Gilbert Ryle (1949) divided knowledge into "know that" and "know how", which is neatly appealing to many design and technology educators, and like many writers on developing the curriculum, Kahney (1993) made a distinction between declarative knowledge: "verbal knowledge, that is, the kind you get from books, instructions…

It is important that young people are taught not simply to use technology, but to understand how it works and the principles on which it is based. This report explores the recent changes in science and technology, illustrates how and why science should be viewed as a basis for teaching technology, and considers why technology should be taught in…