Understanding engineering education system responsiveness through the lens of social realism

ABSTRACT

This study aims to ascertain how the relationships between structures in the South African engineering education and training system condition the likelihood of the systemic transformation required by the changing contemporary engineering industry. Drawing on social realism as its theoretical framework, this qualitative case study analyses the relationships between the Engineering Council of South Africa, higher education and industry. The findings show that the South African engineering education and training system exhibits a tendency towards maintenance of the status quo and that systemic transformation is therefore unlikely. The relationship that shows the most potential for evolution is that between higher education and industry as their relationship is based on tenuous containment and compromise. The implication of the study is that those interested in engineering education and training should delve beyond curriculum- and pedagogy-based initiatives in order to better understand the likelihood of the occurrence of systemic transformation.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• engineering profession
• professional engineer
• engineering education systems
• social realism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr. Gabrielle Nudelman carries out her teaching and research in the Professional Communication Studies Department in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town. Her PhD thesis problematised the development of employability skills in a cohort of final-year electrical engineering students. Her research interests include: engineering education; the development of professional communication skills amongst engineering students; and academic literacies within the South African engineering higher education space.

ORCID

Gabrielle Nudelman http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3237-1255