Reflecting on the development of a new school subject: the development of technology education in New Zealand.

The last 10 years have seen the production of curricula in Australia, the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand that emphasise the importance of students developing technological literacy. This paper traces the development of a new subject - technology education - in the New Zealand curriculum and explores the politics of development of a new subject as well as the theoretical stances and research that contributed to its development from 1992 until 2005. This paper outlines the various stages of development including curriculum development, teacher development, and the move to creating a classroom research agenda to enhance the teaching and learning in technology education. The paper reinforces the notion that significant gains can be made in curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment when research and development are conducted in an ongoing manner

Technology education in the New Zealand curriculum

In this chapter, the way in which experience of existing school programmes influences teacher perceptions of technology education is discussed, and reasons for teaching technology are outlined. A relationship between technology and technology education is suggested and the structure of technology education in the New Zealand technology curriculum is described. A particular focus is the role of technological activities in technology education, and this is developed in the final section

The developing field of technology education in New Zealand: The last twenty years

In the last twenty years technology education in New Zealand has found a place in research, teacher education and classroom practice. This paper traces the development of technology education as a field of study in compulsory education over the last twenty years and explores the curriculum development in the 1990s, the emerging research field during that time as well as teacher pre and in-service development. Figure 1 outlines the key aspects of development of technology education in New Zealand and highlights key features of curriculum, research and teacher education and shows the links between these different aspects in a timeline from 1985 to 2005

The development of technology education internationally

The development of technology education within countries and regions is set within the historical, cultural, and political environment. Curriculum, teacher education, and in fact educational research do not sit in isolation from these. Each of the chapters in this section sets out the context for technology education in its respective country and provides a historical and political analysis of the development of technology education as a field of development. The history of technology education is a long one if we consider its development back to the days of craft, and in this section many of the chapters trace the journey from craft through to much broader notions of technology and technological literacy

Relationship between science and technology in the New Zealand curriculum

New Zealand underwent major curriculum reforms in the early1990s. These reforms were determined by the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education 1993), which provides an overarching framework for the development of curricula in New Zealand and which defines seven broad essential learning areas. The seven essential learning areas that describe in broad terms the knowledge and understanding that all students need to acquire, are health and well-being, the arts, social sciences, technology, science, mathematics,and language and languages. For example, the essential learning area of science includes the subjects of science, biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, agriculture, horticulture, and geography, as well as aspects of home economics and environmental studies

Exploring the tension and synergies between science and technology in science education

This chapter explores the way in which technology has been introduced through and by science educators in Australasia in the last 25 years. A number of themes have arisen in this time from using technology to engage students in science, exploring the impact of science on society through technology, considerations of the nature of technology in relation to science, and the exploration and development of technology as a subject in its own right. In this process student and teacher perceptions of technology were explored, as well as teacher change and the influence of teacher/ subject culture through to sustained classroom research and school change and the way in which the introduction of a new subject like technology can influence our thinking around science

Technology education in New Zealand

Technology in New Zealand schools is a new area of learning that is now compulsory for all students (years 1–10). Technology education policy was first developed in 1992 (Jones & Carr, 1993). Since then there has been a sustained research and development focus to inform the structure of the curriculum, its subsequent national implementation, and classroom practice. This article discusses the structure of the technology curriculum, programs that were developed to inform teachers of the curriculum and its content, and strategies to enhance the classroom practice of technology

From Technology National Curriculum statement through to sustaining classroom practice and enhancing student learning: the New Zealand experience

This paper will introduce four key aspects of the implementation of a national technology curriculum. Firstly, we will discuss how the structure of the New Zealand Technology Curriculum (Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum, Ministry of Education, 1995) attempted to reflect the nature of technology and technological practice. The structure of the curriculum in terms of the broad outcomes and technological areas will be highlighted. The curriculum statement provides a framework within which students can develop an understanding of past technologies as well as those being currently developed in their local community, nationally or internationally. Secondly, a discussion of the need for research of appropriate models of teacher development is presented. Thirdly, an example of a classroom resource that fosters school-enterprise links is discussed. Finally, this paper will examine how developing teachers’ formative assessment practices in technology can both sustain classroom practice in technology as well as enhance student learning. Highlighted is the development of both the teachers and students conceptual and procedural technological knowledge base, both, so that classroom practice in technology was more effective and sustainable. The role of research and development in implementation and the way this has informed classroom practice in the New Zealand context, will be highlighted throughout the paper

Reviewing the field of technology education in New Zealand

In this chapter we discuss the development of technology as a field of study within compulsory education in New Zealand. We argue that technology education has found a place in the national curriculum, research, and teacher education, resulting in technology classroom practice to some degree in all New Zealand schools

The enhancement of technology education classroom practice in New Zealand

This paper reports on a number of New Zealand technology education research studies undertaken over seven years by researchers in the Centre for Science and Technology Education Research centred upon examining and enhancing classroom practice. Early classroom research undertaken in 1992-1994 showed that key aspects for teacher development programmes related to teachers’ developing robust concepts of technology and technology education, as well as developing an understanding of technological practice in a variety of contexts. Based on these aspects a national Technology Teacher Development Resource Programme was developed during 1995-1996. This programme included video material of technological practice and classroom practice, accompanying explanatory text and workshop activities. Further research undertaken in 1997 indicated that although teachers developed broader and more consistent concepts about the nature of technology through an examination of technological practice, they experienced difficulties effectively translating this into appropriate classroom strategies for sustaining student learning. The media based resources only took the teachers so far in their understanding of teaching technology. In 1998-2000 a research and intervention programme was undertaken in primary school classrooms aimed towards improving teachers’ understanding of teaching, learning and assessing in technology. A planning framework for assisting teachers to detail student technological learning outcomes in different domains was developed. The articulation of the learning outcomes enhanced teacher knowledges in technology education and assisted teachers’ formative interactions and summative assessment practices. Subsequently student learning was enhanced