STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN FINLAND, ESTONIA AND ICELAND

This paper is basedon a comparative study of craft and technology education curriculums andstudents’ attitudes towards craft and technology in Finland, Estonia andIceland. The study was undertaken by the Helsinki University, University ofTallinn and University of Iceland in the year 2012. Even though, theorigins of craft education in Finland, Estonia and Iceland have manysimilarities, the Estonian and Icelandic national curriculum place greateremphasis on design and innovation, whereas the Finnish national curriculumfocus on the development of students’ personalities and gender issues. Aquantitative survey was subsequently distributed to 493 school students inFinland, Estonia and Iceland. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions,which aimed to ascertain students’ attitudes towards craft and technology. Thesurvey showed substantial differences in students’ attitudes towards craft andtechnology education in the three countries. In addition, significantstatistical differences were found between boys and girls. These differencesmay be explained by differences in the national curriculums and the differentpedagogical traditions. However, these findings need to be examined furtherthrough research.