The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe how technology teachers foster a positive disposition towards Critical Thinking (CT) in their learners. One of the general aims listed in the South African National Curriculum Statement (NCS) specifically calls for the use of CT to enhance learners’ ability to identify and solve problems. In the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for technology, CT is required to successfully solve problems during the design process. The design process, which is central to technology, thus offers many opportunities to nurture CT should teachers be willing to exploit them. CT consists of two components, namely, CT skills and CT dispositions. CT skills refer to the cognitive abilities of a person, while CT dispositions are concerned with an individual’s internal motivation to think critically. A fair amount of research regarding CT focuses on CT skills. The limited research available on CT dispositions reports mostly on its definition, classification, and assessment. The paucity of literature on CT dispositions suggest that teachers cannot draw from existing literature to inform their practice regarding the ways in which one could foster a willingness to think critically. This study, therefore, aimed to improve our understanding of the strategies used by technology teachers to promote CT disposition. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Facione’s (2011) seven dispositions towards CT, and was augmented by a description of the design process in technology education. The premise for using this framework is based on the assumption that if an individual is positively disposed towards CT, they will be inclined to critically solve the problems encountered during the design process in technology. The design process further presents the opportunity to nurture CT dispositions. This study engaged in a qualitative research approach and a multiple case study design to investigate how technology teachers foster CT dispositions in their learners. To this end, 10 senior phase technology teachers were purposefully selected and interviewed. The interviews comprised open-ended questions about each disposition to gain an in-depth understanding of the strategies that teachers use in their classroom. Five of these teachers were then observed for one design-based lesson to explore how these strategies are actualised in the technology classroom. The analysis of the interview data indicated that the participants used a variety of strategies to foster all the CT dispositions. These strategies were also noted during the observations, with no new strategies being revealed. The strategies included the use of assessments, discussions, the classroom environment, examples, feedback, modelling, questioning and resources. It was found that the participants used four main strategies as initial actions that acted as a platform for, or led to the use of supporting strategies to foster all of the CT dispositions. Through this study, some strategies that were identified in the literature regarding the nurturing of CT, its skills and dispositions were confirmed. Other strategies were identified as relating to the principles for teaching CT dispositions, while two strategies were recognised that were not mentioned in the literature. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the effectiveness of these strategies, learners’ experience of the strategies, and that longer periods of observation be done to include the facilitation of the entire design process. The research on CT dispositions up until this point has not suggested or described explicit strategies to specifically foster the dispositional component of CT. The findings and conclusions of this study are also not considered as the final answer to this paucity of literature, it does, however, pose as a departure point for further investigation and development. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria 2020. / pt2021 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The South African Department of Basic Education (2011) has articulated the need for learners to think critically. The development of critical thinking skills has therefore been explicitly included in various education policies, such as the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12. Technology, a relatively new subject in South African schools, provides many opportunities to foster critical thinking skills through, for example, problem solving. Technology offers a wide spectrum of problems – ranging from well-structured to illstructured problems. Well-structured problems are constrained problems with convergent solutions and are the most commonly found problems in schools and universities, but ill-structured problems have multiple possible solutions and solutions paths, which often lead to uncertainty about, for example, the concepts, rules, and principles required to solve the problem. This is particularly true with regard to teaching technology, where there is the added complexity resultant