Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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epistemological beliefs are inextricably linked and influence each other and thus added
newly developed dimensions about epistemic and ontological beliefs to the instrument to
assess their joint contribution (Schraw & Olafson, 2002). In terms of the broader
engineering beliefs, this paper thus attempts to examine a more encompassing picture by
examining a coherent model for the transdisciplinary epistemology of engineering
(Figueiredo, 2008; Lipton, 2010).
The implications for engineering education research are twofold. First, this paper shall
propose an alternative framework for the design of assessment techniques that unravel
the relationships between the distinct kinds of beliefs present in the discipline of
engineering, and this framework will provide a good baseline for the needed continued
research that will seek for a better validated operationalization of engineering related
beliefs. Second, the exploration of philosophical perspectives, in part the main epistemic,
ontological and epistemological beliefs, should lead to a differentiated view of intellectual
maturity and will hopefully provide direction regarding appropriate interventions for the
education of engineers.
Theoretical Framework
To capture a more encompassing picture of the engineering-specific epistemologies (the
broader term as defined by the research colloquia), we have expanded the range of
approaches to the view about the field of epistemology as a discipline as well as the study
of discipline specific knowledge and knowing (epistemic) (Kitchener, 2002). For this
purpose, the authors investigated a coherent transdisciplinary frame of engineering that
continually appeared in the literature, known as the domain-specific influences on beliefs
about engineering knowledge and practice. Epistemological beliefs are empirical objects of
psychological inquiry in which ‘belief’ can be pre-defined based on formal epistemology in
a certain domain. For this purpose, we developed items of engineering knowledge and
knowing based on Hofer’s four dimensions of domain-specific epistemological beliefs
(2002). With respect to ontological beliefs, we have initially adopted two opposing
positions, as a traditional approach: Realism and Idealism, and have then gone on to add
an ontologically neutral position based on the perspective of pragmatism. Although there
has been much criticism on this type of unifold approach for an ontological worldview
(Hammer & Elby, 2002), we cannot deny the fact that the “unitarity” has played a critical
role in studies of philosophical perspectives for further deliberate investigations toward
manifold ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Therefore, considering the
developmental nature of our ongoing research, the current paper has applied the
“unitarity” into the item development of ontological beliefs.
View of Discipline: Trans-disciplinary Views of Engineering
Beliefs (Epistemic)
As noted earlier, recent years have seen an increasing discussion about engineering
epistemologies; With regard to the role of the humanities in engineering, a number of
studies on the differences and similarities between science and engineering have centered
on the investigation of the nature of engineering epistemology (e.g. Adams, 2004;
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011