2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract
The absence of any major report on engineering education in recent years coupled with the fragmentation of the society into divisions has covered up the possibility that there may have been significant developments that impinge on the findings of the major reports that began with the Mann Report of 1918. Using the 2021 Whitepaper of the Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy Division (hereinafter referred to as TELPhE) as its anchor it is argued that the whitepaper is in a tradition of humanistic studies begun in the Mann report and followed through in subsequent reports, in particular the Hammond, and Walker reports. It is argued that If among its future activities TELPhE seeks to develop a programme for “technological citizenship” it will necessarily provide an alternative programme of general education that embraces engineering and technology. In so doing it will fulfil Walker’s vision, although somewhat differently, that given the importance of technology to modern society, this change would allow engineering to become the ‘liberal arts degree’ of the twenty-first century”*.
The starting point of the paper is Bruce Seely’s characterization of the history of engineering education as “reinventing the wheel”, a view that is supported by British studies. Seely lists a number of questions that seem to be timeless including questions about the educational needs of citizens for the future.
The origins of TELPhE in workshops of the National Academy of Engineering and its’ subsequent activities are summarised in the Whitepaper of 2021. It showed that while the Division has had success in developing courses for non-STEM undergraduates, and in developing a research base to support efforts to improve technological literacy in the United States, it has also been faced with several difficulties. First among them, is the question of what technological literacy is. The pace of technological change since the division was founded has been tremendous, bringing with it all sorts of new but relevant issues which are reflected in the contributions received and published. Second, in the range of knowledge contained in those contributions. Third, are the conflicts that such diversity creates. Of particular importance is the criticism that engineering students are technologically illiterate, a view that has not permeated ASEE more generally, which might be put down to the fractionalization of ASEE.
While it is suggested that the Division should focus on education for technological citizenship it is not suggested that any of its other activities should be discouraged.
*cited from Bruce Seely