Iteration during the design process is an essential element. Engineers optimize their design by iteration. Research on iteration in Primary Design Education is however scarce; possibly teachers believe they do not have enough time for iteration in daily classroom practices. Spontaneous playing behavior of children indicates that iteration fits in…

Technology is more present than ever. Young people are interested in technological products, but their opinions on education and careers in technology are not particularly positive (Johansson in "Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Report." European Round Table of Industrials, Brussel, 2009). If we want to stimulate…

In 2009 the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture assigned the National Board of Education with the task of carrying out a nationwide evaluation of all seven cross-curricular themes. The evaluation is one of the largest education evaluation projects the National Board of Finland has ever organised. The present authors were invited to evaluate…

This article discusses pupils' readiness for self-regulation in Exploratory Production in Technology Education. In the forethought phase of Exploratory Production, pupils envision and regulate their technological production activities. Next, in the performance phase, the envisioned goals are tried and implemented through ideating, planning…

This paper discusses the design activities of students in secondary school in France. Graphics tools are now part of the capacity of design professionals. It is therefore apt to reflect on their integration into the technological education. Has the use of intermediate graphical tools changed students' performance, and if so in what direction,…

This article describes the process of a learning study conducted in technology education in a Swedish preschool class. The learning study method used in this study is a collaborative method, where researchers and teachers work together as a team concerning teaching and learning about a specific learning object. The object of learning in this study…

Swedish technology teachers' views of technological knowledge are examined through a written survey and a series of interviews. The study indicates that technology teachers' understandings of what constitutes technological knowledge and how it is justified vary considerably. The philosophical discussions on the topic are unknown to them.…

Every student in the Swedish compulsory school system is entitled to information regarding their progress in all school subjects given. In 2008, a mandatory assessment tool, called the individual development plan (IDP) with written assessment, was introduced by the Government. The statutory purpose was to provide teachers with a formative…

Today, technology education in Sweden is both a high-status and a low-status phenomenon. Positive values such as economic growth, global competitiveness and the sustainability of the welfare state are often coupled with higher engineering education and sometimes even upper secondary education. Negative values, on the other hand, are often…

In vocational education students are to be prepared to participate in communities of practice. Hence they need technical skills as well as content knowledge e.g. science and mathematics. Research has shown that the instructional strategy of guided co-construction may lead to deeper understandings within a practice. The research questions in this…

The purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to examine the mediator effects of imagination between learning environment and academic performance, and (2) to compare differences between the environment--imagination--performance structural models of science and engineering majors. A survey was administered at eight universities across…

In Ireland, Technology Education's structure and organisation across the levels of education is not delivered or governed in a coherent manner. Technology Education in primary level education, for students between 5 and 12 years of age, does not explicitly exist as a separate subject. In primary level education, Social, Environmental and…

Technology-oriented company visits could potentially provide children with a stimulating "real-world" setting to develop more broad and positive images of and attitudes toward technology and technical professions. The present study was the first to explore whether children's images of and attitudes toward technology, technical…

This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study on the effectiveness of an innovative one-year pre-service Graduate Diploma of Teaching (secondary) for teachers of Technology. The timing of this study is significant. Over a decade of review and adjustment to the Technology curriculum, leading to the new learning area of Technology in the…

This article reports research into undergraduate design learning through an off-campus partnership. The Sorrell Foundation's Joinedupdesign for Academies programme involved partnerships between university design departments, "failing" 11-18 schools and professional designers, in the context of a funding commitment to rebuild/renew…