Reflections on software engineering education

The "engineering" focus in software engineering education leaves instructors vulnerable to several traps. It also misleads students as to SE's essential human and social dimensions. Here, the author discusses how this limited conception of SE contributes to five assumptions that can trap SE educators: (i) an SE course needs an industrial project. (ii) SE is like other branches of engineering. (iii) Planning in SE is poorly done relative to other fields. (iv) The user interface is part of low-level design. (v) SWEBOK represents the state of the practice.