Technological Studies in K-12

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Technological Studies in K-12 (Print This)

Developing technological literacy will require early and regular contact with technology as a focus of study. Unfortunately, technology has not been the focus of study in K-12 in the United States.

Technology Education
Technology education is a relatively new academic subject with roots in the industrial arts movement that began in the early twentieth century. Only 14 states require some form of technology education, usually affiliated with career or technical preparation, for K-12 students. In 2000, the Massachusetts Board of Education added a combined engineering/technology component to its K-12 curriculum, becoming the first state to explicitly include engineering content. Elsewhere in the country, the availability of technological studies in grades K-12 varies widely, depending on the scchool district. A few schools offer stand-alone courses in all grade levels, but most school districts pay little or no attention to it. This is in stark contrast to the situation in other nations such as the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, where technology educatin courses are required in middle school or high school.

There are only about 40,000 technology education teachers in the United States, mostly at the middle school or high school level. By comparison, about 1.7 million teachers in U.S. K-12 schools (including all elementary school teachers and roughly 150,000 secondary science teachers) are responsible for teaching science. Survey data suggest that the shortage of technology education teachers is greater than the overall shortfall in the teacher workforce. In the United States, fewer than 80 programs grant degrees in technology education.

Technology Content in Teacher Education
Schools of education spend virtually no time developing technological literacy in those who will eventually stand in front of the classroom. The integration of technology content into other subject areas, such as science, mathematics, social studies, English, and art, could greatly boost technological literacy. Without teachers trained to carry out this integration, however, technology is likely to remain an afterthought in American education. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is attempting to address this problem by encouraging a dialogue between academic leaders in engineering and education. As a first step, IEEE convened a summit of engineering and education school deans in October 2001 to discuss ways to enhance teacher preparation.

Assessment
The paucity of technological studes in mainstream education in the United States is reflected on standardized tests in the traditional areas, such as reading, writing, and math. For example, the Third International Math and Science Study, an ambitious attempt to assess students' understanding of science and math concepts, included virtually no questions related to the understanding, application, or history of technology. Neither the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test that tracks changes in knowledge in a number of areas, nor the two major college entrance examinations, the SAT and ACT, tests student knowledge of technological concepts, history, or process.

Because school performance and opportunities for postsecondary education are based largely on these test scores, few administrators are interested in introducing a new subject that does not appear on the standardized tests into the curriculum. Unforutunately, questions about technology are not likely to be included on standardized tests until technology eduacation is either made a standard school subject or technology content is integrated into other subject areas.

The NAE has begun a study examining approaches for assessing technological literacy in students, teachers, and the public at large.