Comparison between Two Models of Engineering Students’ Intellectual Development

Understanding students’ challenges in undergoing intellectual development enables educators to understand students’ basis for their persistent efforts in understanding the world. This paper reviews two prominent models of the intellectual development by William Perry and Belenky et al. in terms of the concept of intellectual development, their usability and their implications for sciences and engineering education. Similarities and differences between the two models as well as the influence of knowledge of intellectual development on instruction are highlighted and discussed in this paper.