Abstract
Assimilation into society via academic achievement is a premise and practice that is universal in schools and school systems. Drawing on the testimonies of technological education teachers and the sociology of knowledge literature, this narrative inquiry research sets the stage for a critical analysis of our reliance on knowledge versus experience in western education policy and planning. A crisp and constructive analysis of the premises school systems take for granted becomes possible, a case for transcending limited ways of thinking about knowledge and experience is made.
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Notes
In many ways the sociology of knowledge owes its existence to scholars like Marx, Scheler, Mannheim, and Kant. Kant postulated that the human mind possesses categories (e.g., time, space, causality) through which we process our experiences. The sociology of knowledge departs from Kant’s epistemology by focusing upon the society in which an individual lives, and arguing that society also creates mental categories, through the socialization process, which affect our view of the world. The historical antecedents of the sociology of knowledge are an important topic for another paper.
At the core of the sociology of knowledge are four beliefs: (1) An individual’s world view is in part the product of his/her society. (2) These pre-existing beliefs guide the individual as he/she tries to understand the world. (3) This world view is relative to a society’s socio-historical situation, though it appears to the individuals in these societies as natural.
The terms technological studies and technological education are used in Ontario to describe a range of programs including communications, manufacturing, construction, transportation, design, hospitality, and personal services. We refer to teachers in these fields as “technology teachers”.
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Hansen, R.E. Program equity issues in schooling: The testimony of technology teachers. Int J Technol Des Educ 18, 189–201 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-006-9022-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-006-9022-0