Jonas Hallström

Technical knowledge in a technical society: elementary school technology education in Sweden, 1919–1928

The aim of this article is to identify a technical domain of knowledge in the curriculum of the Swedish elementary school and views on elementary school technology of two interest groups – school teachers and engineers. Gradually during the early to mid‐1920s there was increased technical content in the Swedish elementary school, if we look at the new curriculum, in‐service education and stakeholders’ views. The main reasons for this were, first of all, that the first decades of the twentieth century witnessed industrial growth with accompanying technification of large parts of society including the school. Second, the curriculum of 1919 had a broader technical content than earlier curricula, and thus mirrored the societal changes. Third, vocational secondary schools led to new requirements in respect of elementary technology education. Representatives of the Government were prime movers in enhancing the significance of technology in school together with teachers, while engineers generally showed little interest.

Technology, social space and environmental justice in Swedish cities : Water distribution to suburban Norrköping and Linköping, 1860-90

The aim of this article is to study how the Swedish cities Linkoping and Norrkoping treated new working-class suburbs during the period from 1860 to 1890, by looking at the extension of piped water ...

Looking Back in Order to Move Forward

Being a fairly young school subject, technology education has yet to attain a firm position in the curriculum. Therefore, there is a need for a retrospective look at earlier developments in order to understand why and how the current position was achieved (cf. Karlsson, 2004). David Layton suggests that the subject of technology in the school has developed by balancing “a range of competing influences”, and that a number of “stakeholders” have been and still are important for its evolution (Layton, 1994, p. 13).

‘To hold the subject’s territory’: the Swedish Association of Biology Teachers and two curricular reforms, 1960–1965

The aim of this article is to investigate and analyse the cultural boundaries of school biology, and to a certain extent the natural science subjects in general, in two Swedish curriculum reforms, from the viewpoint of the Swedish Association of Biology Teachers (ABT). Thomas Gieryn’s concept of boundary‐work is thus used in analysing how the ABT acted to ‘hold the subject’s territory’. The ABT had substantial influence on the content of the new biology curricula, although this was sometimes achieved after internal conflict and required support from other actors, especially university biologists. Upper secondary biology had the highest status and was seen as a science, related to modern biological research and curriculum development, particularly in the USA. Despite the efforts of the ABT boundary‐work was unsuccessful in respect of the timetable; the natural science subjects were reduced both at the lower and upper secondary level, in contrast to what happened in many other Western countries.

Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes to their subject and its teaching

Abstract Background: From previous research among science teachers it is known that teachers’ attitudes to their subjects affect important aspects of their teaching, including their confidence and the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. In contrast, less is known about technology teachers’ attitudes. Purpose: Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes toward their subject, and how these attitudes may be related to background variables. Sample: Technology teachers in Swedish compulsory schools (n = 1153) responded to a questionnaire about teachers’ attitudes, experiences, and background. Methods: Exploratory factor analysis was used to inwvestigate attitude dimensions of the questionnaire. Groupings of teachers based on attitudes were identified through cluster analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the role of teachers’ background variables as predictors for cluster belonging. Results: Four attitudinal dimensions were identified in the questionnaire, corresponding to distinct components of attitudes. Three teacher clusters were identified among the respondents characterized by positive, negative, and mixed attitudes toward the subject of technology and its teaching, respectively. The most influential predictors of cluster membership were to be qualified for teaching technology, having participated in in-service-training, teaching at a school with a proper overall teaching plan for the subject of technology and teaching at a school with a defined number of teaching hours for the subject. Conclusions: The results suggest that efforts to increase technology teachers’ qualifications and establishing a fixed number of teaching hours and an overall teaching plan for the subject of technology may yield more positive attitudes among teachers toward technology teaching. In turn, this could improve the status of the subject as well as students’ learning.

Drawing the Boundary Lines of Science Education : Subject Associations and Swedish Pre-Service Biology Teacher Education 1960-1990

PurposeThe aim of this article is to describe and analyse how the Swedish Association of Biology Teachers (ABT) and some other subject associations helped form pre-service biology teacher education ...

Vad är teknik? Pedagogers uppfattningar om och erfarenheter av teknik och teknikundervisning i förskolan

In recent years technology has become increasingly emphasized as educational content in the Swedish preschool, not the least with the introduction of the latest curriculum in 2010. Since preschool teachers have not had any formal technology education until just recently, it is of importance to investigate how they handle technology in the daily activities of the preschool. The purpose of this study is therefore to describe and analyze Swedish preschool teachers’ views and experiences of working with technology in the preschool, focusing on what opportunities and obstacles that they see. The data consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with sixteen teachers in two Swedish preschools, and the data was analyzed with open coding in a Grounded Theory tradition. The results show that when it comes to opportunities, the teachers consider technology to permeate all preschool activities, and the challenge here is rather to make technology visible. In terms of obstacles, the teachers are uncertain about what technology is and want to have more knowledge of technology themselves, for example, relevant concepts for various technologies or activities. They also need to know more about technology education in order to be able to educationally convey knowledge of technology to the children and to make the children conscious of the technology that surrounds them.

Preschool teachers’ views and experiences of working with technology in preschool

In recent years technology has become increasingly emphasized as educational content in the Swedish preschool, not the least with the introduction of the latest curriculum in 2010. Since preschool teachers have not had any formal technology education until just recently, it is of importance to investigate how they handle technology in the daily activities of the preschool. The purpose of this study is therefore to describe and analyze Swedish preschool teachers’ views and experiences of working with technology in the preschool, focusing on what opportunities and obstacles that they see. The data consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with sixteen teachers in two Swedish preschools, and the data was analyzed with open coding in a Grounded Theory tradition. The results show that when it comes to opportunities, the teachers consider technology to permeate all preschool activities, and the challenge here is rather to make technology visible. In terms of obstacles, the teachers are uncertain about what technology is and want to have more knowledge of technology themselves, for example, relevant concepts for various technologies or activities. They also need to know more about technology education in order to be able to educationally convey knowledge of technology to the children and to make the children conscious of the technology that surrounds them.

Vad är teknik? Pedagogers uppfattningar om och erfarenheter av teknik och teknikundervisning i förskolan : [What is technology? Preschool teachers' conceptions and experiences of technology and technology education in the preschool]

In recent years technology has become increasingly emphasized as educational content in the Swedish preschool, not the least with the introduction of the latest curriculum in 2010. Since preschool teachers have not had any formal technology education until just recently, it is of importance to investigate how they handle technology in the daily activities of the preschool. The purpose of this study is therefore to describe and analyze Swedish preschool teachers’ views and experiences of working with technology in the preschool, focusing on what opportunities and obstacles that they see. The data consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with sixteen teachers in two Swedish preschools, and the data was analyzed with open coding in a Grounded Theory tradition. The results show that when it comes to opportunities, the teachers consider technology to permeate all preschool activities, and the challenge here is rather to make technology visible. In terms of obstacles, the teachers are uncertain about what technology is and want to have more knowledge of technology themselves, for example, relevant concepts for various technologies or activities. They also need to know more about technology education in order to be able to educationally convey knowledge of technology to the children and to make the children conscious of the technology that surrounds them.

Exploring the Relationship Between Technology Education and Educational Sloyd

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the relationship between technology education and educational sloyd (slojd) in Sweden from the early 1960s until today. It is concluded that the technology ...