Teaching in middle school Technology Education: a review of recent practices

We review articles published between 1995 and 2008 in four journals that are the primary scholarly resources for Technology Education middle school teaching. This descriptive study identified four main issues that scholars addressed: what should be taught in middle school, the structure and content of curriculum transformation, integrating Technology Education with other disciplines, and the impacts of Technology Education transformation programs on classroom practice. We conclude that, while there has been considerable effort to move the field from a “craft/industry/skill” approach to focus more on teaching processes and technological content, the transformation is not complete. In addition, it appears that both practitioners and theorists will need to focus efforts to investigate more completely the variables that can influence teachers to conceptualize and implement new curricular ideas.