title: Perceptions of technology and existing technological capability of Tongan secondary school students

authors: Mone, Fisi'ihoi

abstract: Many countries have now recognized Technology Education as a new subject in the school curriculum. It has been accepted internationally as a distinct area of education (McCormick, 1993; Layton, 1994; Lewis, 1996; and Jones, 1996). However, this worldwide trend has not yet reached most of the Pacific Island countries. These islands are unaware of the trend of transforming traditional technical subjects like Industrial Arts, with their focus on craft and technical skills, into Technology Education, which compounds more learning areas and emphasises technological literacy. Tonga, which is one of these islands, may benefit from this new development, in terms of teaching the more important aspects of technology, by developing a new curriculum in Technology Education.

There is evidence to suggest that the current Technical Education Curriculum in Tongan secondary schools is ineffective in teaching the higher-level skills in technology. A new and better curriculum should therefore be developed to enhance students’ learning of concepts and processes in technology. This study argues that the best way of developing a new technology education curriculum for Tonga is to start by identifying the students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability. The curriculum should then build on this information, so that effective teaching and learning in technology may take place. This approach is guided by the socio-cultural view of learning. This learning theory recognises the impact of social, cultural, institutional and historical contexts on students’ learning. It suggests that learning is a situated social process and knowledge is situated within particular historical, cultural, institutional and physical settings (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989; Wertsch, 1991; Resnick, 1991; Lave, 1991; Johnson, 1997).

This study was designed to identify Tongan students’ perceptions of technology and existing technological capability. Data collection in this study was twofold. First it used modified versions of three instruments developed by Rennie and Jarvis (1995), to explore Tongan secondary school students’ perceptions of technology. The second phase of data collection followed methods employed by Jones and Carr (1993b) on the second phase of Learning in Technology Education Project, to analyse Tongan secondary students’ existing technological capability. This study was intended to show the perceptions of technology and the level of technological capability that the present technical curriculum in Tonga is enabling students to achieve. These results may be used later to inform the development of a suitable Technology Education Curriculum for Tonga.

The research methodology adopted in this study belongs to the umbrella term of Postpositivist Paradigms and takes the stance of interpretive paradigm (Lather, 1992; Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000). Understanding and interpreting students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability were considered to be the dominant feature of this study. The research method employed is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of research.

The results of this study have shown that Tongan secondary school students have a poor perception of technology. Interest in technology was high among the students although many had limited ideas about the effect of technology on society. The overall performance of the students in the technological capability task was poor. They performed worst in searching for the best solution for the identified needs and opportunities and performed best in the production of the solution. Most of the students concentrated mainly on building the products and were not able to link the parts of the task together. One of the major factors that influenced the ability of the students to link the components of the task together was task affordance. Task affordance category challenge influenced the problem solving pathway that the students followed in the task. 

The component of the task that contributed most to the quality of the students’ final products was the production of the solution. The contributions that the other components could make towards the quality of the final products were minimal in the performances of the students in this study. No relationship was found in this study between the performances of the students in the three instruments that assessed their perceptions of technology and their performances in the technological capability task.

text: Perceptions of technology and existing technological capability of Tongan secondary school students Many countries have now recognized Technology Education as a new subject in the school curriculum. It has been accepted internationally as a distinct area of education (McCormick, 1993; Layton, 1994; Lewis, 1996; and Jones, 1996). However, this worldwide trend has not yet reached most of the Pacific Island countries. These islands are unaware of the trend of transforming traditional technical subjects like Industrial Arts, with their focus on craft and technical skills, into Technology Education, which compounds more learning areas and emphasises technological literacy. Tonga, which is one of these islands, may benefit from this new development, in terms of teaching the more important aspects of technology, by developing a new curriculum in Technology Education.

There is evidence to suggest that the current Technical Education Curriculum in Tongan secondary schools is ineffective in teaching the higher-level skills in technology. A new and better curriculum should therefore be developed to enhance students’ learning of concepts and processes in technology. This study argues that the best way of developing a new technology education curriculum for Tonga is to start by identifying the students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability. The curriculum should then build on this information, so that effective teaching and learning in technology may take place. This approach is guided by the socio-cultural view of learning. This learning theory recognises the impact of social, cultural, institutional and historical contexts on students’ learning. It suggests that learning is a situated social process and knowledge is situated within particular historical, cultural, institutional and physical settings (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989; Wertsch, 1991; Resnick, 1991; Lave, 1991; Johnson, 1997).

This study was designed to identify Tongan students’ perceptions of technology and existing technological capability. Data collection in this study was twofold. First it used modified versions of three instruments developed by Rennie and Jarvis (1995), to explore Tongan secondary school students’ perceptions of technology. The second phase of data collection followed methods employed by Jones and Carr (1993b) on the second phase of Learning in Technology Education Project, to analyse Tongan secondary students’ existing technological capability. This study was intended to show the perceptions of technology and the level of technological capability that the present technical curriculum in Tonga is enabling students to achieve. These results may be used later to inform the development of a suitable Technology Education Curriculum for Tonga.

The research methodology adopted in this study belongs to the umbrella term of Postpositivist Paradigms and takes the stance of interpretive paradigm (Lather, 1992; Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000). Understanding and interpreting students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability were considered to be the dominant feature of this study. The research method employed is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of research.

