ERIC Number: EJ1139477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1045-1064
EISSN: N/A
Changes in Attitudes toward Craft and Technology during the Last 20 Years
Autio, Ossi
Journal of Technology Education, v28 n1 p53-70 Fall 2016
There has been technology as long as there have been human beings. We can suppose that technology was as indispensable in the past as it is now. However, nowadays, the great speed at which technological changes come and new techniques are introduced is even more evident. Technology is affecting our lives more and more. It has consequences to every human being, and we find ourselves faced with both positive and negative aspects of technology. Certainly, this has an effect on our attitudes towards technology. In this study, we tried to find out if there have been any changes in attitudes towards technology among Finnish school children during the last 20 years. The attitudes measured in 1993 were compared with the results from 2012. The number of test participants was 267 in the first measurement and 317 in the second. The age of the student respondents was 11-13 years. The measurements were done with exactly the same Likert scale attitude questionnaire in both years. Mostly positive changes were found in attitudes towards technology in girls. Unfortunately, the development was not as positive among boys. The development in attitudes can be explained by the changes in technology education curriculum. From a broader point of view, the development in attitudes can be due to the changes in society as a whole.
Descriptors: Handicrafts, Technology, Attitude Change, Student Attitudes, Educational Trends, Trend Analysis, Technological Literacy, Foreign Countries, Preadolescents, Early Adolescents, Attitude Measures, Likert Scales, Gender Differences, Educational Change, Technology Education, Social Change, Questionnaires
Journal of Technology Education. Web site: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A