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Joint International IGIP-SEFI Annual Conference 2010, 19t - 22 September 2010, Trnava, Slovakia

HUMANITIES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR CHARACTER

DEVELOPMENT

Pyotr Osipov1, Julia Ziyatdinova2

1
Kazan State Technological University, 68, Karl Marx str., 420015, Kazan, Russia,
posipov@rambler.ru
2
Kazan State Technological University, 68, Karl Marx str., 420015, Kazan, Russia,
uliziat@yandex.ru

Abstract: This paper focuses on character development as an integral part of engineering

education. A comprehensive model of character training has been proposed; the model
includes three dimensions: core ethical values (respect, responsibility, fairness, caring,
good citizenship), professional values (positive attitude to the subjects studied at
university), and interest in the chosen profession (desire to create). The model proposed is
based on the interest of students; the latter implies three components: cognition, emotion
and willpower. The cognitive component refers to the desire of the student to learn more
about his future profession; the emotional component implies positive attitude to
professional activities; willpower implies the ability to overcome possible difficulties. A
number of principles for implementation of a character development model have been
proposed: compliance with engineering education objectives; professional orientation;
social orientation; humanistic orientation; integration of engineering education and
character development; integrity. Although all subjects are very closely interlaced in
students character training, certain distinctions are to be made between sciences and
humanities. Special attention has been paid to development of core ethical values and
positive attitudes through the potential of humanities. There are a number of humanities in
engineering education, e.g., social sciences, political sciences, physical training. These
subjects develop core ethical values, such as citizenship, responsibility and respect.
Moreover, they inspire students to take active part in political and public organizations, and
to interact with social institutions and establishments. Among the humanities, foreign
languages occupy a separate and unique position. A foreign language has become an
indispensable part of engineering education, being a tool for intercultural communication.
Globalization in all spheres of human endeavor, particularly in engineering, makes it
necessary for every specialist to possess intercultural competence, that is, to know the
rules and instruments of developing joint projects with people from other countries. Thus,
a foreign language as a subject, teaches not only the rules of the language, but also
tolerance to other cultures and strategies of communication.

Keywords: engineering education, character education, future engineer, humanities,

intercultural communication

1. What is character education

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In modern times, education has generally neglected an integral aspect of our nature as
humans: that we are moral and spiritual beings, and that we have to be trained in a
positive way to develop the positive, ethical parts of our nature, which are not inherited, but
are learned. That means we have to address character and character training in
engineering education.

The word character has been borrowed from Latin, the origin of the word, however, is
Greek. In the Greek language, charakter means enduring marks. They are what makes
up and distinguishes an individual, what is always left behind; the essence of what we
really are during and after our life has run its course. Our concern in this paper is defining
what good character is, and how we are capable of developing good character in
engineering education.

When we refer to building character, we are concerned with instilling positive, admirable
and ethical traits within a person. These traits are associated with good character,
involving the rules of good behavior and developing good habits, which come only through
repeated practice.

We show our true character in our everyday life by our normal and consistent actions,
attitudes and behavior, and by how we treat other people who can neither help nor hurt us.
No matter what some people may argue, character is neither inherited, nor is it determined
by the environment; character is what we do, and what we do, we do by our choice, as
there is always choice. Education, however, has a direct influence on the formation of the
students character, and university professors do play a significant role in building
character.

The concern is especially urgent for engineering education, because our modern culture is
asking engineers to make highly moral decisions about information security, nuclear and
chemical weapons, environmental policy, health and safety issues, etc. The fact is that the
discussion of these great and difficult ethical controversies of the day must be preceded by
the formation of character. Otherwise, these decisions will be made on the basis of
something other than good character: selfishness, might, convenience, or personal
preferences. Therefore, engineering professors should design courses that enable
students to think of ethics and character as an integral part of their profession and future
work.

