Engineering in a Crisis: Observing Students’ Perceptions of Macroethical Responsibilities during Pandemics and Natural Disasters

Abstract

When the ethical responsibilities of engineers are discussed in classrooms, the focus is usually on microethics, which concentrates on individual decision-making, rather than macroethics, that addresses broad societal concerns. Pandemics (e.g., COVID-19) and natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, derechos) have presented unique opportunities to observe engineering macroethical responsibilities, because unjust social, economic, and environmental systems have been brought to the forefront amidst the responses (e.g., inequitable transportation access). In this paper, we consider pandemics and natural disasters through the lens of engineering macroethics, aiming to understand students’ perceptions about the macroethical responsibilities of engineers. In the fall of 2020, we deployed a survey to undergraduate engineering students at two universities (n=424). Students were asked to discuss what they perceived to be the role of engineering professionals in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. We used a qualitative content analysis to explore the macroethical responsibilities mentioned in students’ responses. Many of these responses include considerations of infrastructure resilience, resource distribution, and community equity. Logit models were used to identify which sociodemographic factors were associated with responses that included macroethical responsibilities, revealing engineering major (specifically, civil engineering), employment status, gender identity, and family size, among others as significant factors. The implications from this study include recommendations on curricular content, and identifying which student sociodemographic groups would especially benefit from macroethical content in coursework. Teaching through crisis contexts (i.e., pandemics and natural disasters) can be an impactful approach to ethics lessons in undergraduate engineering classrooms. These lessons demonstrate that unjust social, economic, and environmental systems are brought to the forefront amidst crisis responses (e.g., inequitable transportation access). We can use the findings from this study to improve teaching methods for engineering ethics. The analysis demonstrates that students may benefit from being exposed to real-world problems that leverage their lived experiences. Instructors can facilitate this learning by incorporating current and relatable social issues into engineering lessons. While the traditional approach is to teach historical case studies that include atypical, unrelatable events (e.g., the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster), a focus on current events may help students to better understand and explore the societal context in which decisions must be made. Classroom lessons could include discussion between students applying their lived experiences to understand the values of engineering ethics. Overall, these changes can foster a more inclusive learning environment and encourage ethical development amongst engineering students.