Systematic reviews in engineering education: a catalyst for change

Abstract

Engineering Education is rapidly evolving as a discipline. This has given rise to a number of challenges that could potentially limit future developments. More established disciplines have previously encountered similar challenges and have developed a set of practices and structures that can broadly be referred to as ‘Open Science’ in order to meet these challenges. The purpose of this article is to identify Open Science practices and structures that have the potential to resolve some of the major challenges facing engineering education. Systematic reviews are examined as a suitable benchmarking mechanism and as a potential catalyst for the widespread adoption of Open Science principles within the discipline. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are presented as essential in synthesizing a rapidly growing body of research. However, their value is dependent on the quality of their execution. A strategic approach to systematic reviews is offered as a viable initial embodiment of Open Science principles and a catalyst for wider integration. The adoption of best practice models developed in other disciplines including pre-registration, open data and explicit protocol reporting have the potential to address the shortcomings identified and ultimately accelerate the development of engineering education as a discipline.

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