2. Model of character development in engineering education

Engineering is a very diverse profession which requires a large number of skills. The
American Engineers Council for Professional Development [1] defines engineering as
application of scientific principles in developing, constructing, operating or even forecasting
different industrial structures or processes. An engineer has to perform various tasks,
namely, technical supervision, personnel management, project development, equipment
diagnostics, etc. Moreover, in todays global world, an engineer is to be capable of
intercultural communication in order to work with international partners and to run joint
projects.

Therefore, engineering education aims at training a specialist who has all these practical
skills. For this purpose, providing only technical knowledge in the field of the profession is
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Joint International IGIP-SEFI Annual Conference 2010, 19t - 22 September 2010, Trnava, Slovakia

not sufficient. An indispensable part of education is engineering ethics which is attracting

increasing interest at a number of European, Asian and American universities. It is
engineering ethics that can help in developing special traits necessary for performing all
engineering functions, and it is through humanities that character training can be
incorporated into engineering education.

Education always gives knowledge, but it also develops character; every university
professor has to remember this fact. Character education through university courses
implies a number of opportunities used for professional and personal development of
engineering students. Therefore, a comprehensive model of character training has been
developed. It can be applied for any university courses.

The comprehensive model of character training in university education includes three

basic directions:
development of core ethical values (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
fairness, caring, good citizenship) [2];
development of professional values and positive attitudes to the university subjects
studied;
development of interest for the chosen profession.

Development of core ethical values implies beliefs about what traits of character and ways
of being are morally right and good. At the same time, there exist non-ethical values, which
include all other beliefs about what is desirable or effective without reference to the moral
quality of the result; non-ethical values are ethically neutral. However, ethics are the
ground rules that we use to pursue all other values. All beliefs about what is right or wrong
are ethical values. Core ethical values are universal and objective. They provide external,
timeless standards of good character and ethics.

There are different approaches to what core ethical values are and how they are to be
classified. We follow the classification proposed by Josephson Institute of Ethics [1], where
they distinguish six pillars of character. They are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,
fairness, caring, good citizenship. These pillars are the most general values which, in their
turn, include other traits of character and rules of behavior. Let us give interpretations for
each of them, based on cognitive and affective domains. The cognitive domain enhances
the abilities of students to understand the moral dimensions of behavior, while the affective
domain inspires and reinforces a desire and commitment to be a person of character and
to do what is right.

Trustworthiness means being worthy to be relied upon; worthy to have confidence in. It
includes such traits as integrity, honesty, promise keeping and loyalty. Trust is essential to
meaningful relationships, enduring and rewarding friendships, and successful associations
at university, in extra-curricular activities and at the workplace.

The essence of respect is to show solemn regard for the worth of people, including
yourself. Treating people with respect means letting them know that their safety and
happiness matter, that they are important and worthy simply because they are fellow
human beings. We may not hold all people in high esteem or admire them, but we can
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treat them with respect. Respect operates according to The Golden Rule: do unto others
as you would have them do unto you.

Responsibility means being accountable for what we do and who we are. Responsibility
requires us to recognize that what we do and what we dont do matters, and that we
are morally responsible for the consequences of our choices. Moreover, everyone is
responsible for the development of his personal character Therefore, people of
responsibility decide to pursue excellence and take pride in everything they do in
recognition of the obligation to themselves and those who rely on them to do their best.

The central idea of both fairness and justice is the same. They are twin concepts
concerned with processes and consequences. We tend to think and speak in terms of
fairness when we are dealing with the behavior of individuals and everyday interpersonal
relationships. We talk about justice in the context of social and professional relations, in
our case, in engineering. Fairness and justice establish moral standards for decisions that
affect others. Fairness implies adherence to a standard of righteousness or lawfulness
without reference to ones own feelings or inclinations. It also implies freedom from
prejudice or impartiality for or against any side.

Caring is at the heart of core ethical values. Caring is to value, to show love, esteem, have
a high regard and concern for the well-being of others, the community, city, country, and
world. Caring, and the virtues of compassion, kindness, benevolence, altruism, charity,
generosity, and sharing are the heart of ethics.

