Thesis (MEd) -- Stellenbosch University, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The new Technology curriculum was included in the National Curriculum Statement (Department of Education, 2005) as part of the broader intention of serving as the vehicle for reconstructing our society and our orientation towards education for the 21st century. In this narrative I will start by exploring the congruence between the technology curriculum, globalisation and the knowledge economy, the related discourses and the expectations these create for technology education in the Further Education and Training and General Education and Training bands in secondary education in South African schools. I will continue by critically engaging with the discourses and school-based patterns of engagement that shape the technology curriculum as well as teaching and learning practices in a secondary school. By locating my arguments within Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of habitus, field and strategies, as elaborated on by Lingard and Christie (2003), as well as Foucault’s theory of power, this narrative will engage with the perceived gap in the policy implementation process. This gap consists of a myriad of contextually interrelated factors that interact with the achievement of the prescribed outcomes and ultimately the intention of shaping learners for meaningful participation in the knowledge economy.