The Impact of In-Service Technology Training Programmes on Technology Teachers

The aim of this paper is to assess the impact the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) in-service technology training program has on technology teachers’ knowledge and understanding of technology. The training of technology teachers is an initiative toward teachers’ professional development within the mathematics, science, and technology sphere of education (MSTE). ACE is a two-year training program that technology teachers in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga Provinces (South Africa) attended during 2008 through 2009. The program attendees were senior phase teachers, of whom a few taught in the Further Education and Training band of education (certain high schools begin with grade 8). The research problem that the study addressed is stated in terms of the following hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-knowledge and understanding survey scores for teachers attending the ACE professional development program in technology education. A survey questionnaire to collect biographical and technological input was administered to teachers who attended on the days the questionnaire was administered. The same questionnaire was administered at the beginning of training in 2008 and at completion of the program in 2009. The aim of the quantitative study was to evaluate whether the ACE-Technology training had a statistically significant impact on technology teachers’ knowledge and understanding of technology. In total, 304 completed questionnaire responses were included in the study. The results indicated that there were improvements in the teachers’ technological knowledge and understanding. This indicates that teachers benefited positively from the ACE-Technology training.