Epistemology of Knowledge for Technical and Engineering Education

There are three important components in engineering education which are knowledge, skill and attitude. Knowledge is defined as facts and concept of engineering education. The skills are those used by engineers in managing and applying their knowledge in solving problems. Whilst, attitude is how people use their skill and knowledge through personal values, concerns, preferences and biases toward their professional goal. The challenge of the century is to prepare a knowledgeable generation, particularly having the knowledge, skill and attitude beyond the range of traditional engineering curriculum. Thus, the focus of engineering education should shift from the simple presentation of knowledge to the concept of integration of knowledge. This requires a better understanding on the meaning of education. Hence, this article presents an attempt to crystallize the meaning of education, the concept of knowledge from philosophical perspective, and its relationship with human nature or fitrah. Based on the review, a conceptual model for epistemology of knowledge in engineering education is proposed.