The Development of Technological Competence from Adolescence to Adulthood

Finland has a well-known reputation in technology, but technology is still not taught as a separate subject in the national curriculum. The position of technology education in Finland is quite different from that in most other European countries, even Finland’s Nordic neighbours. Technology education is incorporated within the scopes of other subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology, home economics, and craft education. Craft education is, in practice, further divided into technical work and textile work. No special differences exist between Finnish schools’ curriculums and usual international practices. At the primary level (grades 1-6) pupils are 7 to 13 years old, at the secondary level (grades 7-9) 14 to 16, and upper secondary 17 to 19. In grades 1 to 7, craft and technology education is a compulsory subject taught 2 or 3 hours a week, although in grades 1 and 2 its contents are closer to those of hobby crafts. In grades 8 and 9 there is no compulsory technology education, but pupils can take elective studies for about 2 to 4 hours per week. Nowadays, it is possible to take elective courses in technology education even in upper secondary school, but this was not typical in Finland 15 years ago. Perhaps the main difference in the Finnish education system, as compared to usual international practice, is that University level studies are free of charge. This means that demanding entrance exams are the norm. This article builds on earlier research that defined and assessed technological competence among adolescents. It tracks students who took part in a measurements of technical abilities study fifteen years ago. The researcher had no previous knowledge of the test subjects’ current employment status, but in favorable circumstancs, these test subjects are now professionals in the field of technology. The aim of this research was to examine how technological competence was attained during the test participants’ lives. In addition, we tried to determine the elements accounting for the participants’ technological competence. The main research questions were as follows: 1. How was the test participants' technological competence developed over the course of their lives? 2. What were the main elements in technology education that affected the test participants’ competence? This follow-up study was carried out as a qualitative case study. Data from interviews with three participants were tape-recorded and translated. The research data were then analyzed using content analysis. The analysis was