Tekniska system i grundskolan – kritiska aspekter som didaktisk möjlighet. "Technological systems in school – on critical aspects as didactic possibilities"

Abstract

Research related to the school subject technology shows that teaching about technological system is limited and that there is an uncertainty among teachers about what the learning of technological systems implies. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the development of teachers’ professional object of knowledge about technological systems. In the curriculum of the subject technology in several countries, including Sweden, knowledge about technological systems such as information, energy and communication systems are included. In this article a synthesized analysis of two phenomenographic studies of young people’s experience of technological systems is presented. The result of the analysis is young people’s experience of technological systems described in terms of three dimensions of variation: resource, intent and structure. Critical aspects in those dimensions are also identified. Looking at the dimensions and aspects from an educational perspective, they offer a possible starting point for teachers when they plan instruction on technological systems. If teachers address their own and young people’s awareness on dimensions of variation, it will enable more powerful ways of learning about technological systems.