An Analysis of the Technology Education Curriculum of Six Countries

The government of Finland has begun planning a new national curriculum framework for the comprehensive and upper secondary schools. The aim of this study was to find information that could be used in establishing a theoretical basis for planning the technology education curriculum. In order to define the scope and focus of each curriculum element (e.g., rationale, theory, objectives, methods, content, and means of evaluation), the technology education curricula of six different countries were studied: Australia, England, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. The rationale for choosing these six countries was that their technology education programs have developed rapidly over the past ten years and profound research, experimental programs, and the development of learning materials have been undertaken, especially in Australia, England, The Netherlands, and the United States. The aim was not to conduct a comparative study of the curricula of other countries. Rather, it was to synthesize theory and practice. A secondary aim was to search for more detailed and concrete curriculum materials for provincial, district, municipal, and school purposes. Although this research was conducted to support Finnish curriculum development, the results may be pertinent to other countries as well.