Towards a new technological literacy: curriculum development with a difference

This article provides a brief review of the entry of technology education into New Zealand schools. It outlines the nature of technological literacy underpinning the 1995 technology curriculum and indicates how this has manifested itself in student achievement after 10 years of implementation. The article then discusses how the technology curriculum revision process sought to respond to early implementation findings, and in particular the key role of leading New Zealand technologists in this process. It explains the role of the researchers in mediating between this community, the philosophy of technology literature, and the technology education sector. We argue that the development process has resulted in both a more robust curriculum framework for technology and a greater depth of understanding within the wider technology community of the nature and importance of technology education.