engleski

From Technical Training to Liquid Engineering: a Qualitative Study of the Non-technical Part of Engineering Academic Education

The paper deals with limitations of official statements, suggestions and arrangements regarding non-technical aspects of engineering academic education. Recently, a large number of official actors – educational accreditation agencies, engineering associations and employers – have emphasized the importance of "soft skills" as an integral part of the engineering profession in the 21st century. However, research evidence indicates significant distortion between proclaimed educational aims and real practices and achievements (Beder, 1998 ; Conlon, 2008). With regard to Becker's (1998) notions on education in general as a solid hierarchical structure where the power distribution reflects one-sided or top-bottom character of duties and expectations, qualitative research has been conducted at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb. The main purpose was to illuminate the shortcomings of the aforementioned dimension of current reform in academic engineering education. The aim has been to understand actual engineering students' practices – as actors mainly absent in official arrangements – in the actualization process of possibilities offered in terms of non-technical topics and potential courses. The research has triangular character and combines different techniques: discourse analysis of students' essays on their actual practices of choosing non-technical courses (this was a preliminary stage for further process of research) ; observation and field notes in the context of faculty class-room ; and in-depth interviews with students themselves. Basic insights point to the reproduction of the existing education system that in fact has marginalized the non-technical field in engineering education ; the same system which has officially been reformed in the direction of social science and humanities inclusion. A "down to earth" approach characteristic of qualitative methodology has proved itself to be especially useful in the formulation of the so-called theory "building blocks" on the aforementioned issue.

qualitative study; engineering education; non-technical subjects

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