Working in a highly diversified and specialized professional environment, engineers face the challenge of system integration as well as the immense tasks of social responsibilities. How to integrate the professional-oriented general education with the traditional engineering professional education has been recognized as an important issue. This paper explores the significance and contents of the engineering general education (EGE), develops a classification framework for EGE, and surveys the current practice of the EGE in universities and technological institutes in Taiwan, and analyzes the results obtained. Observations and conclusions, obtained in this paper are helpful for future planning and continual improvement of the EGE in both Taiwan and other countries worldwide.
INTRODUCTION
The role and importance of general education (GE) has been widely accepted for a long time by university educators. The role of engineering general education (EGE), however, has not been so. In the second half of the twentieth century, specialization in professional fields has become an irreversible trend, due to the rapid development of the economy. During the turn of the century, an abrupt rise of micro-electronic technology and the integration of information and communication technologies resulted in informa- tion explosion, rapid build-up of knowledge and placed the world into an “e-era”, its impact, materialization of humanistic values, comer- cialization of knowledge, and specialization of each discipline have become an inevitable phenomena worldwide.
Under the epochal background described above, how to strengthen general education in universities has become a well known important issue. But the “professional general education” still remains an unfamiliar concept; educators pay little attention to it, even to the degree of rejecting it. This phenomenon exists in engineering education; it is so in other professional fields as well. In addition, this problem exists not only in Taiwan but also in most of the countries in the world, being especially serious in the developing countries.
The term “professional general education” by itself is a seeming paradoxical and highly controversial one. The reason for this is not difficult to understand. On the one hand, widely accepted general education tends to be broad, holistic, and comprehensive, while professional education, especially the engineering, tends to be specific and bounded. On the other hand, general education implies liberal, subjective, classic, philosophical, and humanistic, while professional education highly suggests objective, modernistic, methodological, and mission oriented. In a nutshell, general education tends to be wisdom-based, while professional education tends to be knowledge and skill-based. Generally speaking, general education needs long-term internalization; however, professional education can mostly be realized in a relatively short period of time using the zoning-block method.
The terms of general education and professional education by definition appear to contradict with each other. It is no wonder that the term “professional general education” leads to much controversy. However, in a world with the explosion of knowledge and the overly diversification in professional fields, many important educational issues have been brought forward, including how to let the students understand the interconnection between their professions and others, so that interface and integration can be built up. Another aspect is how to allow the students to effectively obtain the indispensable general knowledge and skills needed in their future professional careers, such as profession-related concepts of laws, commu- nication etc. Owing to the foresight and devotion of educators around the world, many efforts have been put forward to professional related general education.
In this paper, the significance, definition and scope, and classification scheme of EGE will be discussed. Then the observations and conclusions drawn from a survey on current EGE practice in Taiwan will be presented.
ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALISM AND ENGINEERING GENERAL EDUCATION
Engineering is a challenging profession; its mission is to resolve various problems encountered in human life. It employs the natural materials and energy resources, utilizes natural principles, rules, and knowledge accumulated by experience, to design, manufacture related devices, systems, software and/or hardware, and develops methods, to solve technology-related problems.
Engineering merely emerged as a profession in the western world two centuries ago. Engineering appears to be an independent profession, due to the fact that the problems encountered are large in quantity, broad in scope, and complicated in knowledge involved.
However, engineering is not a truly independent profession. It utilizes natural resources and energy, and employs with ingenuity natural principles and rules. As a result, the engineering profession cannot be independent of each discipline of the natural sciences, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. In the process of solving problems, the engineering profession must pay attention to the efficiency and effectiveness uses of human and material resources.
Hence, the engineering profession cannot be independent of the management sciences; moreover, it employs human beings to solve human problems. It needs tremendous amounts of knowledge about human beings. On the other hand, in the process of solving problems, it often induces other social problems. Consequently, the engineering profession cannot be independent of the humanistic and social sciences, such as philosophy, psychology, laws, political science, etc.
Due to the impact of highly partitioned knowledge, today’s engineering profession has long been divided into many sub-engineering professions, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering, and so forth. However, the majority of engineering tasks cannot be accomplished by knowledge and skill related only to a single sub-engineering discipline. They usually involve many system problems that are resolved by the interfacing and integration of a variety of engineering disciplines.
