This full paper concerns an exploratory study that investigates students' reasoning about torsion. Mechanical reasoning is critical to engineering applications and yet students still struggle to accurately predict, analyze, and model mechanical systems using formal symbolic notations (i.e., formalizations). To understand the nature of students'…

Drawing on interim findings from an ethnography of a cycle mechanics' workshop, this article demonstrates how the work of the mechanics rests on not only specific and contextualised craft expertise but also on distributed networks of both people and things, within which highly specialist instances of expertise or competence manifest alongside more…

This article deals with a theory-based investigation of the diagnostic problem-solving process in professional contexts. To begin with, a theory of the diagnostic problem-solving process was developed drawing on findings from different professional contexts. The theory distinguishes between four sub-processes of the diagnostic problem-solving…

Background: A job is undertaken for a particular period of an individual's life and with chances for progress. The constructive way to know about the individual's inner strength. Career ability for high school students is essential to identify their capabilities in different career choices and choose the appropriate one, which helps in reaching…

Background: A job is undertaken for a particular period of an individual's life and with chances for progress. The constructive way to know about the individual's inner strength. Career ability for high school students is essential to identify their capabilities in different career choices and choose the appropriate one, which helps in reaching…

Community colleges have a strong history of providing vocational education and occupational training to meet changing workforce demands of local industries. In the Midwest, agricultural industries have expressed an expanding need for middle-skilled workers with postsecondary, pre-baccalaureate credentials. The 21st century agricultural landscape…

The main idea of this research was to find out if there is a relationship between students' undertakings within Craft and Technology education and their ability to understand technological concepts. Study participants' technological knowledge and reasoning was measured with a questionnaire regarding mechanical systems connected with simple…

Purpose: This study explores the applicability and transferability of tools developed for the realization of comparability and transparency of qualifications across Europe. It relates to the implementation of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in the automotive…

This longitudinal trend study sought to compare the perceptions of preservice agricultural education teachers, enrolled in a Metals and Welding course at a land grant university, on their welding related skills at the beginning of the semester to their final course grade at the end of the semester. Preservice agriculture teachers (N = 240) who…

To identify the most important competencies for college graduates to succeed in the 21st century workforce, we conducted an analysis of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database. O*NET is a large job analysis operated and maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor. We specifically analyzed ratings of the importance of abilities (52…

Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate how science and engineering graduates can be recruited and trained to Masters level in precision engineering as an aid to reducing the skills shortage of mechanical engineers in UK industry. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes a partnership between three UK academic institutions and industry,…

Two studies of performance in psychometric tests of mechanical ability are described. The subjects included a total of 70 undergraduates. Results allowed identification of subjects' rules of mechanical reasoning that accounted for variations in performance according to mechanical ability. (TJH)

Studied sex and ethnic group differences on 6 scales that measure accomplishments for 739 male and 1,746 female graduate school applicants. With the exception of the scale measuring mechanical accomplishment, men and women did not differ in performance, and ethnic groups did not differ on any scale. (SLD)

Describes three studies concerned with learning to operate a control panel device and how this learning is affected by understanding a device model that describes its internal mechanism. Results indicate benefits of a device model depend on whether it supports direct inference of exact steps required to operate the device. (Author/MBR)

This study, which examined children's understanding of machines, focused on how children decide which objects are machines and which are not, and how they group machines as similar or different. Brainstorming sessions involving two groups of four kindergarten children and one class each from the second, fourth, and fifth grade, were conducted.…