Enhancing Engineering Students' Ethical Reasoning: Situating Reflexive Principlism within the SIRA Framework
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| Title: | Enhancing Engineering Students' Ethical Reasoning: Situating Reflexive Principlism within the SIRA Framework |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hess, Justin L., Beever, Jonathan, Zoltowski, Carla B., Kisselburgh, Lorraine, Brightman, Andrew O. |
| Source: | Journal of Engineering Education. Jan 2019 108(1):82-102. |
| Availability: | Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 21 |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
| Contract Number: | 1237868 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Engineering Education, Ethical Instruction, Thinking Skills, Instructional Effectiveness, Empathy, Perspective Taking, Graduate Students, Teaching Methods |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Interpersonal Reactivity Index |
| DOI: | 10.1002/jee.20249 |
| ISSN: | 1069-4730 |
| Abstract: | Background: Educating engineers to reason through the ethical decisions they encounter when developing or implementing new technologies is a critical challenge. However, engineering educators have not widely adopted a framework for preparing engineering students to analyze ethical issues. Purpose/Hypothesis: We developed and tested an approach for enhancing the ethical reasoning of engineering students. This approach integrates reflexive principlism, an ethical reasoning approach, within a structured learning framework, scaffolded, interactive, and reflective analysis, or SIRA. We hypothesized that students' ethical reasoning abilities and empathic perspective-taking tendencies would increase. Design/Method: We implemented and tested the integrated approach over five semesters with graduate-level engineering students through a quasi-experimental, controlled research design. We measured changes in ethical reasoning using the Engineering Ethical Reasoning Instrument (EERI) and the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2) and empathic tendencies using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). We examined relationships among measures through correlation analysis. Results: The EERI instrumentation indicated that the approach significantly increased the ethical reasoning abilities of graduate-level engineering students. However, the DIT2 findings did not indicate change. The IRI indicated perspective-taking tendencies were enhanced and personal distress tendencies were reduced. Postcourse correlational data indicated moderate relationships between perspective-taking and ethical reasoning as measured by the IRI and the EERI indexes. Conclusions: This study provides a theoretical approach for developing ethical reasoning and empathic perspective-taking among graduate-level engineering students. It also provides a theoretical framework, a pedagogical approach, and evaluation methods that others may utilize. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2020 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1254180 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | Background: Educating engineers to reason through the ethical decisions they encounter when developing or implementing new technologies is a critical challenge. However, engineering educators have not widely adopted a framework for preparing engineering students to analyze ethical issues. Purpose/Hypothesis: We developed and tested an approach for enhancing the ethical reasoning of engineering students. This approach integrates reflexive principlism, an ethical reasoning approach, within a structured learning framework, scaffolded, interactive, and reflective analysis, or SIRA. We hypothesized that students' ethical reasoning abilities and empathic perspective-taking tendencies would increase. Design/Method: We implemented and tested the integrated approach over five semesters with graduate-level engineering students through a quasi-experimental, controlled research design. We measured changes in ethical reasoning using the Engineering Ethical Reasoning Instrument (EERI) and the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2) and empathic tendencies using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). We examined relationships among measures through correlation analysis. Results: The EERI instrumentation indicated that the approach significantly increased the ethical reasoning abilities of graduate-level engineering students. However, the DIT2 findings did not indicate change. The IRI indicated perspective-taking tendencies were enhanced and personal distress tendencies were reduced. Postcourse correlational data indicated moderate relationships between perspective-taking and ethical reasoning as measured by the IRI and the EERI indexes. Conclusions: This study provides a theoretical approach for developing ethical reasoning and empathic perspective-taking among graduate-level engineering students. It also provides a theoretical framework, a pedagogical approach, and evaluation methods that others may utilize. |
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| ISSN: | 1069-4730 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/jee.20249 |
