2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Environmental injustice is prevalent in all countries of the world. Disadvantaged communities in both developing and developed countries are disproportionately affected by environmental concerns. This can only be eradicated through developmental efforts and public policies that ensure equitable development for all communities. To achieve this, it is important to teach students about environmental justice. This paper provides an overview and preliminary assessment of a curricular module developed to teach undergraduate civil engineering students about ethics and social responsibility. The module was implemented in an environmental engineering course offered at Saint Louis University in the Midwestern United States. The course is a three-credit-hour requirement for third-year civil engineering students. In the module, we taught the students about environmental justice, the cases of environmental injustice, and instances where communities successfully fought for environmental justice. Assignments included class discussions as reflection sessions and a group project where students planned sustainable civil engineering projects that ensure equitable distribution of benefits. The Generalized Professional Responsibility Assessment (GPRA) instrument was utilized to conduct a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test assessment of changes in students' attitudes toward professional social responsibility. Assessment of the results from the GPRA showed that teaching environmental justice reinforced the students’ views about social injustice and that there are underrepresented communities that need our help. They understood the role of civil engineering in promoting environmental and social justice and their responsibility as engineers to remove inequity and develop a just society. This realization motivated them to serve society and help people and communities less fortunate than them.