As seen from the discussions above, knowledge in the engineering possesses shares a great extent of connectivity and commonality, not only among various sub-engineering disciplines, but also with other professions. It is almost impossible for an engineer to accomplish anything without involving the knowledge from various other professions. Thus the engineering profession requires its practitioners to be knowledgeable in multi-faceted disciplines and have many skills; the engineers should possess an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the knowledge as well as of the job of the other professions, including the sub-professions. Furthermore, the engineers are required to be equipped with the ability of communication and integration, the concept of management and social responsibility, and, to some extent, the taste of arts to render a tasteful work and to enjoy a quality life.
The main content of engineering profes- sionalism includes the following four factors:
Abilities：
(1) Communication and integration
(2) Planning and organization
(3) Learning and adaptation
(4) Innovation and breakthrough
(5) Discovering and solving problems.
Mind-setting：
(1) Loyalty to employer
(2) Fair distribution of work
(3) Teamwork
(4) System concepts
(5) Quality concepts
(6) Cost concepts.
Awareness：
(1) Professional ethics
(2) Environmental protection
(3) Lawfulness
(4) Intellectual property rights.
Perspectives：
(1) Societal
(2) Historical
(3) Futuristic
(4) International
(5) God versus human beings.
In addition, engineering education in universities should provide students with capabilities and training in four areas：(1) Fundamental capabilities, (2) Professional techniques, (3) General training, (4) Professional training.
It is appropriate to list engineering students learning outcomes proposed by McGourty et al：(1) Analytical skills, (2) Communication, (3) Creative problem solving, (4) Project manage- ment, (5) Research skills, (6) Self learning, (7) System thinking, (8) Teamwork, and (9) Technical competence.
The factors listed above, however, are provided neither by traditional engineering education nor by traditional general education. Traditional engineering education is usually aimed at a narrow framework of engineering; the structure and contents of the curriculum are mostly limited to facets directly required in the engineering profession. These include (1) basic knowledge of the common natural sciences, such as calculus and related mathematics, general physics, general chemistry, (2) basic knowledge of specific sub-professions, such as soil mechanics, electronics, thermodynamics, etc., and (3) applied knowledge and skills of specific professions, such as robotics, internal combustion engines, etc.
In some engineering curriculums, some professional-related courses are included, although the contents and scopes are fragmented and sporadic. On the other hand, the so-called general education is aimed at liberal education, citizen education, and contemporary life education, with a few including character- building education. However, the profes- sionalism and skills specifically required for engineering, such as technical communication with engineering ethics, social responsibility, and profession appreciation of various sub-professions, are mostly not included.
From the above discussion, it is obvious that engineering professionalism required for the engineer’s profession cannot be provided by the traditional engineering education, nor can it be satisfied by the so-called general education. It seems natural and reasonable to combine the engineering general education and the traditional engineering curriculum.
EGE：DEFINITION, SCOPE AND CLASSIFICATION SCHEME
The scope of EGE courses is to define those courses, which intend to cultivate and enhance students’ professionalism, mainly aimed at engineering students, it is also intended for students from non-engineering majors to enhance the understanding of their engineering profession.
As a guideline, the EGE courses should include the following:
(1) courses to integrate engineering with other disciplines (such as Bio-Technology, Engi- neering and Laws).
(2) courses to enhance the general skills and capacity necessary for the engineering profession (such as Science and Technology Practice, Engineering Ethics, Technology and Life).
(3) courses to Improve the ability for engineers to solve problems (such as Creative Problem Solving, Systematic Thinking).
(4) courses to promote understanding of engineering technologies for students from the entire university (such as Understanding Engineering, Engineering and Life).
On the other hand, the following categories of courses are not to be considered EGE courses:
(1) courses generally viewed as the common general education courses (such as Appreciation of Poetry and Poems).
(2) courses offered for a specific department (such as Total Quality Management offered for Industrial Engineering majors ).
(3) courses offered as engineering fundamentals (such as Calculus, Introduction to Computer Programming).
In order to classify the EGE courses for further studies, a classification scheme has been developed as shown in Table 1.
These courses are classified into the following five categories: (1). Professional Introductories, (2). Professional Common Sense, (3). Profes- sionalism & Social Responsibility, (4). Profes- sion & Life, and (5). Professional Skills.
The category of Professional Introductories is sub-divided into: (1). General Introductory, (2). Introductory Information Technology, (3). Intro- ductory Life Science & Biotechnology, (4). Interdisciplinary Introductory, and (5). Subject- matter Introductory.
The sub-category of Professional Common Sense includes: (1). History & Progress of Technology, (2). Management Concepts, and (3). Laws and Intellectual Property.
The category of Professionalism & Social Responsibility covers: (1). Ecology and Environ- ment, (2). Environmental Protection & Safety, (3). Ethics and Professionalism, and (4). Social Changes and Development.
