Trends Affecting Curriculum Reform in Engineering Education: A Scoping Review
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Date
2024
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Tempus Publications
Abstract
Different influences have shaped curriculum elements in engineering education over the last decade. Prior work has referred to faculty background, accreditation criteria, and industry demands. A recent influence has been the digitalization of the curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing many engineering schools to incorporate curriculum changes. In this context, we addressed the following research question in this study: What factors have influenced curriculum reforms in engineering education in the last decade? Thus, the main research objective is to illustrate the main influences over curriculum elements from an academic perspective, aiming to inform future research and innovations in curriculum development. We used a scoping review to synthesize evidence and assess the literature’s scope concerning engineering education curriculum reforms. We collected the papers from the Scopus database to point out key factors and knowledge gaps in the research on curriculum education reforms. According to a two-stage screening process, we selected 73 studies from 80 papers published between 2011 and 2021. Out of these 73 publications, 11 correspond to scientific articles, two to book chapters, and 60 to proceedings of different conferences. To identify emerging themes, all three authors analyzed the abstracts of the remaining 73 papers. This scoping review highlights the significant impact of economic and technological changes on engineering reform, particularly post-COVID-19. It aggregates studies to provide a global perspective, contrasting with prior research on individual institutions. These aggregated approaches reveal broader trends and emerging challenges that support a shared vision in engineering curriculum development and improvement.
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Keywords
curriculum reform, engineering education, scoping review