Technology and science education

Abstract

The incorporation of technology into the school curriculum is part of a worldwide trend in education. The way in which technology is incorporated depends on which country the reform is initiated in. The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 1993a) includes science and technology as distinct learning areas. This chapter considers the view of technology expressed in both science in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1993b) and in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1995). The chapter is divided into four sections. Firstly, the concept of technology in the science curriculum is identified and discussed; secondly, the use of some types of technological application to enhance the learning of science outcomes is considered; thirdly, the technology curriculum itself is discussed in order to highlight the concept of technology underpinning this statement so that comparisons can be made with the concept employed in the science curriculum, and finally the introduction of technology outcomes by science teachers in a science environment is explored.