Education
• Ethics Education
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Undergraduate engineering curricula often include ethics courses.
• The impact of ethics education on students' sense of moral responsibility is not fully understood.
• Assessing how ethics instruction influences moral decision-making in future engineers is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of an engineering ethics course on undergraduate students' feelings of responsibility regarding moral problems.
• To compare the responses of students who completed the course, those registered but not started, and those with no ethics course exposure.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with three groups of undergraduate students (n=18).
• Students were presented with two moral dilemma cases involving an engineer.
• Student responses were analyzed based on their decisions, consideration of options, and feelings of responsibility, with variations in the engineer's role.

Main Results:

• Students who completed the ethics course demonstrated increased consideration of options and consistent decision-making.
• These students reported a greater sense of responsibility and likelihood to take corrective action, even when not directly involved.
• Students who performed poorly in the ethics course or had not taken it showed weaker feelings of responsibility, often deeming issues 'not my business.'

Conclusions:

• Engineering ethics instruction can effectively increase students' awareness of moral responsibility.
• Ethics courses appear to improve knowledge of handling difficult situations and confidence in taking action.
• Formal ethics education plays a vital role in shaping responsible engineering professionals.