Technology and Values
Written by Dr Vicki Compton under contract to the Ministry of Education to support Technology in The New Zealand Curriculum.
Initial discussion of the relationship
Values education is a clear focus of The New Zealand Curriculum (2007). The values section of the curriculum provides a direction for learning for all schools, to embed values in their school curriculum. This paper summarises key points from the values section of the curriculum and discusses how values education links with technology education. Examples are provided to illustrate these links.
Values Education in New Zealand
Values are described in The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) as 'deeply held beliefs about what is important or desirable. They are expressed in the ways that people think and act'.
The curriculum suggests that all schools should encourage students to value:
- excellence
- innovation, enquiry and curiosity
- diversity
- equity
- community and participation for the common good
- ecological sustainability including care for the environment
- integrity
- respect for themselves, others and human rights
Teachers are encouraged to develop learning experiences that provide students with opportunities to learn about values and develop value-related capabilities.
Learning about values refers to students learning about:
- their own and others values
- different kinds of values such as moral, social, cultural, aesthetic and economic values
- those values upon which New Zealand's cultural and institutional traditions are based.
Developing value-related capabilities refers to students developing the ability to:
- express their own values
- explore the values of others
- critically analyse values and actions based on them
- discuss disagreements that arise from differences in values, and negotiate solutions
- make ethical decisions and act on them
The Relationship between Technology and Values Education
Technology, as an essential learning area, has a responsibility to work with all other learning areas, to ensure the intent of the values education section of The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) is mediated into the classroom curriculum.
Technological literacy is at the heart of technology education and is both values laden and values dependent. This means that technological learning experiences can provide a natural and authentic site to embed values education, as the two are mutually enhancing. Examples of how values education intentions can be embedded within technology learning experiences are provided below. These are linked to each of the components of the technology strands.
