New Zealand secondary technology teachers’ perceptions: “technological” or “technical” thinking?

Abstract

Technology education in the New Zealand context has seen significant change since it's inception as a technical subject. The changing nature of the subject in New Zealand secondary schools is influenced by some teachers' preoccupation with the making of quality outcomes, rather than their enactment of the curriculum, which conceptualises a wider remit. Research into the perceptions of technology teachers' interpretation and enactment of the curriculum suggests that to enable change, teachers need to adopt a form of "technological thinking", in support of their "technical thinking". Technological thinking is a notion presented to support teachers to explore a range of differing pedagogical approaches and learning outcomes, reflective of the intent of the New Zealand curriculum, which aims to foster learning environments that are innovative and responsive to students' social and academic needs. Defining the nature of technology education Technology education provides unique opportunities to engage students in their learning, through practical means. There are various types of knowledge underpinning the subject, both practical and conceptual in nature (Hill, 2003), and equally important to students' understanding of the nature of technology education. Ferguson (1993) explained a tension however, that could manifest in the engineering field (for example) as a lack of attributed value to the "sensual" knowledge used by skilled workers, who were required to solve solutions during the manufacture of products. From an historical perspective, the role and status of technology education has evolved, but its cross-discilinary nature means that there is no single theoretical perspective that can define it for the purposes of others' understanding (Pacey, 1992). Regardless, technology education exposes students to knowledge that is fostered as the result of working with materials, through the development of a concept or outcome, and in response to an identified problem (Ferguson, 1993; Hill, 2003). The way that this learning occurs however, should be considerate of students' interests, not determined solely by the teacher, community perceptions, or political agenda.

Effects of a Transdisciplinary Educational Approach on Students’ Technological Literacy

“…Technology education students learn through practical teaching methods wherein their procedural and tacit knowledge is developed together with the psychomotor skills needed for the manipulation of tools and materials in a direct-manipulation learning environment (Reinsfield & Williams, 2018). Traditionally, the curriculum of elementary technology education covers three areas: technological knowledge, technological practice and the nature of technology (Rossouw et al, 2011).…”

The technology education curriculum in New Zealand: Implications for initial teacher education programmes

“…I agree with the thought that a teacher's interpretation of technology and their understanding of the New Zealand curriculum will in turn affect how they choose to teach their particular area of technology (Reinsfield & Williams, 2018). The way in which they interpret this has a huge impact on the students that they pass their knowledge and concepts on to.…”

Agendas, influences, and capability: Perspectives on practice in design and technology education

“…This approach afforded the opportunity to validate findings convergently (Crano et al 2015, p. 68), though the analysis of teachers' perceptions in each year of schooling. Previous studies concerning teachers' perceptions of practice range from small case study approaches (Reinsfield and Williams 2017), to larger studies which employ survey instruments and subsequent focus group interviews (Bruce-Davis et al 2014). The guiding principle used here is that advocated by Glaser and Strauss (1967), in that data were collected until 'theoretical saturation' of the data was deemed to have occurred.…”