Double degree programmes in engineering and education: Two cases from swedish technical universities

Abstract

Some technical universities offer programmes where students receive two degrees: one in engineering and one in education. This is a rather novel phenomenon that occurs in, for example, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Greece, and Israel. Degree programmes in education challenge the boundaries of what technical universities have regarded as their sphere of interest. We investigated two such programmes in Sweden, at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Chalmers University, to study the reasons for offering these programmes and how competence has been built in this field. We also explored whether the programmes are given in cooperation with other partners and where in the organisation they belong. We investigated these questions by analysing documents and interviewing people who were involved as initiators or programme directors. Key motivations for introducing the programmes were found to be ambitions related to long-term student recruitment, by focusing on teachers and the teaching profession. One ambition that we identified was to improve mobility between engineering and teaching, in both directions. Other ambitions included increasing future teachers’ subject knowledge, and improving integration of different parts within teacher education to make it more holistic. The significance of the engineering context and the self-image of the technical university are discussed.