Page 44 - Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11338.html

GETTING TO 2020: GUIDING STRATEGIES 27

• how they can best learn the specific skills required for the prac-
tice of engineering in the twenty-first century.

COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

A strategy for realigning engineering education must be developed
within the contexts of understanding the elements of engineering and
recognizing the importance of constant communication with the public
and engineering community stakeholders on the goals of education re-
invention and the value of success. Communications across the engi-
neering education establishment, which is both a community of com-
mon interests and a community of competitors, have been spotty at
best, and communications between engineering schools and the public
have been lacking as well. The engineering community has shown much
interest in enhancing public awareness of engineering and has pursued a
wide variety of approaches, including those that communicate to the
public the ubiquity of “engineering systems,” the role of engineers in
the realization of those systems, and the education requirements for
such work (NAE, 2002; Constable and Somerville, 2003), but such
efforts have not been particularly successful (NAE, 2002). Thus, as
noted earlier, the public has little understanding of the nature and value
of an engineering education and how changes might make it a more
attractive option for their sons and daughters. Communications at both
levels must be enhanced as a key element in promoting systemic change
of engineering education.
Surveys of precollege students have consistently shown great inter-
est in meaningful career fields tied to “helping others” (Taylor Research
& Consulting Group, 2004). Thus, it would be particularly helpful if
the engineering community could successfully communicate the social
context of engineering—how engineering has made enormous contri-
butions to our quality of life—and the social responsibilities of engi-
neers beyond just taking care to exercise their skills responsibly. Several
authors have suggested altering engineering education to explicitly make
such connections (COSEPUP, 1995; Schacterle, 1997; Winchester,
1997; Barke et al., 2001). One indication of the failure of the engineer-
ing community to communicate this message is provided in Table 3-1,
which shows that only 35 percent of college students believe an engi-
neering career is “worth the extra effort.” It is both perplexing and dis-
appointing that college students, who presumably have or should have a

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.