from the designing of solutions (artefacts) to ill-structured problems. This calls for teachers with certain habits of mind, who will be able to nurture a positive disposition toward critical thinking in learners. Facione (2000) points out that engendering the desire to use critical thinking as a means of problem solving prepares the ground for teaching and learning critical thinking skills. Teachers, however, must be willing to use these opportunities to cultivate critical thinking skills in the classroom. While much research has been done on Critical Thinking skills, there is a paucity of literature about teachers’ disposition toward Critical Thinking. This study sought to investigate technology teachers’ disposition toward critical thinking with reference to their habits of mind. Profiling technology teachers’ disposition toward critical thinking can enhance our understanding of the extent to which they are positively or negatively disposed toward critical thinking (CT) in terms of their habits of mind. Such understanding can inform, inter alia, teacher training and curricula in order to reciprocally enhance critical thinking skills and the required habits of mind needed to teach technology The study used a survey design to investigate South African Technology teachers’ disposition toward CT. Grades 8, and 9 technology teachers were targeted; they were invited via an email to participate in the study in which standard ethical protocols were followed. A link in the email directed the participants to an online survey collecting data with 42 statements. Participants were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement on a six-point scale. The statements were derived from the seven habits of mind as identified by Facione. These are: Self-confidence, Inquisitiveness, Systematicity, Analyticity, Truth-seeking, Open-mindedness and Maturity of Judgment. Half of the statements were formulated to express a clearly favourable disposition toward CT, while the other half were framed to be clearly unfavourable. The frequency of responses in terms of each scale for each statement was counted in order to reveal trends regarding their habits of mind. The research findings reveal that this sample seems to be positively disposed toward CT. The habits of mind that recorded the highest scores were Self-confidence, Inquisitiveness, and Systematicity. The habits of mind that recorded the lowest scores were Open-mindedness and Maturity of Judgment. Females outperformed males in four of the seven habits of mind. Male and female participants scored an equal balance percentage toward Self-confidence and male participants outperformed females in Truth-seeking and Analyticity. Further research is needed to investigate how the disposition and practice of technology teachers encourage critical thinking skills in the classroom. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria 2019. / pt2021 / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

This qualitative study explores Saudi female teachers' experience of technology use in their practice and life. The aim is to present the voices of these female teachers living in the context of Saudi Arabia, and to document how personal characteristics, society and technology come to influence one another. The field work was done in Saudi Arabia, with female teachers from three public-sector primary schools. The data generation included individual, semi-structured interviews with four Saudi female teachers - one from each of two schools and two from the third school - and focus groups sessions with five to six teachers - one session in each of the three schools. The focus group methodology used Ketso, which is a collaborative mind-mapping tool developed at the University of Manchester. The interview and focus group sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed and then analysed using broad principles of thematic analysis. The data suggests that technology use affected the teachers' classroom practices, communication with others and their professional development. The teachers were active agents in this technology use, including taking responsibility for the technology use in their schools, and improvising solutions and ways of using available resources in their practice. This active role of the teachers seemed to contribute to localised use of technology, enabled the teachers to resist some of their social positions as females and teachers, and occasionally included a determination to create new positions for themselves. Overall, technology use appeared to enhance the Saudi female teachers' sense of agency, and crucially, seemed to enhance their awareness of their lived experience. The above insights might benefit Saudi educational policy makers, other Saudi teachers as a way of sharing experiences and practices, and researchers who are interested in studying the intersection between technology and society. In addition, the study exemplifies the novel use of the Ketso collaborative mind-mapping tool as a tool for qualitative research.

