Technology's Challenge to Science Education: Cathedral, Quarry or Company Store? (Developing Science and Technology Education)

This work explores the relationship between science and technology in the school curriculum. In the past, science has used technological applications to make scientific concepts and ideas more understandable (science and applications). It has also taken technological applications and then extracted the science involved in them in order to make the learning of science more interesting and effective (science of applications). In both cases, technology is serving the needs of science education. With the incorporation of design and technology as a component of the general education of all children, there arises a new situation. Science has now to serve the needs of technology and act as a resource for the development of technological capability in children. However, science for applications is not the same as science and applications or science of applications. Often the science of traditional lessons needs to be reworked to make it useful in practical situations and related to design parameters. Examples of science as a resource for technological capability are drawn from both "real world technology" and from "school technology" to illustrate what needs to be done if technology's challenge to science education is to be met.