The Effectiveness of Project Lead the Way Curricula in Developing Pre-engineering Competencies as Perceived by Indiana Teachers

High school teachers from across the nation are realizing that their schools could provide pre-engineering programs that allow students to explore their strengths and interests in engineering and engineering technology (Thilmany, 2003). According to Dearing and Daugherty (2004), leaders from both secondary technology education and college-level engineering have called for changes in the high school curriculum to address the need to adequately prepare high school graduates related to engineering and technology. To address this need, school districts across the nation are implementing pre-engineering courses into their curriculum. As schools infuse these pre-engineering programs, leaders and teachers in technology education are debating the merits of pre- engineering education (Lewis, 2004).