Skolforskning i allmänhet visar på att läraren är viktig, läraren är faktiskt en av de viktigaste faktorerna för elevernas framgång. Läraren är betydelsefull både när det gäller elevernas prestationer och deras attityder. Från tidigare attitydforskning vet vi att lärarens attityder har betydelse för undervisningen, men även för lärarens eget tankesätt. När det kommer till området teknikundervisning behöver lärarnas attityder undersökas och utforskas mer, vilket denna licentiatuppsats, bestående av två delstudier, bidrar till. Den övergripande forskningsfrågan är; Vad har svenska tekniklärare i grundskolan för attityder till teknikämnet och teknikundervisningen? Tekniklärarnas attityder har undersökts med både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder. Den första studien baseras på en enkätundersökning med 1153 tekniklärare i Sverige. Till att börja med identifierades fyra dimensioner av attityd i materialet; Teknikundervisning är viktigt, Förutsättningarna för teknikundervisning är goda, Kursplanen är i fokus för teknikundervisningen och Läraren har intresse, kunskap och självförtroende. Vidare så fanns tre kluster av lärare, Positiva, Negativa och Blandade, vilka baserades på lärarnas attityd till teknikämnet och teknikundervisning. Därefter testades olika variabler som prediktorer för klustertillhörighet, och att ha tekniklärarutbildning visade sig vara den mest betydelsefulla prediktorn. Licentiatuppsatsens andra studie är kvalitativ och bygger på intervjuer med 10 svenska tekniklärare. I den delstudien studeras en specifik del av attityder till teknikundervisning, nämligen lärarnas upplevda kontroll, som består av två komponenter; upplevd självförmåga (self-efficacy) och kontextberoende. Studien resulterade i tre underkategorier av upplevd självförmåga (self-efficacy). Dessa var Erfarenhet, utbildning och intresse, Ämneskunskap och Förberedelse. Vidare så utvecklades fyra underkategorier av kontextberoende; Stöd av kollegor, Kursplan, Resurser och Status. Lärare har olika attityder till olika delar av teknikundervisningen, men generellt sett så har lärare med tekniklärarutbildning fördelar vad gäller attityd. Vidare så pekar resultatet på att kontextuella faktorer både kan begränsa och utveckla teknikundervisningen. Att avsätta tid på olika sätt: genom tid för teknikundervisning, tid för tekniklärare att mötas och tid för utbildning av tekniklärare, visar sig vara möjliga vägar för att komma framåt och att förbättra tekniklärares attityder till teknikundervisning. / Teachers are important for students’ achievement and students’ attitudes in education in general; actually, the teacher is seen as one of the most important factors for student achievement. The teacher is important, for both the students’ achievements and mind-sets. Attitudes matters in teaching and education, which is known from previous attitude research. In technology education, teachers’ attitudes to technology education needs to be further investigated, and that is where this licentiate thesis, based on two studies, is contributing. The main research question was; What are Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes to the technology subject and to technology teaching? In this licentiate thesis, technology teachers’ attitudes were investigated by mixed methods, in two studies. The first study was based on quantitative research and an inquiry based on 1153 technology teachers in Sweden. The second study is qualitative and is based on ten interviews with Swedish technology teachers. In the first study four dimensions of attitude were found in the material; Technology education is important, Conditions are favourable for technology education, Curriculum is in focus in technology education and Confidence, interest and knowledge of the teacher is high. Further, three teacher clusters were identified, Positive, Negative and Mixed, based on teachers’ attitudes towards technology education. Predictors for cluster belonging were identified, and for a positive attitude, education in technology was identified to be the most influential predictor. In the second study, teachers’ perceived control, as a part of attitude, was studied in particular. Perceived control consist of two attitude components: self-efficacy and context dependency. Three sub-themes of self-efficacy were found; Experience, education and interest, Subject knowledge, and Preparation. Further, four sub-themes of context dependency were found; Collegial support, Syllabus, Resources and Status. Teachers in this study have different attitudes to different parts of technology education, but teachers educated in technology generally seem to have advantages, when it comes to attitudes. The results further tells that contextual factors both can limit and boost technology education. Time for teaching technology, time for technology teachers to meet and time for education of technology teachers, seems to be a key to how to find ways forward and how to improve teachers’ attitudes towards technology teaching.

