Changing Competencies, Changing Attitudes? How Teachers Become Technology Teachers.

• There are not sufficiently many trained technology teachers in compulsory schools in Sweden. One way to meet the need is to train teachers that teach other subjects in technology. Professional development courses are offered within a national programme, called Lärarlyftet (‘Boost for teachers’). The aim is to give the participants sufficient content knowledge and subject-specific pedagogical knowledge to enable them to teach technology according to the current syllabus.  In this study, 14 lower secondary school teachers participating in a professional development course in technology in Lärarlyftet are followed. The course consists of three semesters of part time studies, corresponding to 30 weeks of full time studies (45 ECTS credits). The participants, with different disciplinary backgrounds want to broaden their competences in technology. The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers’ perception of the technology subject and their own knowledge of it. The study is longitudinal, with interviews at the onset of the course, in the middle, and near the end. During the course, the respondents experience increased self-confidence concerning teaching technology. They are also more competent in describing their own strengths and shortcomings. Their main worries at the end concern insufficient knowledge about planning and assessment, and also the lack of certain technical skills and shallow knowledge concerning engineering science-based content such as electronics and automatic control. They also express that their own view of the technology subject has been positively enhanced and that it has a legitimate place as an independent subject in the curriculum.

Nyckelord

technology teachers

teacher training

teacher competence

professional development

Technology and Learning

Teknik och lärande

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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