Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School
The aim of this case study was to explore the nature of technology education in a Sámi school setting and to examine how knowledge about traditional cultural artefacts can contribute to broadening the horizons of technological literacy. The participants (teacher and pupils) in the study were all fro...
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2020
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ftliverpooljmuni:oai:openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk:article/1281 2023-12-03T10:27:59+01:00 Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School Axell, Cecilia 2020-07-06 application/pdf https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281 eng eng The Design and Technology Association https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281/631 https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Design and Technology Education: An International Journal; Vol. 25 No. 2 (2020): Design and Technology Education: An International Journal; 192-216 1360-1431 Technology Education Technological Literacy Sámi School Technology Culture Indigenous Technology info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Research Articles 2020 ftliverpooljmuni 2023-11-06T19:40:21Z The aim of this case study was to explore the nature of technology education in a Sámi school setting and to examine how knowledge about traditional cultural artefacts can contribute to broadening the horizons of technological literacy. The participants (teacher and pupils) in the study were all from the same Sámi primary school in Northern Sweden, and the activities connected to the artefacts took place with year 2 and 3 pupils. The method employed was participatory observation, and field notes, recorded conversations, photographs and children’s drawings were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The findings show that technology education in this school was connected to specific artefacts that are important in Sámi culture. Using these traditional cultural artefacts as a starting point, the pupils were given the opportunity to see that technology is more than modern high-tech; it is an age-old tradition of problem-solving, modification and adaptation to fulfil human needs. Technology education in this school was grounded in a holistic view of knowledge and was largely integrated with other school subjects. Myths and storytelling were frequently used to contextualise the technological content, and the historical aspect of technology was clear since connections between older and newer technological solutions were frequently made. The knowledge system embedded in the technology teaching can be described as collective and related to both artefacts and activities. Technological knowledge, activities and specific artefacts were not only attributed a practical value, they were also given a symbolic value, since a common knowledge base in technology contributes to strengthening the children’s cultural identity. This study confirms that artefacts can play an important role in technology education and that an understanding of the relationship between technology and culture can be regarded as a critical part of technological literacy. A cultural context, in combination with a holistic perspective on learning, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden LJMU Open Journals Service (Liverpool John Moores University) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
LJMU Open Journals Service (Liverpool John Moores University) |
op_collection_id |
ftliverpooljmuni |
language |
English |
topic |
Technology Education Technological Literacy Sámi School Technology Culture Indigenous Technology |
spellingShingle |
Technology Education Technological Literacy Sámi School Technology Culture Indigenous Technology Axell, Cecilia Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
topic_facet |
Technology Education Technological Literacy Sámi School Technology Culture Indigenous Technology |
description |
The aim of this case study was to explore the nature of technology education in a Sámi school setting and to examine how knowledge about traditional cultural artefacts can contribute to broadening the horizons of technological literacy. The participants (teacher and pupils) in the study were all from the same Sámi primary school in Northern Sweden, and the activities connected to the artefacts took place with year 2 and 3 pupils. The method employed was participatory observation, and field notes, recorded conversations, photographs and children’s drawings were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The findings show that technology education in this school was connected to specific artefacts that are important in Sámi culture. Using these traditional cultural artefacts as a starting point, the pupils were given the opportunity to see that technology is more than modern high-tech; it is an age-old tradition of problem-solving, modification and adaptation to fulfil human needs. Technology education in this school was grounded in a holistic view of knowledge and was largely integrated with other school subjects. Myths and storytelling were frequently used to contextualise the technological content, and the historical aspect of technology was clear since connections between older and newer technological solutions were frequently made. The knowledge system embedded in the technology teaching can be described as collective and related to both artefacts and activities. Technological knowledge, activities and specific artefacts were not only attributed a practical value, they were also given a symbolic value, since a common knowledge base in technology contributes to strengthening the children’s cultural identity. This study confirms that artefacts can play an important role in technology education and that an understanding of the relationship between technology and culture can be regarded as a critical part of technological literacy. A cultural context, in combination with a holistic perspective on learning, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Axell, Cecilia |
author_facet |
Axell, Cecilia |
author_sort |
Axell, Cecilia |
title |
Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
title_short |
Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
title_full |
Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
title_fullStr |
Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
title_full_unstemmed |
Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School |
title_sort |
broadening the horizons of technology education: using traditional cultural artefacts as learning tools in a swedish sámi school |
publisher |
The Design and Technology Association |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_source |
Design and Technology Education: An International Journal; Vol. 25 No. 2 (2020): Design and Technology Education: An International Journal; 192-216 1360-1431 |
op_relation |
https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281/631 https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1281 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
_version_ |
1784277961070870528 |