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Under Skolinspektionens granskning från 2019 framkom det att en tredjedel av de besökta högstadieskolorna i undersökningen saknade delar av det centrala innehållet i sin teknikundervisning. Granskningen vittnade även om en upplevd otydlighet bland tekniklärare när de tolkade Skolverkets styrdokument.  Det här examensarbetet undersöker hur planeringar inom teknikämnet på högstadiet ser ut idag och vilken inverkan de har på teknikinnehållet i undervisningen. Denna studie undersöker även vad som framträder som viktigt teknikinnehåll och vad som anses högt värderat samt vad som osynliggörs och anses lågt värderat. Arbetet har för avsikt att besvara följande frågeställningar: Hur reella ämnesplaneringar ut för teknikundervisningen på några av Sveriges högstadieskolor 2022? samt Hur väl kopplade är några av Sveriges högstadieskolors reella ämnesplaneringar för teknikundervisning till det centrala innehållet i Skolverkets styrdokument? För att ta reda på svaret i dessa frågor kontaktades 18 stycken tekniklärare som delade med sig av sina planeringar för högstadiets tre år inom ämnet. Dessa planeringar sammanfattades och bearbetades genom en induktiv tematisk analys, tillsammans med tabeller, vilket utformade diskursen som sedan en resultatanalys utfördes på.  Resultatet av arbetet påvisar att det finns en relativt klar bild utifrån diskursen av vad som borde förekomma i teknikundervisningen och att majoriteten av diskursens planeringar är väl kopplade till det centrala innehållet i Skolverkets styrdokument. Flera områden framträder som viktigt teknikinnehåll och anses vara högt värderat och bland de områden som värderas högst finns: teknikhistoria, rit- och skissteknik, byggteknik, konstruktion, tekniska system, styr- och reglerteknik samt programmering. De områden som i större utsträckning osynliggörs och som värderas lågt utifrån diskursens resultat är: digitalisering, framtiden och AI (maskininlärning). / During the inspection of the Swedish Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) in 2019, it was demonstrated that a third of the visited schools from the investigation lacked parts from the central content in their technology education. The inspection also shed light on an experienced ambiguity amongst the technology teachers when they interpreted the governing documents from the School board of Sweden (Skolverket).  This thesis examines how planning within the technology subject at lower secondary schools looks like today and what impact it has on the technology content. It examines what appears to be classified as important technology content and considered highly valued. Additionally, it also examines what is missing and is considered lowly valued. The thesis’s intention and ambition is to answer the following questions: How does real subject plannings occur within technology education at some of Sweden’s secondary schools in 2022? and How well connected are some of Sweden’s secondary school’s subject plannings within technology education with the central content of the governing documents from the School board of Sweden? To answer these questions, 18 technology teachers were contacted and they shared their subject plannings for the three years of Swedish lower secondary school. These plannings were summarized and processed through an inductive thematic analysis, together with tables, which designed the discourse that the results analysis were based on. The result of the thesis shows that through the discourse there is a relatively clear view of what should take place in technology education and that the majority of the plannings from the discourse are well connected to the central content of the governing documents from the School board of Sweden (Skolverket). Many of the areas appear as important technology content and are considered to be highly valued, but the areas that are considered to be valued the highest are: technology history, draw- and sketch technique, building technique, construction, technical systems, control and regulation technology and programming. The areas which to a greater extent are missing and considered lowly valued based on the result of the discourse are: digitalisation, the future and AI (machine learning).

Professional development of teachers is a much-investigated area of research; however, teachers still complain that these endeavours do not cater for their specific needs. This problem arises from teachers‟ need to have more frequent professional development activities whereby it is possible to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding specific areas effectively. Multimedia, in other words the use of various media such as video, pictures, narration and animation, is a possible tool to address certain needs in professional development. Furthermore, the incorporation of multimedia into professional development by making use of a digital versatile disc allows for professional development to occur within a distance mode of delivery setting. This research was done to investigate and understand how Information Technology teachers experience the incorporation of multimedia into professional development by means of digital versatile disc. In order to accomplish this research endeavour, an investigation into the body of scholarly knowledge was executed focused on professional development of teachers, specifically with regard to needs expressed in previous studies. Furthermore, the body of scholarly knowledge regarding the implementation of multimedia as an enhancement to professional development was also investigated in order to synthesise how the researcher should go about implementing it. From the knowledge gained, the researcher developed the professional development digital versatile disc, specifically focused on the programming language Scratch. This programming language is an addition to the Information Technology syllabus and therefore teachers were