Educating Engineering Psychologists: Are we “Going around in Academic Circles”? *

Abstract

In 1972 Hunt, Howell, and Roscoe examined and compared the goals of various educational programs for engineering psychologists. Two years later Martin considered “What is wrong with human factors students?” The present treatise is an attempt to discover whether we are operating in a closed universe and have in fact come round to our starting point or have progressed in our attempts to equip students for gainful employment. Comparisons are drawn between the state of the educational process then and its present condition, including data on basic skills (NAEP, Spring 1989) and higher-level thinking abilities (anecdotal and empirical) or lack thereof. Contemporary problems are outlined and sources of these difficulties are identified where possible. Problem areas include deficiencies in student preparation, academic and industrial short-term corporate memory, supply-demand communication, economic forces, and the issue of certification (individuals and programs). The authors conclude by examining where current trends may be taking us.