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Gender and Technology Education

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Technology Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

Technology-oriented fields are still mostly male dominated. Increasing the number of women in natural science and technology careers remains an elusive goal in EU countries. Although gender equality and nondiscrimination have been critical, longtime concerns in education, gender-related divisions continue to occur in the field of technology and the subjects that pupils decide to study. Also, significant variations between girls’ and boys’ interest and behavior have been documented in technology education. In today’s society, technology education plays an important role in providing children with opportunities and in improving their ability to interact with everyday technologies. Technology education also equips children with the necessary knowledge to perform a wide variety of jobs. In order to introduce a more equitable gender balance in higher education, technology-oriented fields, and, consequently, in the corresponding labor market, we must continue to expand our knowledge on the impact of current technology education and focus on gender-related issues. This chapter aims to discuss gender-related topics in technology education and careers. Could technology education have an impact on women and girls or potentially influence their advancement in technology-oriented fields? With the goal of achieving greater gender equality in technology fields, this chapter concludes with further directions for research and suggestions for new ways of thinking.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Sonja Niiranen

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  1. Sonja Niiranen
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Correspondence to Sonja Niiranen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Delft University of Technology , Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Marc J. de Vries

Section Editor information

  1. Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK

    Steve Keirl

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Niiranen, S. (2017). Gender and Technology Education. In: de Vries, M. (eds) Handbook of Technology Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38889-2_61-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38889-2_61-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-38889-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-38889-2

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