The category of Profession & Life is sub-divided into: (1). Science, Tech. and Humanities and (2). Applications in Life.
The category of Professional Skills is sub-divided into: (1). Communication & Resource Utilization and (2). Creativity and Problem Solving.
A SURVEY ON THE EGE IN TAIWAN
In order to understand the current practice of the engineering general education EGE programs in Taiwan, a survey was conducted in mid 2001. The survey was sent to 40 of the major universities and technological institutes with colleges of engineering or related colleges, with 22 of them responding to the questionnaires.
The content of the questionnaire included: (1) What are the EGE courses offered? (2) Are the courses required or elective? (3) What is the number of credits for each course? (4) Are the courses offered to students of a specific department, or to the college of engineering, or to the entire university? (5) How often is each EGE courses offered and what are the backgrounds of the instructors teaching the courses? Only the EGE courses offered in the academic year of 2000/2001 are considered.
After attaining results from the questionnaires, the EGE courses offered by each university or technological institute are screened and categorized according to the scheme provided earlier.
Under this scheme, the titles of courses offered by the universities and technological institutes in Taiwan are summarized in the Lists 1-5. Note that the numbers in the parentheses indicate the number of courses with the same title or similar natures, which were offered in various universities. Note also that a number of courses with the same or similar titles have been merged into one. A course offered in both semesters of the same academic year is treated as two.
The statistical breakdown of the EGE courses offered in Taiwan during the academic year 2000-2001 is also shown in Table 1.
OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
In these 230 courses, 198courses (86%) are elective and 32 courses (14%) are required. One hundred and ninety three courses (84%) are offered to all students university-wide with 25 courses (11%) offered only to students in colleges of engineering (COE) and 12 courses (5%) offered only to non-COE students.
As for the number of credits for these EGE courses, two credits is the most common, with 201 courses (87%)found. Twenty-four courses (10%) are offered with three credits, four courses (2%) with four credits, and only one course (1%) with one credit.
One hundred and seventy eight courses (77%) are offered each semester, with 50 courses (22%) offered once a year and 2 courses (1%) offered once every other year. Due to the special nature of these EGE courses, 54 courses (23%) are offered in a seminar style; that is, they are taught by a team of instructors with, topics assignment arranged by instructors in accordance with their background and interest. The rest of the EGE courses (176 courses, 77%) are taught by single instructors.
In the academic year of 2000/2001, 22 colleges of engineering in the universities in Taiwan offered 230 courses with 112 course titles. On average, each university offered 10.5 courses; the number of EGE courses offered is deemed to be substantial. Further analysis indicated that the minimum number of the EGE courses offered by colleges of engineering is 2, with the maximum being 24. The statistics show that the EGE has received widespread attention by the universities and technological institutes in Taiwan.
From Table 1, further observations were made. Most of the EGE courses offered, are split into the categories of Professional Introductory (28%), Professionalism and Social Responsibility (27%), Professional Life(23﹪), Professional Common Sense (14﹪)and Professional Skills(8﹪). Further analysis indicated that in the colleges of engineering most attention was paid to the sub-categories of Environment and Ecology, Environmental Protection and Safety, Science, Technology and Humanities, and Life Appli- cations, followed by Professional Ethics and Capabilities, Introduction to Information Tech- nology, Introduction to Bio-Medical Technology, History of Science and Technology, Concepts of Operation and Management, and some of the interdisciplinary introductory courses.
The fact that much attention paid to the courses on Ecological and Environmental Protection and Safety is due to the rapid industrial expansion in Taiwan over the last 40 years, causing tremendous damage and pollution of the environment. The effects of this impact have worsened to the extent that people must face and resolve them – this has lead to the responses of the engineering educators in Taiwan. Similar reasons have been found to be true for the wide attention to the courses on Professional Ethics and Capabilities. Furthermore, owing to the economi- cal development, the society as a whole has been pursuing a better quality of life. The imbalance in science/technology and humanities and the ensuing outcomes has resulted in reviews and introspections by the engineering educators. As a result, widespread attention has been paid to the courses on dialogue and integration of science/technology and humanities and the courses on life application-oriented science and technology.
Courses on History and Perspective of Science and Technology have become a big part substantial quantities of the EGE courses in Taiwan. This fact indicates that the engineering educators in Taiwan have accumulated considerable insights and capabilities over the years and are now paying attention to the locus of historical development. They have learned from history and come up with perspectives to accommodate the future development of science and technology. This is helpful to engineering students to accelerate the development of engineering insights.
