Interview with
Dr Stan Owers

Is that important for schools?

Yes it is important because we use tools, and technologies as tools, as extensions of ourselves in order to enhance our productivity and capability. Hence, as individuals and as a society, we are functionally totally dependent on our tool- and technology-culture. Children have a right to know about this.

How does your research help us to understand the issues?

My thesis offers an explanation for the inadequate response by our society to the subject of technology, and it is vitally important for our society to understand the issues. The thesis makes a challenging read; I hope you will be stimulated to share my concerns—enjoy!

Dr Stan Owers was interviewed by Maureen Gurr in October 2002.

Can you tell me about your research?

I have been researching "The place and perception of technology in the curriculum".

Why did you choose that subject?

As a school subject, Technology was authorised on a national basis by the Education Reform Act of 1988, but it should have been introduced very much earlier.

Why should Technology have been introduced much earlier?

Well, technology has played a dominant role in the shaping of our civilisation. Indeed, the technology we know today is the latest manifestation of the culture of tools, and tool-culture has been humankind's constant evolutionary companion since before the Stone Age.

Why do you think the introduction of Technology was so long delayed?

Essentially, education policy is culturally driven. Policy-makers and educationalists have long experienced a conflict between educational ideals and the low intellectual esteem they attribute to "working with one's hands".

Does this matter?

Well yes it does. When our Stone Age ancestors fashioned a cutting edge on a piece of stone to use as a tool, it was a deliberate act of hand-eye co-ordination driven by the imagination. This apparently simple act was conceptually visualised, marking a giant intellectual leap in the early stages of our tool-culture, and represents part of the foundations of our technology.

Dr Stan Owers February 2003