The Twenty-First Century Workforce: A Contemporary Challenge for Technology Education

Overview & Synopsis

More than at any time in recent history, technology education has taken on an important role in American education. The emergence of economic issues and the essential role of technology in the global economy have highlighted the omission of technology in K-12 school programs. When business and industry began recognizing the role of education and the need for a competent and capable twenty-first century workforce, the importance of technology education increased yet further. With support from the Office of Science Education, National Institutes of Health, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study convened an expert panel and facilitated the synthesis of key recommendations from twelve major reports from business, industry, government agencies, and associated groups. They focused the process on recommendations for K-12 science and technology education and used a framework that resulted in recommendations for different dimensions of the K-12 system. This article presents results that specifically apply to technology education. (Contains 5 tables.)