Reporting on the Status of Technology Education in the U.S.

Summary:
This article is a survey done by the International Technology Education Association’s Technology for All Americans Project. They did this survey to determine the current state of technology education in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Five questions were asked:

1.Is technology education in your state framework?
2.Is technology education required in your state? If so, at what grade levels?
3.How many technology education teachers are in your state?
4.Is Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology used in your state? If so, how?
5.Is Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards used in your state? If so, how?

In conclusion, the survey reported that there has been an increase in the number of states that include technology education in the state framework. Thus, as a whole, our nation is placing more importance on technology education as a part of the overall learning experience. Unfortunately three-quarters of the states have technology education as a separate subject as an elective. Other states provide technology education as part of a career and technical context. Furthermore, the NCLB does not define technology education as a subject area. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education is still struggling to reach agreement on what technological literacy means.

My Thoughts:
The lack of standards enforced by the NCLB and U.S Department of Education limits what states can spend their money on. Unfortunately, technology is not at the top of the list. Even though the study shows an increase in technology education, it is still lacking funding and enforcement by the higher-ups. If American wants to stay in the running for technologically advanced/educated countries, we need to clearly define standards for technology education and make it a required subject to learn.

Reference:
Meade, S., & Dugger, J. (2004, October). REPORTING ON THE STATUS OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN THE U.S. Technology Teacher, 64(2), 29-35. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.