The first part of this thesis contains a theoretical description of the importance of technology and technological literacy. It introduces the dimensions and standards of technological literacy for pupils aged 9 to 12, followed by a comparative analysis of the Slovenian curriculums of technical subjects (natural science, technical studies, engineering and technology). The thesis has two goals. The first is to evaluate the technological literacy rates among students in the 5th and 6th grade of elementary school. For this purpose, the current evaluation method was expanded (S. Avsec, 2010) and the test battery, pilot test and final test were prepared. The final test was then used at four elementary schools to measure a technological literacy rate of 35.7 %. Statistically significant differences between grades and genders were sought using a t-test. The effect size was determined with a Cohen's d. In terms of the difference between the 5th and 6th grade, the effect was low to moderate for »overall technological literacy«, and moderate for »critical thinking« and »decision-making« components of technological literacy. In terms of gender, statistically significant differences can be observed only for »critical thinking« and »decision-making« components where the effect is weak to moderate. The second goal of this thesis was to find correlations between the attitude towards technical science (using the Tehnika in jaz questionnaire which is a reconstruction of Pupil's Attitude Towards Technology (PATT) instruments) and technology, and the technological literacy rate measured in the first part using a multiple regression analysis. Several correlations were observed. The strongest positive correlation (β = 0.22) was observed between the desire to study/work in technical sciences/engineering and the »critical thinking« and »decision-making« components, while the strongest negative correlation (β = - 0.17) was between the pupils' interest in engineering and technology and technological knowledge.
|