Citizenship is defined as the duties, rights, con duct and responsibilities of the citizen of a
state. Civic duty implies obligations to contribute to the overall public good. It refers to the
ethical obligations and standards of conduct that establish the minimal requirements of
ethical citizenship.

None of the core ethical values can be taught separately; only their combination and
incorporation into all the subjects taught at university can give positive results. This is
where a system approach is required.

Development of professional values is another significant constituent of character

development model. Most people have ethical values that go beyond the core values as a
result of personal choice, family influence, culture and professional norms. Professional
values are obtained in the course of professional development, and it is university that
plays a crucial role in instilling professional values. However, professional values vary over
time, among individuals, among professions, and among cultures and subcultures.
Therefore, we cannot build a sound decision making model around them, nor can we
impose those values on others. They are morally appropriate as long as they are
consistent with core ethical values.

The third constituent of the model is interest of students which, in fact, is the basis of the
model. The interest can be formed through positive attitude to engineering in society,
public recognition of its significance and value. It consists of three components: cognitive,
emotional and willpower [2].
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The cognitive component refers to the desire of the student to learn more about his future
profession, that is, to master the subjects studied and to carry out scientific research. The
emotional component implies positive attitude to professional activities, it is impossible
without real commitment to profession. Willpower implies the ability to overcome possible
problems, and it is strong character that can help the student to work his way through
difficulties.

The model of character development can be implemented through the engineering

university curriculum, generally based on the will of the professor. Although all subjects are
very closely interlaced in students character training, there are certain distinctions which
can be made between sciences and humanities. Engineering subjects develop
professional values of students, including professional knowledge, career prospects vision,
and understanding of current trends in the international engineering market. Humanities,
however, have a strong potential for development of core ethical values and positive
attitudes.

3. Principles for implementation of character development model

When teaching character through sciences or humanities, university professors are to
follow a number of principles which will help them to enhance the positive influence of the
subjects that they teach. We propose the following principles for implementation of
character development model in engineering education:
compliance with engineering education objectives;
professional orientation;
social orientation;
humanistic orientation;
integration of engineering education and character development;
integrity.

The principle of compliance with engineering education objectives implies definition of

specific goals for each subject in engineering education. Everything to be taught within the
subject is to enhance the students understanding of value and importance of their future
profession.

Professional orientation can be considered an integral characteristic of the future engineer,

when specially required professional qualities are infused into his system of personal
values. This can be achieved through interdisciplinary approach to teaching, close ties
between theory and practice, active participation of students in real life industrial projects,
introduction of the latest achievements in their profession into the subjects taught.

The principle of social orientation states that whatever the future profession and career of
the student may be, of paramount importance is his general cultural and ethical
background. It is due to this background that attitudes to studies and, in the long run, to
the world around us are developed. They will influence the efficiency of the future
professional in any sphere.

The principle of humanistic orientation implies combination of respect and benevolence

towards students with high demands to their professional development. It is important to
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find positive traits in every student and to develop their character based on these positive
attitudes.

The University curriculum is to be based on the principle of integration of engineering

education and character development. The efficiency of character development depends
on the contents of the subjects taught, as well as on the personality of the university
professor. It is the professor himself who can teach character through his personal
example.

The principle of integrity implies the ability to provide the unity of cognitive, affective and
practical components of character education. The cognitive component includes
knowledge of the subject studied, and the possible ethical impact of this knowledge
application in real life. The affective component implies attitudes to the information studied
and to the ethical principles. The practical component refers to real behavior and actions of
students and professors. The role of professor is very important here; his actions should
always correspond to his words, and he himself should follow the rules that he teaches to
students.

Combination of these principles gives positive results in character development of future

engineers. Only system approach to university education as a whole, not simply as a
bunch of unconnected parts can work.

Let us consider the model of character development and principles of its implementation
using humanities in general, and foreign language in particular as an example.

