Developing and validation of a model related to the subject area of technology

Abstract

The paper at hand focuses on developing and validating a model related to the subject area of technology. Following the epistemic conviction of cognitive constructivism, i.e. that a concept can be neither right nor wrong, the model can at best be understood as a useful abstraction to make elements of and crosslinks between constituents of the subject area of technology visible. By drawing on various reference concepts from the body of theories of general technology didactics, notably concepts which are related to the definition of technology in general, or which are action-specific, a model was synthesised which was subject to a content validation process involving a partly standardised, multi-professional expert rating (N=19). The results drawn from the descriptive analyses and content-analytical evaluations reveal a variance regarding the subject area of technology along the professional groups interviewed. On the whole, engineers, lecturers at technological universities, teachers, as well as didactic experts judge the model positively in the global items as well as in the items related to the model’s elements. There are, however, differing assessments in terms of the assumptions made in the model.