Abstract

The study aims to provide implications, based on the experience of technology teachers, regarding the direction for technology instruction in high schools in view of the high school credit system. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven technology teachers, experienced in the research and preparation of the high school credit system, and field data were collected. Additionally, some of their classes were observed. The collected data were analyzed and categorized through the process of emic coding and structural coding. According to the analysis, the participants faced limitations because of a high school culture that is oriented towards college entrance, since technology is not covered in South Korea’s national college entrance exam. The teachers experienced “difficulty in securing class time,” “burden of teaching multiple subjects,” “difficulty in teaching unfamiliar subjects,” and “difficulty in conducting classes” due to the introduction of the high school credit system. The analysis reveals that this system caused the following changes in the attitude towards the technology class: ‘avoidance,’ ‘survival,’ and ‘opportunity.’ Based on these findings, the pedagogical implications of technology teachers’ experiences, due to the introduction of the high school credit system, may be interpreted as ‘establishing firm values for the subject matter' and ‘thinking from the students’ perspective.’ The following steps are proposed based on the analysis outcomes: an experiential study for students who undertook technology instruction under the high school credit system, development of a program to enhance the expertise of technology teachers at high schools, and action research on “delivering good technology instruction” in high schools. This study is meaningful as it interprets and analyzes not only the changes in the technology instruction due to the introduction of the high school credit system, but also their significance, thereby deriving the aforementioned implications. The findings of the study may serve as useful data for offering implications regarding the direction for technology as a subject in high schools.

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