A Case for the Nationwide Inclusion of Engineering in the K-12 Curriculum via Technology Education

This paper resulted from discussions between a technology teacher educator and a colleague who has served in various education outreach roles with NASA. The basis of the paper was developed by the NASA director and two engineers, one serving with NASA and the other with the National Institute of Aerospace. That colleague is also a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at a major research university. The technology teacher educator read the original paper as published in the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp (as document 20080018711) and realized that, though it addressed an audience of engineers, its implications for technology educators were obvious. As evident in the paper, the engineering community seeks a means to reach into the K-12 curriculum at the same time that leaders in technology education are promoting design and engineering in our curricula nationwide (Daugherty, 2005; Kelley and Kellam, 2009; Wicklein, 2006). Since we are both on the same page, it is important to cross-communicate—this revised version of the engineering paper with added implications for technology education provides support for current trends in our profession and shows how the linkages can best be implemented.