Capturing and comparing students' conceptions of technology: a study of students in two schools

This inquiry explores the premise that the conceptions of technology which students hold are influenced by the corporate vision of technology which is offered to them by their school. A review of the conceptions of technology evident in education and other fields is undertaken to develop a theoretic framework. The framework contains six areas of interest which support the process of focusing from general to specific conceptions of technology. The method of data gathering which is reported allows the conceptions held by a number of individuals to be captured and recorded in a common format such that their conceptions can: be articulated as written statements; plotted to provide a graphical comparison between individuals or groups; or coded to allow comparisons to be made between individuals and groups, using a computer data base. The study reports the development and piloting of an instrument based research methodology and the subsequent case study investigation of the conceptions of technology held by students in two schools: a Rural Comprehensive School and a City Technology College. Comparisons are explored in each institution between the conceptions of students and the corporate vision of technology in their school. A comparison is also undertaken of the conceptions of technology which were held by each student population.