Understanding professional skills in engineering education: A phenomenographic study of faculty conceptions

Abstract

Background: Globalization and socially complex problems will greatly affect the way engineers work in the future. Therefore, efforts to transform engineering education must focus on professional skills and engagement of faculty as key change agents. Purpose/Hypotheses: For engineering programs to address the needs of society, graduates must have the skills to tackle future challenges. Transformation will only be successful if faculty fully engage in all curriculum design aspects; however, little is known about how faculty view professional skills. This understanding is critical if we wish to support and encourage their participation in the transformation effort. This novel study reveals the qualitatively different ways faculty conceptualize professional skills. Design/Method: Phenomenography was selected as the most appropriate method to showcase the variations in faculty conceptions. The study selected 19 interview participants from 273 responses to an online survey. Results: Faculty revealed their conceptions of professional skills in six ways: communication skills, technical skills, enabling skills, a combination of skills, interpersonal behaviors, and acting professionally. Conclusions: Findings revealed a tension between technical and nontechnical skills. The study highlights that engineering education must focus on behaviors and interactions between people rather than technical skills alone. Further, there was a gendered difference in conceptions between women and men with women more likely to consider professional skills to be inclusive of behavioral aspects. The findings can help create future strategies for engineering education and can be used as a reflective tool for engineering faculty in efforts to transform engineering education.