Epistemology in Engineering Education: An Overview

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy, a study of how a person knows and knowing. Engineering epistemology is one of the new disciplines in engineering education research. Unfortunately, little research has been done on engineering education. In this paper, epistemology is discussed in the general context then, specifically for the engineering education context. Furthermore, the engineering epistemology framework and instrument to investigate engineering epistemology among engineering educators and students have been presented. Theory for knowledge development has been discussed in general and how that developmental model is important for higher education. Finally, epistemology in teaching and learning has been introduced in the context of engineering educators and engineering students. In summary, engineering educators’ epistemology will shape future engineers based on their class design. Therefore, developing engineering students from dualists to commitments of the relativist is very important. Finally, suggestions for engineering faculty management in developing engineering educators and engineering students for a better teaching and learning experience are provided.