The relationship between technology and science: Some historical and philosophical reflections. Part I

This essay offers a detailed review of the literature on the relationship between technology and science. It is in two parts. Part I begins by describing science and technology, and the differences between them. It then discusses the commonly-held technology-as-applied-science (TAS) view; the origins of this view, the support for it, and the strong historical and philosophical challenges to it, beginning more than half a century ago, are explored. The development of the steam engine is then offered as a brief case study to illustrate that science-technology relations are more complex than implied by the TAS view. Part I concludes with a consideration of ontological arguments supporting the reverse view, namely that technology is often a necessary precursor to science.Part II, to be published in a following issue, explores some of the consequences of the TAS view. One consequence is that it has generated a story-line in which scientific ideas are emphasised and other factors necessary for technological innovation have been down-played. Another consequence is that, even in cases where technology does apply scientific knowledge, the process of application is often considered obvious; the difficulties of translating ideas into artefacts may not be appreciated. The essay argues for the telling of a more complex story of science-technology relations, one which recognises their historical independence in the past, and their mutual, two-way interaction in many modern fields of endeavour. It concludes with a consideration of some economic and educational implications.     

Problem-solving in teaching/learning packages for Technology

In the project Technology in Secondary Education: Problem-solving in Teaching/learning Packages, two experiments regarding a construction problem and an explanation problem were conducted, in which two variants of a teching/learning package (strongly structuredvs. weakly structured) were compared. Only with the strongly structured instructional variant of the package for the explanation problem did the pupils come to a quick solution of the problem. In both experiments, the factors that influenced the problem-solving processes of the pupils were investigated. The results are of importance for curriculum developers and the authors of teaching/learning packages for Technology but further research into the factors influencing the problem solving process of pupils is necessary.     

Issues in decentralizing the provision of education

This paper analyzes some of the problems that arise in decentralizing education to the private sector. We concentrate on the difficulties that result from the heterogeneity of students and competition among schools in a location setting. We analyze two main issues, the resources expended by schools and the mix of students in schools, and report on results for two others, the location of schools and their number. For each of these, we investigate the extent to which decentralizing the provision of schooling results in an efficient allocation of resources, and consider the use of vouchers to improve the situation. Our analysis draws on elements of three distinct methodologies: the theory of clubs, location theory, and the theory of monopolistic competition. We find that private schooling will typically be inefficient, but that inefficiency may sometimes be corrected by appropriately designed vouchers.We would like to thank Olivier Debande, Jean-François Wen, two anonymous referees, and seminar participants at the 1st meeting of the Canadian Public Economics Study Group and the 51 st congress of the International Institute of Public Finance for helpful comments. Stefan Buergi and Luc Savard provided useful research assistance. We are also grateful to the SSHRCC and the FCAR for financial support.     

Transferring and Transforming Technology Education: A Study of Norwegian Teachers’ Perceptions of Ideas from Design & Technology

What happens when educational ideas cross national and cultural borders? How do teachers respond to ideas originating in a different school system and a different national culture? This article reports on an empirical study investigating the transfer of ideas from Design &; Technology as a subject in England and Wales into Norwegian schools. A sample of teachers participating in a specific project on technology teaching inspired by this subject has been studied by means of interviews and classroom observation. Results of the study show that while some elements of Design &; Technology are adopted by the teachers, essential ideas of the subject are significantly transformed. Drawing on Barnes, (1992, Teachers and Teaching: From Classrooms to Reflection (pp. 9–32), The Falmer press, London) concept of teachers' professional frames for teaching, it is shown how specific aspects of the national and educational culture have had a considerable effect on?the teachers' interpretation of the nature of technology as a subject of teaching and its place in the curriculum. The study illustrates the importance of the cultural context in how educational ideas are interpreted, reshaped and realized in schools.     

高校教材建设的"两难"问题及其解决对策

教材建设是高校教学基础性建设的内容之一,日益被国家和高校所重视。在教材的选用上,以国家统编教材为主和以高校自编教材为主的理由和趋势都比较明显。根据不同的办学类型实施各自的教材管理和发展战略,是解决选用教材时应以谁为主的关键所在。     

试论农民教育消费力——以高等教育消费力为例

我国农民教育消费力低下对农民的生产、生活造成很大负面影响,应采取多种措施提高农民教育消费力,这对维护社会公平、构建社会主义和谐社会具有重要意义.     

基于扩招下的创业教育模式及有效路径

分析了当前我国大学生创业教育的现状及其主要问题,如创业模式单一,创业教育课程体系不完整等等。提出了我国开展大学生创业教育的模式及有效路径,即提升创业教育的师资水平,正确的引导、合理的设计教师的绩效体系,完善大学生创业教育的课程体系,建立健全大学生创业教育的投资机制等,以期为扩招下大学生创业教育的开展提供有益的思考。     

基于胜任力模型的汽车营销课程体系探讨

在对高等职业院校汽车营销专业的课程体系调研的基础上,得出汽车营销人员胜任力构成因素。以汽车营销岗位职业能力为核心,以行业（企业）岗位（群）工作职责所需的知识、技能为准则构建汽车营销专业课程体系。该课程体系使用任务驱动、项目导向的教学方式。     

高职院校教师专业发展的研究现状与展望

高职院校教师专业发展是高职师资队伍建设的必由之路。目前,关于高职院校教师专业发展的研究深度和广度都需要进一步加强。该文从高职院校教师专业发展的理论基础、出现的问题和对策以及国外高职院校教师专业发展的有益经验几个方面,来分析高职院校教师专业发展研究的现状,并提出了进一步加强高职院校教师专业发展的研究需要关注的问题。     

Contemporary University Strategising: The Financial Imperative

This paper examines the financially focused strategies now evident amongst institutions competing for space in the global higher education system. In their search for increasing financial self‐sufficiency, universities and other higher education providers are examined for their primary competitive strategies. The study provides comprehensive evidence of their cost and operating efficiency strategies, facilitated by increasingly pervasive financial performance accountability systems. The primary operational strategies of teaching and research are found to have been transmogrified into strategies of customised education and research that is primarily focused upon and measured in terms of its funds generation. These trends contribute to complex performance management and accountability challenges as universities’ senior managers balance their internal financial ambitions with the expectations of external stakeholders, while simultaneously projecting sanitised imagery through corporate public relations strategies.