Promoting a Pro-Ecological View: The Effects of Art on Engineering Students’ Perceptions of the Environment

Abstract

In an effort to suggest an extended role that art could play in promoting a pro-ecological worldview, this study reviews a two-week artist-led workshop, organized as part of an undergraduate art course offered by a university specializing in engineering and the natural sciences. To explore the potential impact of studio work on engineering student perceptions, we collected data from multiple sources, including field notes, participant observations, outcomes of the group projects, and participants’ responses to studio work during the workshop. In particular, to provide educational implications, our review focused on the findings from post-project surveys collected through online questionnaires and in-person interviews. In order to make suggestions on art courses that are specifically designed to cultivate engineering students’ perceptions of the environment, we carried out online surveys based on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. The results of the NEP-based surveys indicated that engineering students’ anti-anthropocentrism, rejection of human exceptionalism, and acknowledgement of the possibility of an eco-crisis were significantly correlated with a belief in public welfare. By comparison, respondents’ stronger public welfare beliefs were not associated with beliefs in limits to growth and the fragility of nature’s balance. This study responds to today’s complex socio-environmental issues by contributing to the discussion about the need to integrate interdisciplinary approaches into engineering education on environmental sustainability.