An instrument to determine the technological literacy levels of upper secondary school students
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
In this article, an instrument for assessing upper secondary school students’
levels of technological literacy is presented. The items making up the instrument emerged
from a previous study that employed a phenomenographic research approach to explore
students’ conceptions of technology in terms of their understanding of the nature of
technology and their interaction with technological artefacts. The instrument was validated
through administration to 1,245 students on completion of their 12 years of formal
schooling. A factor analysis was conducted on the data and Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients
determined. The results show that a five-dimension factor structure (namely,
artefact, process, direction/instruction, tinkering, and engagement) strongly supported the
dimensions as developed during the original phenomenographic study. The Cronbach
alpha reliability co-efficient of each dimension was satisfactory. Based on these findings,
the instrument has been shown to be valid and reliable and can be used with confidence.
Description
Keywords
Technological literacy, Phenomenography, Survey instrument, Nature of technology
Citation
Luckay, M.B. & Collier-Reed, B.I. (2014). An instrument to determine the technological literacy levels of upper secondary school students. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 24: 261 – 273.