Conceptualisation of technology education within the paradigm of sustainable development

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of how sustainable development might be conceptualised and used to advance technology education practice. It is argued that a conceptualisation of sustainable development based on a combination of weak anthropocentrism and value based approaches within particular social, environmental and economic contexts provides the basis for establishing education for sustainable development (ESD) through technology education. It is argued that such an approach is in accord with the general push for a paradigm shift in curriculum development to meet future social needs. Moral values are proposed to be at the centre of teaching and learning in technology education. Examples of learning activities presented in the article illustrate the position and approach. A second issue addressed in the article concerns the role of teachers in the implementation of ESD. The argument advanced in the article, that this role is critical, is supported by the results of two research projects with in-service and pre-service teachers.Keywords Sustainable development Á Education for sustainable development Á Weak anthropocentrism Á Value change Á Learning activities Á In-service and pre-service teacher training in ESD

Educating for Sustainability: Perspectives and Critical Notes on Accounting Scholars’ Role in Higher Education

“…Some authors assume that ESD represents a complete change in the global paradigm of education and involvement of society (Wade, 2008) and that it would be a paradigm shift in curricula development to meet future social needs (Pavlova, 2009). Moreover, there is a consensus on the importance of the curricula, research, outreach programs, interdisciplinarity, operations, and collaboration between universities that are established as key areas (Evans, 2015;Lozano et al, 2013).…”

Theoretical Implications of Gender for Technology Education

“…Middleton (2008) has written on design and technology, and Pavlova (2009) has researched values and sustainability. FoxTurnbull's (2010) work on effective conversations in classrooms contributes to discourse in technology education that has a gender bias.…”

“…Ecologists study these symbiotic interactions to discover insights about the course and parameters of individual organisms' behaviour and development" (Nystrand, Gamoran, & Carbonaro, 1998, p. 4). In education, school systems are analogous to ecosystems whereas reading rituals, response groups, and individual class contexts are more properly ecological niches, distinguished by the reciprocal, mutually dependent roles of their particular members: What one does has implications for what the other can do (Pavlova, 2009).…”

HuValue: a tool to support design students in considering human values in their design

“…Indeed, in technology and design education literature, the importance of values is well established (e.g., Barlex 1993;Breckon 1998;Coles and Norman 2005;Conway 1994;Conway and Riggs 1994;Dakers 2005;de Vries 2005;Elshof 2005;Holdsworth and Conway 1999;Järvinen and Rasinen 2015;Layton 1991;Martin 2002;McLaren 1997;Middleton 2005;Pavlova 2005Pavlova , 2009Prime 1993;Rekus 1991;Riggs and Conway 1991;Tungaraza and Sutherland 2005). The studies mentioned in this list mainly target school educators and emphasise the significance of addressing values in technology education (as a means of improving the quality of life for all).…”

“…Considering pupils as future citizens with influential professions, these studies note the responsibility of teachers for raising pupils' awareness about different types of values in life (Conway 1994). They emphasise the role of values for decision-making, value judgements and evaluation in design as a complex intellectual activity (Pavlova 2009). In this respect, they acknowledge the need for developing a new values classification (Coles and Norman 2005) and as well, practical ways to uncover, explicate and discuss the values embedded within technologies in classrooms (McLaren 1997;Middleton 2005).…”