Abstract:
The introduction of technology education in the primary school sector can be a topical one as teachers and school systems wrestle with understanding its practical and theoretical implications for learning and teaching. This presentation will explore the emerging issues and concerns identified by a small group of Queensland teachers implementing technology ideas using the national document, A Statement on Technology for Australian Schools (Curriculum Corporation, 1994) and posing their own questions as a result of their existing ideas and practices. From their experiences, these teachers have noticed that they need to spend much time in thinking about underlying philosophical issues concerning technology education, how technology education can fit in with their philosophies of teaching and learning and other subjects they have to teach and into their existing school context. A key discussion point for these teachers is the value of the introduction of a new key learning area into the primary curriculum, a learning area that seems a lot like other learning areas, but is somehow different. By reviewing the teachers' own questions about technology implementation, it is becoming clear that what may be important for professional development in technology education is related to questions the teachers themselves are asking about their own beliefs and practices.