Skip to main content
Article
Evaluating the Impact of Ethics Instruction on Student Awareness
Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (2019, Tampa, FL)
  • Sujit Subhash
  • Elizabeth A. Cudney, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • William P. Schonberg, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Amber M. Henslee, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Susan L. Murray, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Patrick Gamez, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

Engineers must frequently make decisions during their careers without understanding or knowing the full set of consequences. These decisions can have unintended or harmful results. Therefore, it is imperative that engineers consider the ethical dimensions of their decisions while working to satisfy their employer’s interests even if these decisions conflict with their organization’s objectives or their own goals. Engineers have a responsibility to uphold a level of ethical standards that produces trust in not only their organization but also in their profession. Students entering the workforce must reflect the same level of ethical standards expected of their profession. Therefore, it is crucial to educate students on the importance of ethics and its impact on their future careers. This research examined the impact of ethics training in an upper-level engineering course consisting of 156 students. Students were presented with several scenarios that required them to make ethical judgments in the role of an engineer. A questionnaire, which evaluated the degree of ethical behavior of the students, was distributed at the start of the study. The same questionnaire was administered to the students after attending an educational session on ethics and ethical considerations in the engineering workplace. The responses were analyzed using the Chi-square test of independence and Wilcoxon signed-rank test to assess if ethics training had a significant impact on the ethical perspectives of the engineering students.

Meeting Name
ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (2019: Jun. 16-19, Tampa, FL)
Department(s)
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Second Department
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Third Department
Psychological Science
Fourth Department
Arts, Languages, and Philosophy
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2019 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
6-24-2019
Publication Date
24 Jun 2019
Citation Information
Sujit Subhash, Elizabeth A. Cudney, William P. Schonberg, Amber M. Henslee, et al.. "Evaluating the Impact of Ethics Instruction on Student Awareness" Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (2019, Tampa, FL) (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/susan-murray/102/