Engineering encompasses a range of activities focused on systematically designing products and solving problems. While different branches of engineering have distinct traditions and approaches, they share a common foundation in methodology and in an instrumentalist attitude. One of the Swedish upper secondary school programmes is called the technology programme. It provides students aged 16–19 with an education in the fundamentals of engineering. The curriculum is intentionally broad, allowing schools and individual teachers significant flexibility in selecting content and teaching methods. Many teachers in the technology programme are former engineers who have made a transition into teaching. The influence of these teachers in shaping the educational experience is palpable through the application of their engineering background. They bring knowledge, skills, and professional values from their engineering careers and education into the classroom, which often results in their prioritising familiar areas of expertise. While enhancing the depth and authenticity of their teaching, this also risks introducing substantial variation in content, relevance, and quality of instruction across different schools. In this study, 13 of these engineer-teachers were interviewed about their teaching practices and perspectives regarding engineering subjects. Responses  were analysed using Étienne Wenger’s Communities of Practice (CoP) framework. From this analysis emerges a complex practice whereby engineer-teachers’ deep commitment to the ideals of engineering thought and practice gains in importance, underlining the perceived necessity of reflecting that vision in their teaching.

Computational Thinking (CT) has developed as a worldwide priority area for compulsory school education since it was proposed as a central 21st century skill by Wing in 2006. CT and Digital Competence are highly visible parts of the European Union and Swedish discourse on strategic workforce development and the Swedish innovation agenda. This chapter explores the emerging role of CT and digital competence in the Swedish compulsory school curriculum. We focus on the subject of technology, its historical role in equipping generations of young Swedes for a career in the technology and engineering domains, and the development of the subject during the 20th century as a result of shifts in government policy, and under the influence of curricula reforms. We conclude that “Technology” is a natural home for CT and related skills such as systems design and development of programmed technical solutions in the current educational system, and propose that the relevance and identity of the technology subject be strengthened through systematic integration of a higher degree of CT into classroom practice.

In our technology-intensive world, computing and programmed technological solutions have gained in importance, and their influence on curriculum, teaching, and learning has been substantial worldwide. Sweden, along with many countries, has integrated programming into the compulsory school curriculum as an integrated part of the teaching of Mathematics and Technology. In addition to a focus on programming, the new curricula also place significant emphasis on digital skills and on enhancing awareness of how the digitalisation of society affects us. Programming is described as a digital competence and computational thinking (CT) as important knowledge through which to facilitate learning and understanding of programming. Thus, it seems that CT, as seen in the Swedishcontext, should relate to both programming and digital competence. In this article, the aim is to examine the presence of CT in Swedish research literature and as a part of the discourse around the development of the Swedish curriculum. A content analysis of the curriculum and a thematic analysis of research publications show that CT is not well integrated into Sweden’s educational system. However, CTrelated activities are found in several subjects and research about CT, and programming is thriving. Requirements for the design of complex systems where understandings of humans and technology are equally important put new demands on education. Meeting these demands in education can be a challenge, but one subject in the Swedish curriculum seems to be suitable for the task, the technology subject. We conclude that the subject technology should be revised to include a greater focus on creativity regarding CT and the construction of computational technological artefacts.

In the early eighties, Seymour Papert pioneered the use of computers as a tool for children's learning. Papert's programming language LOGO provided children a tool to instruct and control computers and observe the outcomes. Grounded in Papert's thinking, and popularised by Wing in her 2006 article, the term computational thinking defines approaches and concepts needed to interact and control computers and other digital artefacts. Sweden, along with many countries, has responded to political and societal pressure by integrating programming into the compulsory school curriculum. Besides programming, the new curricula also place significant emphasis on digital skills and on enhancing awareness of how the digitalization of society affects us. Sweden has chosen not to introduce a new “programming” subject at schools, and content analysis reveals that there is no explicit mention of computational thinking in the recently revised curriculum. Is computational thinking then not a relevant topic for Swedish schools? We approach the analysis of the Swedish approach through a thematic analysis of literature on the topic identified through a systematic review of research literature in the area. The aim is to investigate how computational thinking is represented and discussed in both the Swedish research literature and as a part of the discourse around the development of the Swedish curriculum. Our analysis of the published literature and school curricula reveals that computational thinking is not well integrated into Sweden’s current educational system. We conclude that the subject Technology should be revised to include a greater focus on creativity regarding computational thinking and construction of computational technological artefacts.

The tacit knowledge ofrecognizing quality in student work is difficult to explicate in words, concepts like gut feeling or intuition is sometimes used. Is it possible to reveal such knowledge? Adaptive Comparative Judgment (ACJ) shows a high degree of consistency among teacherswhen assessing quality in student work. Central to the method is that judges assess the quality of student work and write a comment where their choices are justified. The ACJ procedure,combined with providing comments,makes the implicit ability of assessment to some extent explicit. In this paper, we explore possibilities to combine ACJ with Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) to make in-depth analysis of technology teachers’ assessment practice. The theoretical framework of RGT follows the argument that we interpret our world based on our experiencesand provides argumentsfor claiming that teachers with similar education and work experiences have shared values in their professional practice. Consequently, teachers’ agreement in assessments in the ACJ studies can be a result of shared experiences. This study is a follow-up of a previous study (Hartell, Isaksson Persson, Bartholomew & Strimel, 2018);reasoning will be further investigated and new insights on how to combine ACJ and RGT is reported in this paper.

