The aim of the research is to investigate comprehension-knowledge of teenagers and the youth in engineering as an assessment construct, to define educational and psychosocial factors influencing its expression. The aim of the research has been achieved by solving research tasks: • defining comprehension-knowledge in engineering as an assessment construct; • preparing assessment instruments for measuring comprehension-knowledge in engineering; • selecting and testing assessment instruments for measuring the expression of educational and psychosocial factors related to comprehension-knowledge in engineering; • defining the relationship of comprehension-knowledge in engineering with cognitive and non-cognitive factors, processing the data statistically by using modern methods of multidimensional statistics; • defining statistical types of teenagers and the youth in the aspect of the expression of comprehension-knowledge in engineering by using multidimensional methods; • discussing feasibility of improving technical education in this country in the context of data obtained from this research.

The aim of the research is to investigate comprehension-knowledge of teenagers and the youth in engineering as an assessment construct, to define educational and psychosocial factors influencing its expression. The aim of the research has been achieved by solving research tasks: • defining comprehension-knowledge in engineering as an assessment construct; • preparing assessment instruments for measuring comprehension-knowledge in engineering; • selecting and testing assessment instruments for measuring the expression of educational and psychosocial factors related to comprehension-knowledge in engineering; • defining the relationship of comprehension-knowledge in engineering with cognitive and non-cognitive factors, processing the data statistically by using modern methods of multidimensional statistics; • defining statistical types of teenagers and the youth in the aspect of the expression of comprehension-knowledge in engineering by using multidimensional methods; • discussing feasibility of improving technical education in this country in the context of data obtained from this research.

Based on our previous experiences of working in preschools, a lack of technical teaching has been made visible. Technology is everywhere in human everyday life and society in general and should therefore play a greater role in children´s pre-school education from an early age. The purpose of this study was to contribute knowledge about five-year-old preschool children's understanding of the map as a technical aid. This was investigated through qualitative interviews where the children in small groups got to discuss different types of maps, their structure and purpose, and the children got to share previous experiences in the use of maps. Activities were also carried out where the children were allowed to use a map that was either in paper or digital form where they were instructed to navigate to a predetermined goal. The results showed several qualitatively different ways in how the children had experienced the map before, how they interpret and understand the map's structure and purpose and in their discoveries about the map in relation to the outside world. The conclusion was that through our engaging and supportive approach, the children expressed their interpretations and their understanding of the different maps and participated in the study in an active and exploratory way. Through our starting point in the theory of variation, the children were able to distinguish similarities and differences in the exploration of the maps, and thereby create an understanding of the map as a technical aid. This study wishes to contribute to active people receiving an encouragement in daring to explore the technology didactic in everyday life and that this can be done with simple means to create a joyful learning. / Utifrån egna erfarenheter av att arbeta inom förskolans verksamhet har det synliggjorts en bristande teknikundervisning. Teknik finns överallt i människans vardag och samhället i stort och bör därför ha en större roll i barnens utbildning i förskolan redan från tidig ålder. Syftet med denna studie var att bidra med kunskap om femåriga förskolebarns förståelse kring kartan som tekniskt hjälpmedel. Detta undersöktes genom kvalitativa intervjuer där barnen i små grupper fick diskutera olika typer av kartor, dess uppbyggnad och syfte, samt att barnen fick dela med sig av tidigare erfarenheter i användandet av kartan. Vi genomförde även aktiviteter där barnen fick använda en karta som antingen var i pappers- eller digitalform där de fick i uppdrag att navigera sig till ett förutbestämt mål. Resultatet visade flera kvalitativt skilda sätt i hur barnen erfarit kartan tidigare, hur de tolkar och förstår kartans uppbyggnad och syfte samt i deras upptäckter kring kartan i relation till omvärlden. Slutsatsen blev att genom vårt engagerande och stöttande förhållningssätt uttryckte barnen sina tolkningar och sin förståelse kring de olika kartorna samt deltog i studien på ett aktivt och utforskande sätt. Genom vår utgångspunkt i variationsteorin kunde barnen, i utforskandet av kartorna, genom kontrastering urskilja likheter och skillnader och därmed skapa en förståelse kring kartan som tekniskt hjälpmedel. Vi önskar med denna studie bidra till att verksamma får en uppmuntran i att våga utforska det teknikdidaktiska i vardagen och att detta kan genomföras med enkla medel för att skapa ett lustfylld lärande.