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Advances in Engineering Education in the Middle East and North Africa pp 409–428Cite as

Social Justice and the Engineering Profession: Challenging Engineering Education to Move Beyond the Technical

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Abstract

This study investigates faculty and students’ perception of the significance of social justice in the engineering education program in an Arab Gulf nation. In light of the expanding ethical education of engineers stated in the Accreditation Board on Engineering and Technology, the study collected interview data from 9 faculty and 20 students from different departments of a large engineering college in the Middle East. The interviews center on participants’ understanding of social justice and related issues that engineers face and the importance and integration of social justice within the engineering program. Findings suggest that there is a lack of teaching about social justice with a direction toward a technical trivialized education. However, we argue that all of these approaches lead to and open possibilities for a new language and discourse in engineering education, widening the ethical education of engineers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman

    Ramzi N. Nasser

  2. Qatar University College of Education, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Michael H. Romanowski

Authors
  1. Ramzi N. Nasser
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  2. Michael H. Romanowski
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Correspondence to Ramzi N. Nasser .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Mahmoud Abdulwahed

  2. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Mazen O. Hasna

  3. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Jeffrey E. Froyd

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Nasser, R., Romanowski, M. (2016). Social Justice and the Engineering Profession: Challenging Engineering Education to Move Beyond the Technical. In: Abdulwahed, M., Hasna, M., Froyd, J. (eds) Advances in Engineering Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15323-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15323-0_17

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15322-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15323-0

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