Quality and Characteristics of Recent Research in Technology Education

The focus of research in technology education has evolved throughout its history as the field changed from industrial arts to technology education (Spencer & Rogers, 2006). With the move to technology education, the field has begun to broaden its focus to better understand the teaching, learning, curriculum, and policy implications of preparing the next generation of technological thinkers. Although a complete "paradigm shift" may not have occurred completely within all technology-oriented programs (Sanders, 2001), the current emphasis on engineering within technology education indicates a need to examine and assess the status of technology education research over the past 10 years to identify strengths and areas that need to be addressed in order to guide the field into the future. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality and characteristics of the research that has been published within the field of technology education between 1997 and 2007. More specifically, this study was designed to determine the types of research conducted within the technology education field, including the research focus, methods, primary data sources, and data types. The following questions were explored to accomplish this purpose: (1) What types of research have been conducted in technology education over the past 10 years?; (2) What research methods have been most commonly used in technology education research over the past 10 years?; and (3) What types of people and data have been the focus of research in technology education over the past 10 years? A driving motivation for this study was to explore the extent to which technology education research conforms to Shavelson and Towne's (2002) "guiding principles" of scientific inquiry, and to gauge the alignment of technology education research with the current national trend toward a "gold standard" for educational research methods. Answers to these questions provide insight into the degree to which recent technology education research aligns with the "gold standard" for educational research. (Contains 6 tables.)