P John Williams

Cathy Buntting

Alister Jones

Twenty-five years ago there was increasing optimism in policy, curriculum and research about the contribution that technology education might make to increased technological literacy in schools and the wider population. That optimism continues, although the status of technology as a learning area remains fragile in many places. This edited book is offered as a platform from which to continue discussions about how technology education might progress into the future, and how the potential of technology education to be truly relevant and valued in school learning can be achieved. The book results from a collaboration between leading academics in the field, the wider group of authors having had input into each of the chapters. Through the development of a deep understanding of technology, based on a thoughtful philosophy, pathways are discussed to facilitate student learning opportunities in technology education. Consideration is given to the purpose(s) of technology education and how this plays out in curriculum, pedagogies, and assessment. Key dimensions, including design, critique, students’ cultural capital are also explored, as are the role and place of political persuasion, professional organisations, and research that connects with practice. The discussion in the book leads to a conclusion that technology education has both an ethical and moral responsibility to support imaginings that sustain people and communities in harmony and for the well being of the broader ecological and social environment.

The Future of Technology Education

Justin Dillon

Deborah Corrigan

Richard Gunstone

This volume considers the future of science learning - what is being learned and how it is being learned - in formal and informal contexts for science education. To do this, the book explores major contemporary shifts in the forms of science that could or should be learned in the next 20 years, what forms of learning of that science should occur, and how that learning happens, including from the perspective of learners. In particular, this volume addresses shifts in the forms of science that are researched and taught post-school – emerging sciences, new sciences that are new integrations, “futures science”, and increases in the complexity and multidisciplinarity of science, including a multidisciplinarity that embraces ways of knowing beyond science. A central aspect of this in terms of the future of learning science is the urgent need to engage students, including their non-cognitive, affective dimensions, both for an educated citizenry and for a productive response to the ubiquitous concerns about future demand for science-based professionals. Another central issue is the actual impact of ICT on science learning and teaching, including shifts in how students use mobile technology to learn science.

The Future in Learning Science: What’s in it for the Learner?

Angela Fitzgerald

In 2007, the Monash-Kings College London International Centre for the Study of Science and Mathematics Curriculum edited a book called The Re-emergence of Values in Science Education. This book reflects on how values have been considered since this original publication, particularly in terms of socio-cultural, economic and political factors that have impacted broadly on science, technology and society, and more specifically on informal and formal science curricula. Hence, the title of this book has been framed as Values in Science Education: The shifting sands. As in the first book, this collection focuses on values that are centrally associated with science and its teaching, and not the more general notion of values such as cooperation or teamwork that are also important values in current curricula. Such values have indeed become more of a focus in science education. This may be a response to the changing global context, where technological changes have been rapid and accelerating. In such complex and risky environments, it is our guiding principles that become the important mainstays of our decisions and practices. In terms of science education, what is becoming clearer is that traditional content and traditional science and scientific methods are not enough for science and hence science education to meet such challenges. While shifts in values in science education continue, tensions remain in curriculum development and implementation, as evidenced by the continued diversity of views about what and whose values matter most.

Cathy Buntting

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