There is a recognised lack of women participating in engineering and STEM in most western countries. However, it is desirable for engineering cohorts to have a broad diversity. Hence, girls need to be encouraged into all engineering fields, but especially those traditionally dominated by men such as civil, mechanical and software engineering. A…

There is a considerable lack of women in the engineering disciplines at tertiary level in New Zealand. This is an economic issue because innovation and creativity in engineering are supported by diversity which directly and indirectly supports the New Zealand economy. Improving diversity in engineering will also improve equity. Literature suggests…

Maker education can enhance learners' creativity. Design thinking can facilitate the innovative resolution of complex problems. The design thinking literature and most maker teaching modes are limited in their promotion of learning and ability development in various dimensions. Learners have stereotypes about some professions; interventions can…

This study aimed to investigate students' perceptions of engineers and how they vary by grade level and gender. This study proposes an approach to understanding the Chinese students' perceptions of engineers and the interest preference of middle school students in the way of graphic analysis and questionnaire. This descriptive study incorporated a…

Design and problem-solving is a key learning focus in technology education and remains a distinguishing factor that separates it from other subject areas. This research investigated how two expert designers considered experiences with hard materials contributed to their learning design and problem-solving with these materials. The research project…

Stresses the difference between technological and technical knowledge, starting with the distinction of natural science, engineering science (technology) and engineering practice (technics). Discusses the relationship between science and technology. The classification of knowledge types is used for determining which kind of knowledge may seem…