Authors : Shahrulanuar Mohamed, Safiah Sidek, Norliah Kudus and Mahadi Abu Hassan
Abstract: In line with the emphasis on developing first class human capital for the nation, professionalism and ethics have become one of the essential values to be developed among Malaysian undergraduate students. The development of these values among Malaysian students are considered as crucial for the development of the nation regardless whether they are part of the nation’s workforce or entrepreneurs contributing to the economic development of the nation. This research investigated how ethics and moral values are embedded in engineering programmes offered by a Malaysian technical university. Specifically, the elements of ethics and moral values as well as the mechanism used by the university to inculcate the values of moral and ethics among its engineering students were investigated. Data were collected through survey questionnaires, interviews and observations involving 371 students and 16 lecturers. Three elements related to moral and ethics were identified, namely, the innovation, integrity and effort. Additionally, the mechanisms used to inculcate these values were lectures, tutorials and group projects. It was also found that the effectiveness of the inculcation of ethics and professionalism values through courses are based on knowledge, habits and attitude. Obstacles to the said purpose are also mentioned from the perspectives of lecturers and students. It can be concluded that these elements are prevalent in the engineering programmes and universities need to have effective strategies to ensure that engineering students are equipped with these values so that they can perform effectively as professional engineers as well as engineers entrepreneurs with strong moral values.
Shahrulanuar Mohamed, Safiah Sidek, Norliah Kudus and Mahadi Abu Hassan, 2017. The Cultivation of Ethics and Morals Values among Malaysian University Students: A Case Study at a Malaysian Technical University. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 12: 1218-1224.