Drowning in method, thirsty for values: A call for cultural inquiry

A decade or more has passed since publication of most calls for reform in engineering education. In the ensuing time, there has been significant work on the design, implementation, and transferability of appropriate methods and techniques - accompanied by, in most cases, little discussion of the values and beliefs of the people involved. But many theories of change rely on a fundamental shift in human beliefs and values, and purport that institutionalization of methods is impossible without this shift. Given this, now may be a reasonable time to re-visit the questions: What are the values of people involved in engineering education, and are our educational reform efforts considering these values throughout the curriculum design process? In this paper, we examine several models for engineering educational reform, with a particular focus on the role of individual values in determining responses to change. We highlight the importance of developing understandings of individual perspectives and social context. We contrast a user-oriented approach to curriculum design with common scenarios of curriculum design practice, and we argue that, in many cases, successes in curricular change can be traced to employment of user-centered approaches.