Technology: A qualitative concept analysis from the perspectives of engineering, philosophy, natural science, and technology education

The identification of technology as the content base for Technology Education has prompted scholars to examine some confusion about the term's meaning. To address the problem, this study employed a systematic qualitative document analysis procedure to the analysis of the concept. The primary thrust of the research design was to examine the process by which scholars from various academic areas approach conceptualizing technology. These areas included (a) engineering, (b) natural sciences, (c) philosophy, and (d) technology education.;Results indicate the conceptualizations of technology include three primary variables: (a) academic affiliation, (b) philosophical point of view, and (c) methodology employed to arrive at meanings of technology. The study also indicates that definitions should not be the starting point for conceptualizing technology. Definitions become meaningful only as the perspectives and goals of individuals, communities, and cultures are better understood. Also, some active engagement with technology--a blend of mind- and hands-on activity--is vital if technology is to be meaningfully understood.;Regarding the methods and processes used by technologists (e.g., engineers, technicians, inventors, etc.) to accomplish their goals and tasks, the signal from this study is clear; extreme care should be exercised to avoid reducing technological (or scientific) methodology to simplistic terms. Complex human activity does not easily yield to generic categories or plans of procedure (e.g., for problem-solving, design, innovation, invention, etc.). The most distinct points of contrast between disciplines which were chosen for this study were in terms of style and approach. Clearly, the academic training and professional experience of, for example, the scientists and engineers are quite different from those of the philosophers.;A final result concerns the critical importance of the social science dimension. In spite of the intentional delimitation of the social science nominators and documents from this study, the centrality of the social science dimension surfaced repeatedly. Discussions of technology were consistently couched in their cultural and social contexts. The results of this study converge to send the clear message that technology simply cannot be conceptualized with integrity and in any conceptual depth apart from its social and cultural (human activity) contexts.