Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Engineering And Familiarity With Design, Engineering And Technology: Perspectives From A National Population

Sixty-nine elementary teachers voluntarily attended a career development workshop on integrating engineering into curriculum. A survey previously developed was administered to the group before the beginning of the workshop to assess their perceptions of and familiarity of design, engineering, and technology (DET). Quantitative analysis showed that the teachers thought DET was importance while rated their familiarity low. ANOVA found significant differences in how teachers with different levels of teaching experience rated the importance of DET and their familiarity with DET. The implications on teacher professional development are discussed.