With the growing complexity of design technology and the emergence of intelligent design assistance, architectural studio classes are facing a new pedagogical paradigm. The digital literacy of younger generations and availability of scientific simulation have the potential to transform the traditional master-apprentice model. In our experiment, we…

Many Industrial Design professionals in Spain have difficulties when it comes to getting a job related to their field. They also have difficulties incorporating into the labor market as what they have learnt as students does not correspond with the demands of the labour market as far as industrial designers are concerned. By using a nationally…

A philosophical shift in policy now situates the development of technological capability as the focus of Irish technology education. Internationally, the effectiveness of curricular reform in the discipline has previously been called to question, as the legacy of the preceding vocational craft subjects has been seen to throttle the evolution of…

In the United States, recent STEM education reform initiatives call for teaching STEM subjects through integration of multiple related subjects. In response to this call, an integrated STEM education methods course was developed for secondary preservice teachers in STEM disciplines. At the conclusion of the course, qualitative data (e.g.,…

If teachers are not equipped to teach Technology Education subject nationally and internationally, the continent of Africa will continue to bear the brunt of unsavoury results unless radical interventions are implemented to transform the situation. It is against this background that action research methods became a useful site-based support to…

The supply of highly qualified scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians is perceived by governments globally as being vital in securing economic prosperity, but somewhere along the line pupils are being "switched off", and disengage with the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) beyond compulsory…

In the state-of-the-art Glass Project run by the Swedish National Agency for Education during the second half of the 1960s, a new type of comprehensive technology education was developed. The project had little impact on school practice and was soon forgotten about. However, the project is interesting from several points of view. First, it…

Today, technology education in Sweden is both a high-status and a low-status phenomenon. Positive values such as economic growth, global competitiveness and the sustainability of the welfare state are often coupled with higher engineering education and sometimes even upper secondary education. Negative values, on the other hand, are often…

Internationally there has been concern about the direction of technical education and how it is positioned in schools. This has also been the case in Malawi where the curriculum has had a strong focus on skills development. However, lately there has been a call for enhancing technological literacy of students, yet little support has been provided…

Hong Kong's transformation from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy has prompted the local government to promote the city as a regional design center. The 2008 Policy Address delivered by Hong Kong's Chief Executive calls for the creation of a large pool of creative and knowledgeable talent. The government recognizes that, in addition to…

Throughout history various grand narratives have impacted on technology education. In the current post modern era of globalization, technology education continues to struggle for relevance and definition, and takes various forms in different countries, but none seem resoundingly successful. The current development of what some have termed a…

A discussion about philosophies that inform educational practice in North America provides a background for analysis of different philosophies in relation to technology education, and provides insight into the significance of reconstructionism, an outgrowth of pragmatism, as a philosophy in which to frame and describe technology education. This is…

This paper evolves out of a consultancy that was carried out with the European Commission over a two year period between 2001 and 2003. A working group, set within the European Commission and comprising representatives from 15 member states, as well as associated and accession countries, stakeholders and social partners involved in maths, science…