The evolution of advanced technology systems and the labour market for future engineers and designers are a global matter. In light of this reasoning, a global perspective on technology education becomes even more important. Assessment is key in order to bridge teaching and learning and an international perspective is needed for understanding different assessment practices in technology education. The purpose of this paper is to investigate potential methods of gaining new perspectives and understanding of teacher assessment practices. Adaptive comparative judgement (ACJ) is an assessment method that has been proven to provide valid, reliable, and feasible results for the assessment of open-ended design problems within technology/engineering education in several countries (Hartell & Skogh, 2015; Kimbell, 2012; Power & Seery, 2012; Seery, Canty, & Phelan, 2011; Bartholomew, 2016). ACJ has also been used as an approach to compare teachers’ assessment practices across countries (see e.g. Bartholomew et al, 2017). Reparatory grid theory (RGT) is a method based on George Kelly’s theory of personal constructs (Kelly, 1963). RGT is used to explore informants’ interpretations and views, on certain topics, for example products or other artefacts (Isaksson Persson, 2015), and teachers’ assessments of portfolios in crafts/sloyd and technology education (Björklund, 2008; Lindström, 2001). The results of ACJ for assessment can be represented in a quantitative manner (Pollitt, 2012) and can be complimented with qualitative measures of think aloud protocols and or comments from informants during the judgement sessions (see e.g. Hartell & Skogh, 2015).

This paper will explore the potential for, and implications of, combining RGT and ACJ outputs a richer understanding of teachers’ assessment values when assessing open-ended students design portfolios and products by deploying RGT on think-aloud protocols and comments provided by judges during ACJ.

Teaching design and product development at upper secondary school level in Sweden is a matter of interdisciplinary considerations. Education in product development, at this level, prepares students for further studies and career in engineering or industrial design. Knowledge of artefacts is an important element in the education. In coherence with the visual and rhetorical strategies characterising the knowledge field, students learn how to develop an idea to a final product. In this study twelve engineers and industrial designers, professionals representing the knowledge field of product development are studied regarding their interpretations of eight pre-selected artefacts. Data is collected and analysed using repertory grid technique. The aim of the study is to examine whether/what we can learn from the informants' experiences and knowledge that is relevant to education in design and product development at upper secondary school level. Findings show that four of the artefacts appear to be carriers of attributes that reveal the interviewees' definitions of the artefacts' functional nature. From these findings it is shown that the interviewees' definitions of concepts concerning aesthetics/decoration and function can be seen as cultural expressions. How the repertory grid technique is used in this particular study is thoroughly described and the results relevance for education is discussed.

In Sweden upper secondary school education is organised in programmes. One of these programmes is the Technology programme that covers five orientations, one of which is Design and Product Development. This thesis is based on the idea that a clearer link between upper secondary school and the demands of professional life in the area of product development is beneficial to both students and industry.

Product development is performed in cross-functional teams were understanding of others competences is important. It is therefore argued that, in order to enhance both teaching and learning, interdisciplinary considerations need to be explored. In this thesis, we turn to engineers and industrial designers. The aim of the present study is to get professional actors’ views on knowledge and skills needed within the field of design and product development and to examine whether there are key areas that facilitate an interdisciplinary approach suitable to focus on for educational purpose. As artefacts play a central role in product development the informants’ views on different products/artefacts are also examined. This reasoning results in an a two-part overall research question

(a) What thoughts do professional engineers and industrial designers express regarding necessary knowledge and skills, and (b) what relevance does this have for upper secondary school teaching of product development?

This overall research question is examined through two sub- studies, both performed at the same time, one conducted as a semi- structured interview and the other using the repertory grid technique. Twelve engineers and industrial designers are interviewed. The first study examines the informants’ thoughts on knowledge and skills required in their work. The same informants’ interpretations and valuations of artefacts are examined in the second sub-study.

In sub-study 1 two topics of significance to the informants are identified. These topics are: [1] To act within the team (Figure 4). The ability to navigate and position oneself within a team is, according to the interviewees, a necessary skill in design and product development work. Its character can be described as including specific vocational knowledge and skills as well as issues of general and interdisciplinary nature as collaborating, compromising, communicating, and leadership. The second topic [2], to CAD (Figure 4) includes both skills with CAD software and the ability to understand relationships between a CAD model on screen and the final product.

The third topic [3] - a valuation of artefacts - is the outcome of sub- study 2 (Figure 4). This topic was found interesting and further analysed, resulting in the development of a comparison procedure. The result demonstrates how the interviewees interpret and discuss artefacts’ functionality linked to cultural values.

These three topics are found to be relevant for technology education at upper secondary school level geared towards design and product development to explore. To act within the team can inspire the development of activities in which project and teamwork are in focus. The purpose of the CAD model in product development is to visualise a product that does not yet exist. To CAD highlights the complexity of this visualisation ability. In the educational context the students can train this ability by developing digital models into physical models or prototypes. Valuations of artefacts, the interviewees associate artefacts’ functionality with certain characteristics. In education students should learn that we are not neutral in our relations to products and other artefacts. In conclusion, a need for teachers to discuss artefacts from different perspectives such as sustainability, usability, identity and so on is also pointed out.