How are technology education teachers learning to maintain technology shop equipment?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the question of why are technology education teachers not being taught how to maintain shop equipment? To answer this the design and use of a survey questionnaire was planned and implemented. Technology education teachers were asked a number of questions to determine how technology education teachers are being trained, to maintain the wide variety of equipment found in technology education laboratories. The questionnaires were used to statistically show that teachers feel that it is important to be well educated in maintenance and the importance of universities to provide training in equipment maintenance. Maintaining equipment could include, but not limited to adjusting saws, lubricating equipment, changing saw blades, jointer knives, making jigs and fixtures, setting up welding equipment and automotive equipment. Survey responses showed, the need for curricular changes at the university level, to offer courses designed to provide maintenance training. The article has five parts. To supply context for the survey questionnaire, chapter one discusses background for the study, statement of the problem, research purpose and research questions. Chapter two focuses on the history and philosophies of technology education. Reasons are revealed for the absence of maintenance courses, and the decrease in the number of lab courses or skills training courses, being taught at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, St. Cloud State University, Vitter University, and University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The third and fourth parts of the article discuss survey method, instrumentation of the survey procedure, statistical method, and data analysis. Statistical tables are presented and are explained. This information presents proof for the inclusion of courses designed to provide technology education maintenance. Chapter five discusses tentative recommendations for universities to offer courses in equipment maintenance. Topics could include modular equipment maintenance, robotics maintenance, fixtures and jig construction. These courses would need to be set up to give students the opportunity to operate and maintain the equipment found in many school technology education laboratories.