Technology students’ views of intelligence and the implications for classroom practice

This paper explores the views of intelligence held by two groups of students studying for the degree of Bachelor of Technology Education (B.Tech.Ed) at a Scottish University. The course is specifically designed to educate students for a career as teachers of technical education in secondary schools. The research builds upon the work carried out by Carol Dweck on implicit theories. Dweck (Dweck and Legge, 1998) postulates that two views of intelligence are held which she labels entity and incremental. The entity view assumes that intelligence is stable and global. Incremental views on the other hand are based on the assumption that intelligence is malleable and can change over time and according to context. The theories that are held by individuals have important implications for teachers through determining the type of learning structures they create. Analysis of the two groups indicates some important differences between them. These are explored and the implications of the findings are discussed.