Technology Teacher Education, Best Practice

Introduction

Teacher education plays a pivotal role in preparing and sustaining teacher professional practice. The evolution of technology education as a distinct learning area is relatively recent in curriculum development when compared to, for example, mathematics or science education. This has resulted in disparate understandings about the nature of technology education within the teaching profession and wider educational community, particularly where there is an expectation that teachers foster vocational craft skills alongside students’ conceptual understandings. Even in countries where technology education has been established for several decades, there are still noticeable barriers to its enactment, including the way it is perceived to suit a particular audience, such as lower ability students.

Both types of teacher education are discussed in this chapter – initial teacher education (ITE) and in-service professional learning and development (PLD). ITE is a means to ensure that...