From another viewpoint, the courses on management concepts offered by the colleges of engineering appear not to be in proportion to the demand of engineering students. To equip engineering students with the concepts of management is not only beneficial to the development of their professional careers but also essential for effective practice of their professional career. Presently in Taiwan, the instructors of management courses with understanding of engineering are in short supply; thus, efforts are required in this respect.
Next, the courses on engineering professional capabilities, such as Problem Solving, Technical Communication, Resource Management Skill, etc., are also in short supply.
University engineering educators frequently express their concerns about how uneducated students are in these respects. Lacking these capabilities not only hinders the learning of engineering studies but also impacts the development of students’ professional careers. The deficiency in this aspect of engineering education in Taiwan is caused by an insufficient number of educators in these areas and by the lack of indigenous course materials for these capabilities. As a result, an insufficient number of courses is offered in the universities to improve the professional capabilities of engi- neering students.
CONCLUSION
Compared to General Education or Engi- neering Professional Education, the concept of Engineering General Education is still a relatively new one. In order to equip engineers to work in a highly diversified and specialized professional environment, and to meet with the challenge of system integration as well as the immense tasks of social responsibilities, it is considered important to integrate professional-oriented general education with traditional engineering profess- sional education.
In Taiwan, engineering educators have been dedicated to developing the EGE for no longer than 10 years. It is encouraging to note that 10 EGE courses on an average are offered in each university nowadays. On the one hand, it indicates that a consensus has been reached by the engineering education community about the need and importance of EGE courses. On the other hand, it shows that engineering educators in Taiwan have accumulated sufficient insights and capabilities in this respect in a relatively short period.
However, it is important to note that the truly effective practice of EGE, is not only a matter of quantitative concern, but also a qualitative one. As a matter of fact, due to the information explosion and the resulting rapid expansion of knowledge, the number of credits engineering students receive for taking the EGE courses is still quite limited.
A truly effective and thorough implementation of the EGE is to carry out “the EGE across Curriculum”, such as the one required by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ) in the evaluation of the engineering ethics education in each college of engineering. It is tough to accomplish, but worthwhile to put effort into it.
REFERENCES
1. Hsin Rau, Tao-Wei Feng, Jyh-tong Teng, Timon Chih-Ting Du, Gang-Sheng Lin and Samuel H.S. Wang, Engineering ethics teaching program at CYCU, International Conference on Engineering Education,ICEE 2000, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC., August (2000), pp.14-16.
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3. J.T. Teng, H.S. Wang, C.H. Hsu, Y.Kang and S.H. Lin, A Study on the Engineering Ethics Teaching in an Engineering Discipline Using a Penetrative Technique-Illustrated by a Mechanical Course, Proc. of the 1995 Int. Conf. on Engineering Education, May 18-20, Taipei, Republic of China (ROC), NSC Project No. NSC82-0111-S-033-011, (1995), pp. 287-293.
4. H.S. Wang, A Study on the Course Design of Engineering Ethics at the Universities, Final Report (in Chinese) on NSC Project No.NSC-0111-S-033-01, June (1991).
5. Ethics Across the Curriculum Workshop Manual, Illinois Inst. of Tech.,Chicago, USA, (1993).
6. H.S. Wang, Penetrative Education on Life – A Realization of Holistic Education, (in Chinese), Seminar on Improvement in Teaching Methodology, CYCU, April (2000).
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H. Samuel Wang, PH.D. , is a professor of Industrial Engineering and the Dean of Academic Affairs, at Chung Yuan Christian University(CYCU). He is also an academician of International Academy of Quality. His research interests include: Engineering Education, Engineering Ethics, Total Quality Management and Creative Problem Solving.
J. T. Teng, Ph.D. , is a professor of Mechanical Engineering Department and the Dean of Engineering at CYCU, and the Principal Investigator of a multi-year Engineering Education Enhancement Program sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Republic of China. His research areas include thermo-fluidic analyses of compartment fires and smoke, internal combustion engines, nuclear safety, and electronic device cooling. In addition, he is actively involved in a number of engineering general education programs.
Hsin Rau, PhD., is an associate professor of the Industrial Engineering Department at CYCU. He has been in charge of Engineering Ethics class coordination since 1994. His research areas include engineering ethics, e-business, supply chain management, inventory management, machine vision, and manufacturing system analysis.
M. H. Hu, Ph. D., is an associate professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Department at Yuan Ze University. His research areas include: computerized facilities planning, logistics management, engineering economy, engineering ethics. He is a member of the AIIE, POMS, TIMS, and CIE.
Table 1. EGE Course Classification Scheme with Statistics.
List 1. EGE Title List：Professional Introductories
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