THE QUALITY OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF CONTENT ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN IRANIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Abstract

The purpose of a research project which is reported here was to analyze the quality of engineering education based on the data collected from the articles published in the Iranian Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE). Furthermore, based on the findings, suggestions towards improving the quality of engineering education in Iran have been provided. In doing so, the content analysis of aforementioned studies was conducted in two steps. In the first step, a scoping review method was carried out to a selected 31 study sources from the database of the IJEE from 1999 to 2023 by considering specialized keywords. Then, the qualitative content analysis was carried out. The findings were classified into three categories: input, output, and outcome factors. Input factors included students, educational and curriculum programs, higher education policies, university policies, faculty members, and facilities. Output factors included the unemployment of engineering graduates (job problems and migration of engineering elites) and the separation of engineering universities from the industry (shortcomings of the university and the industry). Outcome factors included the impact of social and cultural conditions, as well as economic and political conditions on engineering education graduates. In the end, based on the obtained results, executive suggestions for revising policies and improving the quality of engineering education have been proposed.

Keywords

• engineering education quality of higher education content analysis quantity of higher education scoping review