Abstract
This paper reports on the results of a student opinion survey on design ethical standards in National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (Yuntech) in Taiwan. A sample of 250 Year-4 students, 168 females and 82 males, at the College of Design in Yuntech University was accessed for this study. They came from five types of design department: Industrial Design (ID), Visual Communication Design (VCD), Architecture & Interior Design (AID), Digital Media Design (DMD), and Creative Design (CD). At the time of survey, students of ID and CD had completed the compulsory “Design Ethics” course, while students of VCD, AID and DMD were about to take it in this or next semester. The participants answered an 80-item questionnaire concerning design professional code of ethics. The survey was conducted during lecture or seminar times of each department in the first week of the academic Year 2011. The results reveal that on average Year-4 design students demonstrate positive attitudes on the 7 aspects of design ethical standards. Though overall female student scores are higher than the male scores, the differences are not significant. However, the differences among the five departments are significant in 6 aspects. In addition, those who have completed the course (ID and CD students) show a more consistent attitude on all aspects. Among all design departments, the AID students, though not yet taken the course, have almost the highest scores; while VCD and DMD students demonstrate relatively lower scores than the other three. Student attitudes, either by gender or by department, are significantly improved on some aspects of ethical standards by completion of the ethics course. The findings are then elaborated upon to explore the implications of teaching design ethics to students in Taiwan.
Keywords
design ethics education, design ethical standards, student opinion
Citation
Lee, Y., You, M., and Yang, M. (2012) Design Ethics Education: A survey of Yuntech university student opinion on design ethical standards, in Israsena, P., Tangsantikul, J. and Durling, D. (eds.), Research: Uncertainty Contradiction Value - DRS International Conference 2012, 1-4 July, Bangkok, Thailand. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2012/researchpapers/73
Design Ethics Education: A survey of Yuntech university student opinion on design ethical standards
This paper reports on the results of a student opinion survey on design ethical standards in National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (Yuntech) in Taiwan. A sample of 250 Year-4 students, 168 females and 82 males, at the College of Design in Yuntech University was accessed for this study. They came from five types of design department: Industrial Design (ID), Visual Communication Design (VCD), Architecture & Interior Design (AID), Digital Media Design (DMD), and Creative Design (CD). At the time of survey, students of ID and CD had completed the compulsory “Design Ethics” course, while students of VCD, AID and DMD were about to take it in this or next semester. The participants answered an 80-item questionnaire concerning design professional code of ethics. The survey was conducted during lecture or seminar times of each department in the first week of the academic Year 2011. The results reveal that on average Year-4 design students demonstrate positive attitudes on the 7 aspects of design ethical standards. Though overall female student scores are higher than the male scores, the differences are not significant. However, the differences among the five departments are significant in 6 aspects. In addition, those who have completed the course (ID and CD students) show a more consistent attitude on all aspects. Among all design departments, the AID students, though not yet taken the course, have almost the highest scores; while VCD and DMD students demonstrate relatively lower scores than the other three. Student attitudes, either by gender or by department, are significantly improved on some aspects of ethical standards by completion of the ethics course. The findings are then elaborated upon to explore the implications of teaching design ethics to students in Taiwan.