The role of research in improving learning technological concepts and skills: The context of technological literacy

This article reviews the role of research in the current transformation of American technology education. The article is relevant for both American and international audiences. For the American audience the article provides an international overview of the current status of technology education research as it relates to the concepts and skills identified in Standards for Technological Literacy (International Technology Education Association 2000) and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science 1993). For the international audience it provides a description of the way in which technology education is being redefined in the United States and the kind of empirical evidence that is needed to improve the learning of specific technological concepts and skills identified for technological literacy. The article also gives the reader a first-hand description of the role of `standards' in defining content and guiding research in technology education.