Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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1993). It asserts that reality exists but cannot be known directly or unmediated and so
knowledge can only be obtained through empirical or rational processes. In engineering
settings, this neutral position based on pragmatism has been defined as successful basis
for engineering development by expanding the perspectives in all disciplines of
engineering (Richardson, 2003). On the basis of indicators commonly found in the
literature, we developed a 12-item scale, as shown Table 3.
Table 3: Items of Beliefs about the Nature of Engineering Reality
Figure 3: A conceptual framework for Engineering-specific Epistemological Beliefs
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011