Work-in-progress: Exploring the essential nature of engineering education through philosophical inquiry

Abstract

In regard to the ongoing efforts to reform engineering education, this working paper proposes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation for constructing and analyzing educational beliefs about the ontology and epistemology of engineering and engineering education. Modern views of philosophy tend toward an instrumental perspective - one that believes that philosophy provides a rigorous method for describing and evaluating our understandings of knowledge and truth. Philosophical reasoning can help reconcile diverse beliefs resulting in more coherent and comprehensive statements about the nature of engineering and education. Employing philosophical reasoning in the articulation of one's philosophy of engineering education can lead to a more coherent and consistent statement about what it is that engineering educators aim to achieve. This paper briefly describes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation introduced in workshops on the philosophy of engineering education conducted at previous FIE conferences. A follow-up workshop focused on these methods is planned for this year's FIE conference. The outcomes of the upcoming workshop will be included in a final version of this paper on the topic of developing a philosophy of engineering education.