assisted in their endeavour to acquire knowledge and skills regarding the implementation of such a new programming language. An empirical study was conducted, specifically focusing on the experience of three teachers to determine how they experience multimedia-based professional development. All three participants expressed that they enjoyed the use of multimedia in professional development and that a digital versatile disc of this type had a place in their professional development endeavours; however, a need for personal interaction with the facilitator as well as colleagues still exists. / Thesis (MEd (Computer Science Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Professional development of teachers is a much-investigated area of research; however, teachers still complain that these endeavours do not cater for their specific needs. This problem arises from teachers‟ need to have more frequent professional development activities whereby it is possible to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding specific areas effectively. Multimedia, in other words the use of various media such as video, pictures, narration and animation, is a possible tool to address certain needs in professional development. Furthermore, the incorporation of multimedia into professional development by making use of a digital versatile disc allows for professional development to occur within a distance mode of delivery setting. This research was done to investigate and understand how Information Technology teachers experience the incorporation of multimedia into professional development by means of digital versatile disc. In order to accomplish this research endeavour, an investigation into the body of scholarly knowledge was executed focused on professional development of teachers, specifically with regard to needs expressed in previous studies. Furthermore, the body of scholarly knowledge regarding the implementation of multimedia as an enhancement to professional development was also investigated in order to synthesise how the researcher should go about implementing it. From the knowledge gained, the researcher developed the professional development digital versatile disc, specifically focused on the programming language Scratch. This programming language is an addition to the Information Technology syllabus and therefore teachers were assisted in their endeavour to acquire knowledge and skills regarding the implementation of such a new programming language. An empirical study was conducted, specifically focusing on the experience of three teachers to determine how they experience multimedia-based professional development. All three participants expressed that they enjoyed the use of multimedia in professional development and that a digital versatile disc of this type had a place in their professional development endeavours; however, a need for personal interaction with the facilitator as well as colleagues still exists. / Thesis (MEd (Computer Science Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

En gymnasielärare i teknik i den svenska skolan påverkar och påverkas av samhället utanför skolans väggar. Samhällets digitalisering kan påverka tekniklärarens relativt stora möjligheter att välja det tekniska innehållet i kurserna, i olika grad. För att vara konkurrenskraftig i samhället behöver framtida tekniker ha goda kunskaper om de just för stunden aktuella teknikområdena och tidigare studier har visat att skolans resultat i hög grad beror av vilka kunskaper läraren har. I den här studien undersöktes tre tekniklärare på olika gymnasieskolor i Sverige, med avseende på synen på deras kunskaper i att undervisa om artificiell intelligens (AI), sakernas internet (Internet of Things - IoT) och robotteknik. Vidare studerades vilka undervisningsmetoder de avsåg att använda, samt vilka begränsande ramar de kunde se i detta uppdrag. Via enkät och intervjuer samlades data om frågeställningarna in. Rådata transkriberades och analyserades med utgångspunkt i Shulmans teori om Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK – ibland kallat ämnesdidaktisk kunskap på svenska) och även med stöd av ramfaktorteori och läroplansteori. Resultatet visar att de deltagande lärarna har behov av kompetenshöjning inom dessa tre teknikområden, samt att valet av undervisningsmetoder är beroende av de ramar som bland annat i form av tid och ekonomi påverkar undervisningen. Resultatet skiljer sig inte från liknande tidigare studier genomförda på lärare i grundskolan. / A technology teacher in the Swedish upper secondary school acts and is influenced by society outside the school walls. The digitalisation of society more or less influences how the technology teacher will choose the ways of implementing the curriculum, with respect to the technicalcontent of the courses. To be competitive in society, future technicians must have goodknowledge of the current technical areas, and previous studies have shown that the school's results largely depend on what knowledge the teacher has. In this study, three technology teachers at various upper secondary schools in Sweden were examined, regarding their view of their knowledge in teaching about artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. The study also investigated their intended teaching methods and the framing factors they perceived when trying to perform this task. Through a survey and interviews, data on the issues were collected. Raw data were transcribed and analysed based on the theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), by Shulman and with the support of frame factor theory and curriculum theory. The results show that the participating teachers need more competence in these three technology areas, and that the choice of teaching methods depends on the resources provided, for instance in the form of time and finances. The results do not differ from similar previous studies conducted on primary school teachers.