Technology is alive and well in South Africa!

Prior to the first democratic elections in 1994 there were very limited changes made to the education system of our country. The curriculum under the apartheid government was not responsive to the needs of society. According to Dekker & Van Schalkwyk (1989) the curriculum was by far too academic, failing to prepare students for a vocation. About 95 % of matriculants followed a broad academic course. Only 9% of white matriculants and 1% of African matriculants followed a technical course. The result was that most matriculants did not find employment in the formal sector, partly due to their irrelevant school training (Dekker & Van Schalkwyk 1989).

Technology Education is one of the learning areas that can contribute immensely towards meeting some of the challenges in South Africa by promoting a thirst for knowledge, a love of learning and a determination to succeed. Technology as a Learning Area will contribute to learners attaining good work habits and work skills which are essential in the work place today irrespective of the type of employment one is in, be it self-employment or fixed employment. If Technology as a Learning Area is managed and implemented correctly it would assist our people, particularly our young learners in need of relevant and useful education and training and prepare them for their roles in society and in the world of work. (Viljoen 1997)

It is now 10 years since Technology Education was implemented in the South African schools. At first it was a struggle to get this new Learning Area off the ground, as most of the teachers were not sure how to implement it. The teachers were also not trained in all the areas of content.

Looking back on 10 years, I think we have come a long way. We find enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers in our schools with a passion to teach the learners. They meet the needs and challenges of South Africa in producing lifelong learners; learners that can creatively and critically solve a problem and learners that do not only accept the knowledge given, but who want to find out more about how things work and how they can improve on existing products.

I am not saying that everything is fine, but comparing South African schools with those overseas, we are certainly not far behind if we take into consideration that most of the overseas countries started with Technology Education some years before we did.

Keep on keeping on and we will succeed!

President - RIA DE JAGER