Students' and employers' perceptions of technology and technology education in South Dakota

Understanding students' and employers' perspectives of technology and technology education will enhance educators' abilities to bridge the gap between what our graduates leave school with and what the 21st century workforce requires. This study examined students' and employers' perceptions of technology and technology education in order to better understand curriculum opportunities.;A 23-question, five point scale survey instrument was used to collect data from 295 subjects; 230 students, and 65 employers. Students were from secondary and post-secondary schools in the Rapid City area. Local industries and area building and manufacturing association databases were used to select employers. Frequency, percentage, t test, ANOVA, and Pearson product-moment calculations were performed in order to measure respondents' perceptions to survey items.;Students and employers perceived technology and technology education in much the same way. Students' year in school or number of technology classes taken had no significant bearing on responses (p<.05). Employers' area of work had no significant influence on responses. Employers' level of education did influence responses toward technology education as being considered important. The higher the level of education the employer had, the more important technology education was perceived.;A Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to determine any positive or negative relationships between study groups. The result indicated a positive relationship between employers' perceptions of technology and technology education and students' perceptions of technology. A positive relationship also exists between employers' perceptions of technology education and students' perceptions of technology education. A significant positive relationship exists between employers' perceptions of technology and employers' perceptions of technology education. A negative relationship exists between employers' perceptions of technology and students' perceptions of technology education. A significant relationship exists between students' perceptions of technology and students' perceptions of technology education.