The Effects of Pedagogical Paradigms on Aviation Students with Hazardous Attitudes

Abstract

Hazardous attitudes can adversely affect a pilot's judgment and thus impact the safety of a flight (FAA, 1991). These hazardous attitudes are antiauthority; impulsivity; invulnerability; macho; and, resignation. Wetmore & Lu (in-press) found hazardous attitudes to be a causal or contributing factor in 86% of the general aviation accidents involving a fatality. This study reviews certain fundamental tenets and belief systems for each of the major traditional and modern educational philosophies, ideologies and theories. A qualitative determination was made that many of the pedagogies that permeate our educational system have tenets and beliefs can actually exacerbate rather than ameliorate hazardous attitudes. One of the main conclusions of this study is for aviation teachers to constantly examine their personal pedagogical paradigms and remind themselves of four important questions: (a) Do my aviation students have hazardous attitudes? (b) What are those hazardous attitudes? (c) Does my own personal teaching style ameliorate or exacerbate those hazardous attitudes? (d) How can I change or adapt my teaching strategies to better serve the needs of those student pilots suffering from hazardous attitudes?

Authors

• Wetmore, Michael Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Lu, Chien-tsung Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Caldwell, William Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University