Curriculum components of technology education within the Maltese National minimum curriculum from year 1999 to 2016

Abstract

Like many other countries the curriculum components and goals of technology education in Malta have experienced evolutionary changes. Changes in Malta occurred at a fast rate but were not always perceived to be in step with international trends, debates and research about technology curricula. This document analyses the text in Maltese National Minimum Curriculum documents in light of international progress about: (a) research trends, (b) the philosophy of technology and (c) technological concepts. The analysis of the documents was framed through: (a) a quantitative analysis of documents; and (b) a small scale survey. The quantitative analysis of all texts involved the use of software to generate the top ranking words and phrases from all texts. These were ranked and compared across all documents to evidence the trends of the documents in time. The survey involved asking participants to review the documents for specific arguments and filling in a questionnaire. The findings show that only recently has the Maltese curriculum of Design and Technology aligned itself to international trends and embraced a contemporary philosophy of technology. Within the Maltese texts describing technology education in 1999 and 2012, the key jargon emanating from international debates is considered largely absent and the perception given is that of a technology curriculum that was not driven by research but by tradition. The potential implication of this at present is the lack of understanding of a rationale for general technology education in schools and the nostalgia for a technology curriculum driven solely by vocational roots.