Technology

General aims of the faculty:

Technology is described as intervention by design: the use of practical and intellectual resources to develop products and systems (technological outcomes) that expand human possibilities by addressing needs and realising opportunities.

Technology was introduced as a new and exciting area for student learning in 1995. This was a critical addition to the New Zealand curriculum, allowing students to keep pace with and understand social and technological change. Since then, the need for learning in this curriculum area has become even greater as our population has become increasingly diverse, technologies have become more sophisticated, the demands of the workplace have become more complex and New Zealand continues to need innovatively focused social, including economic, transformation.

Twenty-first century New Zealand needs students who are lifelong learners, confident and creative, connected and actively involved. To be successful citizens of the present and the future, they need interactive experiences in keeping with the technological communities of practice which are currently informing and developing our future. As young New Zealanders, they also need to know about their technological past and that of other societies and cultures. This allows them to develop an awareness of the impacts and influences of technological developments on environments and societies, and vice versa.

New Zealand’s future relies on encouraging young New Zealanders to pursue careers with a technological focus. Technology education not only gives all students a level of technological literacy, but also provides senior secondary students with an educational foundation for technology related careers