The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the analysis of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum in six countries involved in the UPDATE-project, and on that basis, propose a conceptual foundation for technology education in ECE that aims to enhance gender sensitive technology education in the continuum from early years to adulthood. The existing ECE curricula in the participating countries were analysed according to the general pedagogical approach as well as the contents specific to technology education. In many cases technology education was presented generally or implicitly, embedded in various curriculum content areas, and the existing curricula did not offer much support for teachers to figure out the nature, aims and pedagogical means of early childhood technology education. The comparison of the curricula raised some common key-issues which are important to construe more theoretically. In consequence, the article also focuses on the contemporary view of child-centred pedagogy and the conceptualisation of technology education fitting into the scope of ECE. Play is highlighted as a fundamental way of learning seldom studied in the context of technology education. In addition, a gender perspective on technology education deals with equal possibilities of both sexes to acquire knowledge, abilities and attitudes needed in technological agency.

Sciences and technology study and technological jobs are deserted by girls. Many measurements were set up in the study to find an issue. But not enough researches learn over this question as part of education study, in other words on the process of transmission. Indeed they ignore for instance, if certain contents, certain types of activities, certain forms of studies, certain gestures of education and scholastic shapes are better adapted to the girls than to the boys and conversely. This article is centred on these aspects and more precisely on artefacts used to mediatise the education of technology. The teacher choice of aids is made in mainly for the pedagogic interest which the object gives. Is the pedagogic interest balanced from the point of view of the question of gender if artefacts introduced in class favour objects which are, in social life, mainly used by men, women or both?

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Institutional relations to knowledge objects at the primary school are timefluctuant and therefore closely linked to the development of institutions. Building up the concept of material implies several sciences and technologies in overlapping epistemological fields. The questions of transposition and appropriation associated to the concept at primary school are a true challenge for the technology educator. This article shows the different connections between the French education and concept formation about materials at the primary school.