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Making Way for Technology Education

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Abstract

This paper discusses two major issues confronting any attempts to make technology education an integral part of the school curriculum. The first issue has to do with the lack of agreement—stemming from its diverse origins—regarding the core concepts, instructional strategies, and student outcomes that should comprise technology education. Characterizations of eight different approaches are provided. The second issue concerns the relationship of technology education to the existing school curricula, specifically, the science curriculum and vocational education. The historical connections between science and technology are discussed, and the argument is made that the traditional second-class position of technology in the school curriculum needs to be remedied in favor of making science and technology equal curricular partners. Vocational education, too, needs to be modernized to move from narrow skills training to education for the technological work place.

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Raizen, S.A. Making Way for Technology Education. Journal of Science Education and Technology 6, 59–70 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022521002691

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022521002691

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