Bridging ethics and performance in engineering education through predictive learning analytics

Abstract

This literature review examines the opportunities, implementation challenges, ethical implications, and emerging directions of predictive learning analytics (PLA) in engineering education. Using a structured review of the literature, the study synthesizes evidence from several publications with emphasis on studies examining risk prediction, personalized support, curricular improvement, interpretability, fairness, and intervention design. The review shows that PLA can improve early identification of at-risk students, support adaptive learning pathways, and inform data-driven refinements in engineering curricula; however, its impact depends on data quality, model transparency, institutional capacity, and the availability of timely human support. The analysis further indicates that the most consequential barriers are fragmented data ecosystems, the difficulty of translating predictions into effective interventions, and unresolved ethical concerns related to privacy, bias, consent, and student agency. The article contributes to educational research by offering an integrated synthesis that connects technical development with pedagogical evaluation and ethical governance in engineering education. It concludes by proposing that future PLA adoption should align predictive modeling with explainable artificial intelligence, learning-theory-informed intervention design, and institution-level implementation strategies. Publications were selected for relevance to PLA in engineering education and then synthesized narratively across opportunities, challenges, ethics, and future directions.