ETHICS EDUCATION RESOURCES: A SUMMARY OF ISSUES FACING THE FIELD AND RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THEM

摘要

The United States Congress has mandated that ethics education in STEM be a priority. In addressing this priority, there are many challenges. Undergraduate engineering programs have begun to address this by meeting ABET accreditation expectations. Graduate students, post-docs and current faculty have not necessarily had the same experience. Broadening our understanding of the audience of learners and the potential settings for learning about ethics is a first step in reaching this priority. Teaching ethics to engineers goes beyond responsible conduct of research, although resources can be shared and can be used to broaden the conversations educators have with undergraduate and graduate students. Next steps include the ongoing development of resources that support this learning throughout academic and professional engineering careers and the fostering of conversations that include the diverse perspectives and experiences of engineers, whether students, faculty or professionals in the field. This paper provides information about available resources as well as framing the discussion of key issues facing ethics education today.