Material Detail

Though the traditional "industrial arts" programs of the 1950s which involved woodworking, metalworking, and other "shop" areas were heavily male dominated (Cummings, 1998; Hill, 1998; and Zuga, 1998), modern technology education could be more appealing to females. At one time there were very few female students and almost no female teachers in industrial arts courses, but as the discipline began to evolve towards a study of technology during the 1960s and 1970s a trickle of females joined the profession (Zuga, 1998). ITEA records show more females joining the profession since the name change to Technology Education than in the previous decade and an upward trend since then. Part of this increase is due to the attraction of predominately female elementary teachers to membership in the Technology Education for Children Council (TECC), but there are also more females in all segments of the profession than in the past (ITEA, 1998). In the 1950s, the boys who enrolled in industrial arts shop courses, and the men who taught those courses, viewed them as a "man's world" and there was little effort to foster participation by females.

Disciplines:

• Science and Technology  / Engineering