4. Humanities for character development

There is a number of humanities in engineering education, e.g., compulsory subjects such
as social sciences, political sciences, physical training, and foreign languages. Some
people may argue that humanities are not so important for future engineers; they only take
time and effort of students. We do not share this opinion because in this era of
globalization an engineering graduate must be able not only to deal with engineering
issues but also to manage resources and to be responsible for the company policies. For
this reason, general cultural background taught through humanities is important.

Our modern culture is asking engineers to make highly moral decisions about nuclear and
chemical weapons, environmental policy, and etc. The fact is that the discussion of these
great and difficult ethical controversies of the day must be preceded by the formation of
character. Otherwise, these decisions will be made on the basis of something other than
good character: selfishness, might, convenience, or personal preferences. It is humanities
in engineering education that can be best of all used for the development of good
character.

Let us look at different humanities in engineering education in details, and consider their
potential for character development.

Social and political sciences enrich future engineers with knowledge about history of
humankind and values of democratic society. These subjects develop core ethical values,
such as citizenship, tolerance and patriotism. Moreover, they inspire students to take
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active part in political and public organizations, to interact with social institutions and
establishments, thus the intent of these subjects is to transform students into capable
citizens.

These subjects give students the contextual, critical thinking skills necessary for strong
leadership in todays world, which is sure to fail without ethical background which makes a
good character.

Physical training is of utmost importance in modern society, health saving technologies

and healthy lifestyle are integral parts of education today. It is through physical training
that many problems referred to alcohol or drugs addiction can be solved.

A foreign language has become an indispensable part of engineering education, being

a tool for intercultural communication. Scientists and engineers today work in a global
market: the primary sources in the cutting edge engineering innovations are published in
other languages, English being the most popular language. Engineering professionals take
part in international consortia, they import and export leading technologies, thus often
finding themselves interacting across national, cultural, and linguistic borders. Industrial
enterprises often prefer to employ applicants who are proficient in a foreign language.

In these circumstances it is necessary for every specialist to possess intercultural

competence, that is, to know the rules and instruments of developing joint projects with
people from other countries. This is possible only in case of character education through
the foreign language curriculum.

Character education in foreign language teaching implies a special choice of texts, where
ethical issues can be discussed, introduction of ethics in the workplace topics, where
cultural differences are to be studied. As a separate topic, codes of ethics in international
engineering societies are to be considered, conclusions referring to national cultural
dimensions are to be drawn.

Interdisciplinary approaches are easily infused in foreign language curriculum; business

negotiations and presentation skills are necessary for future engineers both in their native
and in a foreign language. These skills imply ethical issues of intercultural communication.
Real life situations and real communication with foreigners at foreign language classes
teach tolerance and develop abilities to work in international teams.

Therefore, a foreign language as a subject, teaches not only rules of the language, but
also tolerance to other cultures and strategies of communication.

Thus, humanities give us a lot of opportunities to develop a good character in students. It

is during the classes in humanities that professors can explain students that in order to
succeed in their life and in their career today, they are to have good knowledge in
engineering subjects, but what is more important, they are to have a good character and to
make decisions concerning our environment and lives of other people based on ethical
values.

5. Acknowledgements
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The research described here has been supported by the regional research project
program The Volga region in history and culture of Russia of the Russian Humanities
Foundation and Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, project name Intercultural competence
development for a technical university student in the polyethnic environment of the
Tatarstan Republic, project number 10-06-29618/ / 2010.

6. Conclusion
Character development is crucial for contemporary engineering education; special
attention is to be paid to the potential of humanities in this respect. Implementation of
a character development model in an engineering university provides high competitiveness
of the graduates in the international market. Developing leaders of character together with
engineering excellence should become the goal of engineering education today.

References
[1] www.abet.org
[2] Josephson, Michael. The Power of Character. Unlimited Publishing LLC, 2005
[3] Osipov, Pyotr. Innovational Education in Technical University. Kazan: Shkola, 2007