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

Technology and science education

The incorporation of technology into the school curriculum is part of a worldwide trend in education. The way in which technology is incorporated depends on which country the reform is initiated in. The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 1993a) includes science and technology as distinct learning areas. This chapter considers the view of technology expressed in both science in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1993b) and in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1995). The chapter is divided into four sections. Firstly, the concept of technology in the science curriculum is identified and discussed; secondly, the use of some types of technological application to enhance the learning of science outcomes is considered; thirdly, the technology curriculum itself is discussed in order to highlight the concept of technology underpinning this statement so that comparisons can be made with the concept employed in the science curriculum, and finally the introduction of technology outcomes by science teachers in a science environment is explored

Yep – We Can Do That: Technological response to the curriculum ‘needs’ arising…

New Zealand has recently released a new national curriculum presented as the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) (Ministry of Education, 2007). This document has significant implications for the future redevelopment of both the compulsory school curriculum and the non-compulsory senior secondary school curriculum. After a general introduction, this paper is divided into three main sections. In the first section, I explain the ‘givens’ presented in the NZC, these being the overarching Principles, Values and Attitudes, and the Key Competencies. I also outline the concept of ‘Learning Areas’ – as opposed to subjects. In the second section, I provide a brief overview of technology in New Zealand and present the key constructs of the revised technology learning area in the NZC. In the third section, I discuss and illustrate ways in which technology education can work to address the ‘givens’ in innovative ways that support the development of student technological literacy and general citizenship. I conclude the paper with an acknowledgement of potential issues, and express my opinion that while technology is well placed to respond to ‘needs’ arising, we should also be thinking about how much of this responsibility we should take on

Developments in technology education in New Zealand 1993-1995: an analysis of the reflections of key participants

As of February the 15ᵗʰ 1999, Technology Education came into New Zealand’s education system as a legal requirement for students from years 1 to 10. All schools under the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s jurisdiction were required to implement technology into their school curriculum for these year levels in order to meet this requirement. Schools and teachers were supported in doing this by a national curriculum statement in technology that had been released in 1995. Developments that occurred during the 1993 to 1995 time period leading up to the release of the technology curriculum statement were critical both to the curriculum development and subsequent developments in the field of technology education in New Zealand. Technology’s entry into New Zealand education as a learning area in its own right reflects a worldwide trend whereby technological literacy has been identified as a worthwhile goal for formal schooling. Alongside the arguments for economic growth and the future wellbeing of societies, educationalists have supported this entry by way of educative arguments based on technology providing a site for the synthesis of theory and practice. New Zealand’s movement into technology education reflects all the international rationales, but contains another dimension that sets it apart. That is, an emphasis on the sociological aspects of technological developments and practice. It is this aspect of technology education that provides the potential for technology education in New Zealand to support student empowerment through the development of a liberatory technological literacy. Working from a conflation of interpretivist, praxis-oriented and postmodernist methodological discourses, this thesis provides an explanation of the developments between 1993 and 1995 in terms of the interactions of people involved, rather than the outcomes alone. Such an explanation can also provide opportunities for the future developments in field of technology education as people from both within and outside the developments come to better understand the complex interactions that determined the nature of technology education’s past. An analytical framework reflecting sociocultural theories was developed to fulfil this intent. This framework specifically uses components of practice theory developed by Bourdieu, and notions of learning through participation in communities of practice as developed by Lave and Wenger. It provides a framework by which the reflections and perceptions of individuals involved in key groups within the developments can be brought together to provide an interpretive account of the groups themselves as a collective. Research data was therefore gathered from participants involved in two key groups in the development of the technology education in New Zealand. These being the Curriculum Development Group and the 1995 Facilitator Training Group. From such an analysis the explanatory account developed would be more robust in that it would be developed from multiple, and often contradictory, perspectives. This thesis concludes that the nature and direction of the field of technology education in New Zealand has been determined by a very small number of individuals within the development. This aspect of its developmental history has resulted in barriers to technology education’s potential for educational reform. However, this thesis also concludes that these barriers are not insurmountable and potential does still exist for technology education in New Zealand to provide opportunities for students to develop liberatory technological literacy. The literature review, data analysis and resultant explanation provided in the form of this thesis should go some way towards addressing teachers’ and teacher educators’ feelings of confusion and alienation that have arisen from the centre-peripheral nature of curriculum development adopted and the lack information and consultation identified during the 1993 to 1995 time period. The resolution of such feelings will remove one of the identified barriers to reform

The Kinesin-Related Protein, Hset, Opposes the Activity of Eg5 and Cross-Links Microtubules in the Mammalian Mitotic Spindle

We have prepared antibodies specific for HSET, the human homologue of the KAR3 family of minus end-directed motors. Immuno-EM with these antibodies indicates that HSET frequently localizes between microtubules within the mammalian metaphase spindle consistent with a microtubule cross-linking function. Microinjection experiments show that HSET activity is essential for meiotic spindle organization in murine oocytes and taxol-induced aster assembly in cultured cells. However, inhibition of HSET did not affect mitotic spindle architecture or function in cultured cells, indicating that centrosomes mask the role of HSET during mitosis. We also show that (acentrosomal) microtubule asters fail to assemble in vitro without HSET activity, but simultaneous inhibition of HSET and Eg5, a plus end-directed motor, redresses the balance of forces acting on microtubules and restores aster organization. In vivo, centrosomes fail to separate and monopolar spindles assemble without Eg5 activity. Simultaneous inhibition of HSET and Eg5 restores centrosome separation and, in some cases, bipolar spindle formation. Thus, through microtubule cross-linking and oppositely oriented motor activity, HSET and Eg5 participate in spindle assembly and promote spindle bipolarity, although the activity of HSET is not essential for spindle assembly and function in cultured cells because of centrosomes

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Towards a model for teacher development in technology education: From research to practice

This paper reports on a series of interventions in New Zealand schools in order to enhance the teaching of, and learning in, technology as a new learning area. It details the way in which researchers worked with teachers to introduce technological activities into the classroom, the teachers' reflections on this process and the subsequent development of activities. These activities were undertaken in 14 classrooms (8 primary and 6 secondary). The research took into account past experiences of school-based teacher development and recommendations related to teacher change. Extensive use was made of case-studies from earlier phases of the research, and of the draft technology curriculum, in order to develop teachers' concepts of technology and technology education. Teachers then worked from these concepts to develop technological activities and classroom strategies. The paper also introduces a model that outlines factors contributing to school technological literacy, and suggests that teacher development models will need to allow teachers to develop technological knowledge and an understanding of technological practice, as well as concepts of technology and technology education, if they are to become effective in the teaching of technology

Reflecting on teacher development in technology education: Implications for future programmes

This paper reflects on the outcomes of teacher professional development programmes in technology education. These programmes were based on a model which emphasised the importance of teachers developing an understanding of both technological practice and technology education. Two different programmes have been developed and trialed in the New Zealand context. They are the Facilitator Training programme, and the Technology Teacher Development Resource Package programme. This paper will focus on the outcomes of these programmes. The Facilitator Training programme was a year long programme, and ran in 1995 and 1996. It involved training a total of 30 educators – 15 each year, from all over New Zealand. The Resource Package was trialed in 14 schools over a 3–6 month period in 1996. The evaluations indicate the successful nature of these programmes and the usefulness of the model as a basis for the development of teacher professional development in technology education. The programmes reported on in this paper were developed and evaluated as part of two New Zealand Ministry of Education contracts held by the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Research

Bringing Communities TogetherConnecting Learners with Scientists or Technologists /

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