The results of this study have shown that Tongan secondary school students have a poor perception of technology. Interest in technology was high among the students although many had limited ideas about the effect of technology on society. The overall performance of the students in the technological capability task was poor. They performed worst in searching for the best solution for the identified needs and opportunities and performed best in the production of the solution. Most of the students concentrated mainly on building the products and were not able to link the parts of the task together. One of the major factors that influenced the ability of the students to link the components of the task together was task affordance. Task affordance category challenge influenced the problem solving pathway that the students followed in the task. 

The component of the task that contributed most to the quality of the students’ final products was the production of the solution. The contributions that the other components could make towards the quality of the final products were minimal in the performances of the students in this study. No relationship was found in this study between the performances of the students in the three instruments that assessed their perceptions of technology and their performances in the technological capability task.

year: 2003

title: Dynamic magnetic reconnection at an X-type neutral point

authors: Craig, Ian J.D.

abstract: The relaxation of a two-dimensional "X-type" neutral point magnetic field disturbed from equilibrium is considered. Perturbations are shown to possess well-defined azimuthal modes which allow an exact determination of the magnetic annihilation rate. Free magnetic energy is dissipated by oscillatory reconnection which couples resistive diffusion at the neutral point to global advection of the outer field. The decay of azimuthally symmetric (m = 0) modes - the only modes associated with topological reconnection - is limited by the dissipation time scale of the "fundamental" (n = 0) mode with no radial nodes. This mode decays over typically 100 Alfvén times. An analytic treatment shows that the oscillation and decay time scales couple according to τosc ≈ 2 ln S and τdecay ≈ τosc 2/(2π2), where S is the Lundquist number (4π/c2)υA R/η and the times are in units of R/υA, with R the distance from the neutral point to the boundary, υA the Alfvén speed at the boundary, and η the resistivity.

text: Dynamic magnetic reconnection at an X-type neutral point The relaxation of a two-dimensional "X-type" neutral point magnetic field disturbed from equilibrium is considered. Perturbations are shown to possess well-defined azimuthal modes which allow an exact determination of the magnetic annihilation rate. Free magnetic energy is dissipated by oscillatory reconnection which couples resistive diffusion at the neutral point to global advection of the outer field. The decay of azimuthally symmetric (m = 0) modes - the only modes associated with topological reconnection - is limited by the dissipation time scale of the "fundamental" (n = 0) mode with no radial nodes. This mode decays over typically 100 Alfvén times. An analytic treatment shows that the oscillation and decay time scales couple according to τosc ≈ 2 ln S and τdecay ≈ τosc 2/(2π2), where S is the Lundquist number (4π/c2)υA R/η and the times are in units of R/υA, with R the distance from the neutral point to the boundary, υA the Alfvén speed at the boundary, and η the resistivity.

year: 1991

title: Māori and pacific infant and toddler cultural pedagogy: Reclaiming a cultural lens

authors: Glasgow, Ali

abstract: An Indigenous cultural renaissance emerged in the 1980’s in Aotearoa New Zealand. Communities established early childhood programmes that reflected native spirituality, values, and Indigenous knowledge, with instruction in local, Indigenous languages (Hunkin-Tuiletufuga, 2001). Indigenous communities sought ownership over the education of their children, within a culturally driven framework that focussed on retention of knowledge, language, and cultural identity.
These strong early stages have lost traction, with increasing numbers of Māori and Pacific community services unable to meet the rigorous regulatory criteria, assurance auditing processes, funding restraints, and other considerations that have impacted the numbers of families using these services. Nowadays, a mere percentage of those once in operation remain, with the majority of Māori and Pacific children and their families enrolling in mainstream early childhood education services (Ministry of Education, 2013).
Central to the educational success for Māori and Pacific children is an understanding that they are culturally located and the acknowledgement that effective education must encompass their culture. A cultural discourse gaining prominence reveals the need for culturally sound pedagogical practice for Māori and Pacific communities (Rameka & Glasgow, 2016; Rau & Ritchie, 2011). This trend is gaining impetus in the wider Pacific region (Glasgow, 2012), thus driving a movement for reclaiming and reframing education for Pacific peoples (Sanga, 2012).

text: Māori and pacific infant and toddler cultural pedagogy: Reclaiming a cultural lens An Indigenous cultural renaissance emerged in the 1980’s in Aotearoa New Zealand. Communities established early childhood programmes that reflected native spirituality, values, and Indigenous knowledge, with instruction in local, Indigenous languages (Hunkin-Tuiletufuga, 2001). Indigenous communities sought ownership over the education of their children, within a culturally driven framework that focussed on retention of knowledge, language, and cultural identity.
These strong early stages have lost traction, with increasing numbers of Māori and Pacific community services unable to meet the rigorous regulatory criteria, assurance auditing processes, funding restraints, and other considerations that have impacted the numbers of families using these services. Nowadays, a mere percentage of those once in operation remain, with the majority of Māori and Pacific children and their families enrolling in mainstream early childhood education services (Ministry of Education, 2013).
Central to the educational success for Māori and Pacific children is an understanding that they are culturally located and the acknowledgement that effective education must encompass their culture. A cultural discourse gaining prominence reveals the need for culturally sound pedagogical practice for Māori and Pacific communities (Rameka & Glasgow, 2016; Rau & Ritchie, 2011). This trend is gaining impetus in the wider Pacific region (Glasgow, 2012), thus driving a movement for reclaiming and reframing education for Pacific peoples (Sanga, 2012).

year: 2017