Perceptions of Technology Education. A cross-case study of teachers realising technology as a new subject of teaching.

Abstract

Education has become internationalised. Educational trends, concerns and debates exceed national and cultural borders, and ideas and innovations are being exchanged and transferred. Many curriculum programmes and reforms in education are influenced by international trends and by curricular ideas developed in a different educational context than the one in which they are put into practice. How does this affect the process of realisation and their effects in schools? Technology as a subject in compulsory education is one field where perspectives, concerns and ideas to a large extent are exchanged and transferred on the international arena. The importance of technology as a component of education for all is increasingly recognised, and the concept of technological literacy has emerged (Lewis & Gagel 1992, Liddament 1994, Barnett 1995, Ferreyra 1997, Jenkins 1997a, Jenkins 1997b, Petrina 2000). Though drawing on a variety of different traditions, technology as a specific and independent subject is a newcomer in the school curriculum in many countries. A range of curriculum initiatives is thus made in order to establish and develop technology as a subject of teaching. In Norway, one important initiative of this kind is the project ‘Technology in Schools’ (‘Teknologi i Skolen’, which will be abbreviated TiS in this thesis) initiated by the Norwegian Society of Engineers (NITO). The project aims at introducing technology as an area of teaching in Norwegian compulsory schools. The rationale and implementation of the project is inspired by ideas embedded in the school subject Design & Technology, which was established as a compulsory subject for all pupils in England and Wales in the late 1980s. The TiS project hence provides an opportunity to study the introduction of technology as a subject of teaching in schools, and how educational ideas transfer across national and cultural borders. Internationally, there is a rapidly growing body of research on technology as a component of general education. In countries where technology is a defined subject in the school curriculum, the policy, implementation and development of the subject have been studied (McCulloch et al. 1985, Layton 1995, Lewis 1995, Riis 1996, Andersson et al. 1997). Research has also attended to innovative practice in technology teaching (e.g. Barnes et al. 1987, Black & Atkin 1996). When realising educational ideas and intentions in schools, it is generally accepted that the teachers constitute a crucial factor. Accordingly, several studies are undertaken to elicit what teachers see as important aspects of technology as a school subject (Lindblad 1990, Aubusson & Webb 1992, Mittell & Penny 1997, Rowell et al. 1999, Davies & Rogers 2000, McRobbie et al. 2000, Mattsson 2002). Some report a mismatch between curriculum policy and teachers’ perceptions and teaching of the subject (Jarvis & Rennie 1996, Mittell & Penny 1997), and strategies for producing change in teachers’ beliefs and practice (Aubusson & Webb 1992, McRobbie et al. 2000). Research has also investigated how teachers comprehend the nature of technology and its relationship with science (van den Berg 1986, Rennie 1987, Zoller & Donn 1991, Jarvis & Rennie 1996, Tairab 2001). Some of these studies report that particularly science teachers tend to look upon technology as merely applications of science. It is further indicated that teachers interpret technology teaching in terms of their own subjects’ subcultures (Jones & Carr 1992, Hepburn & Gaskell 1998, Jones 1999). This means that craft teachers may teach technology with focus on technical skills, teachers of social studies may emphasise societal aspects of technology whereas science teachers may see technology as a “vehicle for teaching science” (Jones & Carr 1992, p. 231). Studies as those referred above, with a focus on educational policy and teachers, add to a range of studies on pupils’ and students’ comprehension of technology and their learning in technology teaching (e.g. McCarthy & Moss 1990, Griffiths & Heath 1996, Hendley & Lyle 1996, Levinson et al. 1997). Though studies within technology as a subject of teaching in schools are plentiful, little research is undertaken on how ideas in technology education transfer to new educational contexts, and how they then transform under various influences. The present study contributes to the field by investigating the introduction of technology as a subject in Norwegian schools. It explores how teachers participating in the TiS project interact with ideas from Design & Technology inherent in this project and how various influences contribute to the shaping of technology teaching adapted to a Norwegian school context. The study is carried out as an explorative cross-case study involving classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The research has been guided by the following two questions: 1. How do the teachers participating in the TiS project perceive and realise technology as a subject of teaching? 2. What are important influences on the realisation of ideas from Design & Technology in Norwegian schools?