Industrial Arts Teachers Research Articles

Региональная модель непрерывного образования педагогов предметной области «Технология»

The purpose of the paper is to design a Continuing Education Model for Industrial Arts teachers of Irkutsk Oblast. The article considers the need to develop a regional Continuing Education Model for teachers in the “Industrial Arts” subject area, describes positive experience of teaching personnel development in the region. The authors have presented a project of the structure of the Continuing Education Model for teachers in the “Industrial Arts” subject area of Irkutsk Oblast that includes target, technological and result-evaluating components. Special place in the Model is given to the technological component, which is revealed through the personalised approach to development and improvement of professional competencies of teachers in the “Industrial Arts” subject area. The study is novel in that it develops ways of organising continuing education reflected in the developed Model and aimed at teachers in the “Industrial Arts” subject area of Irkutsk Oblast. As a result of analysing regulatory documents and requests of teachers in the “Industrial Arts” subject area for continuing education, the authors have proposed ways of organising acquisition of new professional competencies and/or their improvement, which will be implemented through the technological component of the designed Continuing Education Model for Industrial Arts teachers.

Inflammatory markers in nasal lavage fluid from Industrial Arts teachers.

Exposure to wood dust can cause allergic and nonallergic rhinitis. Inflammatory markers [cells, albumin, tryptase, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP)] were examined in nasal lavage fluid (NAL) sampled from 24 Industrial Arts (IA) teachers exposed to wood dust and other irritants and from 24 control subjects. The IA teachers had more nasal complaints but they did not differ significantly from the controls regarding ECP concentration (median 4.1 and 4.7 micrograms/L, respectively), albumin concentration (median 30.7 and 20.7 g/L), and percentage of neutrophils (median 56 and 34) in NAL. Tryptase was not detected. No marked inflammation was thus found, but the albumin concentration was higher in subjects reporting nasal stuffiness. In the IA teachers, a relationship between the percentage of neutrophils and the number of classes during the working week was found (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.53, p < 0.01) indicating a possibility of wood-dust-related inflammatory effects on the nasal mucosa.

Work-related respiratory problems in industrial arts teachers

Because of reports of respiratory complaints in Swedish industrial arts (IA) teachers, a cross-sectional study was performed on 130 IA teachers in Stockholm to study the relationship between the work environment and health, and especially the aforementioned complaints. One hundred and twelve other school employees served as control subjects. Sex, age, and smoking habit distribution were similar in the two groups. All subjects answered a questionnaire about their health problems, and the IA teachers answered questions about their work environment. The work environment consisted of many old and neglected workshops (hereafter called shops). Compared to the control subjects, the IA teachers had more complaints in respect of the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lower airways--including chronic bronchitis (OR 12.4, 95% confidence interval 2.95-110.5). A higher occurrence of symptoms existed in shops with bad ventilation and dust-spreading machines and in shops where dust-spreading cleanup methods were used. A suspected interaction between smoking and work environment was noted for some symptoms, especially impaired smell and chronic bronchitis. In conclusion, several factors in the work environment were identified as risk factors for health. Identification of these risk factors should result in a program to reduce the health problems in the work environment.

The Industrial Arts Paradigm: Adjustment, Replacement, or Extinction?

Industrial arts/technology education (IA/TE) is in a crisis - a crisis caused largely by the increasing changes that are occurring within society and technology. In the past five years, national, state, and local commissions, organizations, and educators have developed countless documents, curricula, and workshops on the subject of technology education (International Technology Education Association, 1985; Ferns, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988; Hoopfer, Jost & Nelson, 1987; Hales & Snyder, 1981; Hull & Smink, 1988; Kadamus & Daggett, 1986; Maley, 1988; Michigan Department of Education, Vocational-Technical Education Service (MDE/V-TES), 1988, 1989; Savage, 1989; Virginia Vocational Curriculum Resource Center, 1988). Through various means, thousands of administrators, educators, and ancillary staff mem- bers have been exposed to technology education. IA/TE educators in Michigan strongly agree that tech- nology should be a part of their programming, and, in some cases, identify technology education as what they currently teach (Smith, 1989). Still, the unit shop remains the primary delivery method in the field (Ellis, 1989; Smith, 1989). This serves to accentuate the scope of the crisis, and the professional reaction (or lack thereof) to it. It appears that many efforts in the movement toward technology education have failed because changes have been made in name only, rather than in instructors' understanding of the underlying philosophical differences between industrial arts and technology education. Because of the recurrence of name-change-only programs, and the fact that industrial arts teachers often do not perceive differences between industrial arts and technology education, it may be beneficial to the profession to view industrial arts as a paradigm.

Hearing Conservation in Secondary Industrial Arts Classes A Challenge for School Audiologists

A survey of secondary industrial arts teachers was made to examine the use of hearing protection in industrial arts programs. The results showed the teachers had little knowledge of hearing conservation methods. All of the teachers had access to an audiologist but very few knew that an audiologist was available. They did say that they would consult with one if help were offered. Although 47% of the teachers believed that they had acquired an occupational hearing loss, they did not use personal hearing protection. The results pointed out the need for further education of industrial arts teachers and more use of school audiologists as consultants.

A Study of Supervisors’ Ratings of Most Effective and Least Effective Industrial Arts Teachers on Three Competency Dimensions

The problem was to determine the relationship between industrial arts supervisors’ judgments of teacher effectiveness and their judgments of teacher competency on the dimensions of interpersonal relations, teaching techniques, and technical proficiency. A device was developed to obtain the supervisors’ perceptions of their most and least effective teachers. The data obtained were used to determine the relationship of the judgments of effectiveness to scores on the dimensions. Analysis of variance and Scheffe’ S-method were used to analyze the data. The conclusions were: teachers are judged more competent in technical proficiency; the least effective teacher has greater deficiencies in interpersonal relations and teaching techniques; and the teaching techniques dimension differentiates, to the greatest degree, the most from the least effective teacher.

Workshop for Industrial Arts Teachers at Oswego State University College — Summer 1963

Workshop for Industrial Arts Teachers at Oswego State University College — Summer 1963