International Journal of Technology and Design Education 9, 137–151, 1999.

 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Assessing South Africa Learners’ Attitudes Towards

Technology by Using the PATT (Pupils’ Attitudes
Towards Technology) Questionnaire

SUSAN VAN RENSBURG and PIET ANKIEWICZ

Department of Curriculum Studies, Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), P.O. Box 524,
Auckland Park, Johannesburg South Africa 2006

CHRIS MYBURGH
Department of Educational Sciences, Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), P.O. Box 524,
Auckland Park, Johannesburg South Africa 2006

ABSTRACT: The PATT (Pupils’ Attitude Towards Technology) questionnaire, as validated

for the USA, was used to assess and analyse South African learners’ attitudes towards tech-
nology. The responses of 500 girls and 510 boys, from the Gauteng Province in South
Africa, were analysed using a principal component and a principal factor analysis. The
explained variance was rather low and indicated that the questionnaire needed adaptation
for the South African context. The outcomes of the research were positive in that there
were no significant differences regarding the gender attitudes that ‘technology should be
for all’ and that ‘technology makes contributions to society’. The fact that girls have a stronger
gender discrimination view related to themselves regarding technology needs to be addressed
in future curriculum development issues.

Keywords: attitudes towards technology, gender differences, technology education, values

issues

INTRODUCTION

Meaningful discussions on education in South Africa need to take place

against the political and historical background of the country (Ankiewicz,
1995, p. 245). Racial discrimination, amongst other things underpinning the
previous education system, led to disparity in education provision (African
National Congress (ANC) Discussion Document, 1994, p. 2).

a. The extent to which Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

a. feature in South African education
Technology Education is a developing learning area in South African
schools, and has no proven track record. Its effect on the socio-political
environment can be investigated by using the situation of related subjects
(e.g. Mathematics and Science) within the South African educational context
as basis.
Dugger (1993, p. 174) discusses the relationship between Technology
Education, Science and Mathematics and points out that Technology
Education emerges as an equal partner with Science and Mathematics
138 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

(Dugger, 1993, p. 181). However, the perspective on Science and

Mathematics in South African education is bleak. Of the total number of
grade 12 candidates who wrote external, norm-referenced examinations in
1992, of the 20% who entered the examination in Science only 14% passed
at grade 12 level. Both male and female groups are considered to be
academically low achievers in the field of Mathematics and Science (IEA,
TIMSS-SA, 1996, pp. 1–11). Furthermore, the percentage of learners in
South African schools taking Mathematics from grade 10 to 12 has
decreased in all three grades over the period 1986–1990; namely in grade
10 from 87% to 78%, in grade 11 from 48% to 39% and in grade 12 from
47% to 36% (Strauss, 1991).
According to statistics (Table I) there were also differences in the 12th
grade of school in the percentage of learners taking Mathematics and
Science, with respect to the gender distribution of learners taking these
subjects (Department of National Education (DNE), 1995).
At tertiary level, however, the number of females interested in the
Sciences, Mathematics, Technology and Engineering varies significantly
from the number of males interested in these fields. The most worrying area
is in the applied fields of science and technology where only 2% of the
engineers, 4% in the field of land surveying and 11% in architecture are
female (Science Policy Digest (SPD), 1995, pp. 2/3).
Although Technology Education is still in its infancy in South Africa,
certain aspects of Technology Education and applications of technology have
taken place in informal and non-formal education countrywide. An example
of this is the Koi-San Literacy Project of the South African Defence Force
where part of the project consisted of supplying sewing machines to teach
women sewing and making clothing. In this instance the steps of the tech-
nological design process, namely design, re-design, evaluation and the use
of information technologies were lacking. Nonetheless, problem solving
(viz.: realisation of a clothing need, the making of it), the improvement
of living and environmental conditions and in some instances entrepreneurial
skills were promoted. Although entrepreneurial skills may not have been
promoted explicitly, they may have been enhanced implicitly, as oppor-
tunities for setting up informal business practices were created.
Until now, information on Technology Education has only come from
a small number of initiatives by private schools that started implementing

TABLE I
Percentage of learners in Grade 12, 1992

Subject Percentage Grade 12- Gender distribution of Grade 12-

learners taking learners taking Maths/Science
Maths/Science
Males Females

Maths 36% 53% 47%

Science 20% 57% 43%
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 139

Technology Education informally. One such school is the Phuthing High

School where significant differences were reported in the attitude of girls
towards Technology Education when compared to their male counterparts
(Kahn, 1994). The headmaster of Phuthing High School reported that girls
in this school preferred Home Economics as a school subject to Technology
Education.

b. The role of Technology Education

Possible linkage of Science, Technology Education, Mathematics and the
environment (Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM)
Technology Education Project: Technology 2005, 1996) could be instru-
mental in changing the present situation in South Africa into one of
anticipation and hope. Technology Education could contribute to the
improvement in the fields of the natural sciences, technology and economic
development (Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD), 1994).
Science and technology were developed from the seventeenth century
onwards with the social justification that they were agents of liberation,
both intellectually and materially. Science was supposed to provide true
knowledge and liberation from superstition and ignorance. Technology,
giving some control over the material world, was supposed to liberate
humankind from excessive manual labour, hunger, poverty, inadequate
housing and poor health.
Various South African policy documents spell out quite clearly that the
introduction of more advanced forms of technology is a vital element of
human resource development (CEPD, 1994, 1995; Committee of Heads
of Education Departments (CHED), 1994; DNE, 1993; Republic of South
Africa (RSA), 1994a, 1994b, 1995). The policy documents do not only
acknowledge the responsibility of the State to provide education and training
to all South Africans, but special reference is also made to the need for more
females to be involved in science and technology,
achieving equitable education requires that new ways be found to encourage more girls
to select subjects like Mathematics and Science (RSA, 1994a, p. 54).

It is thus a national priority not only to promote Science and Technology

Education, but also to encourage and enable women to pursue these fields.
Technology Education should also be introduced with the rationale of
eliminating discrepancies between the advantaged and disadvantaged
communities and shifting South Africa’s position on a continuum, from a
consumer to a producer nation. Ankiewicz (1995, p. 248) pointed out the
potential positive impact that Technology Education could have on the
natural world, society and the individual’s physical, economic, moral and
general well-being.
Technology Education should, furthermore, offer opportunities for girls
to be involved in working with materials that formerly were considered
to be masculine. This should prepare them for employment and a wider
variety of career opportunities. Technology Education, as a new field of
140 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

study, could be instrumental in removing gender-related discrepancies should

both sexes be involved and reflect a positive attitude towards it.
The situation described above has led to the further need for investigating
the attitude of learners towards technology. Seeing that this investigation
took place in the South African context it is necessary to explore the con-
ceptual framework in which Technology Education features.

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

a. A national project for Technology Education in South Africa

An historical overview of the developments regarding Technology Education
in South African schools for the period until 1994 has already been provided
by Ankiewicz (1995).
In October 1994 the HEDCOM approved a project for ‘Curriculum
Development in Technology Education: Technology 2005’. The establish-
ment of a project committee was also approved and a wide range of
acknowledged experts in the field of Technology Education, some of them
Provincial Education Department officials, were appointed. This was the
first occasion for Government officials, teachers, Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO) stakeholders and different interest groups such as the
South African Institute for Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) to collaborate in
an official Technology Education curriculum development. A national task
team was appointed to work full time on the project. The TECHNOLOGY
2005 project aims, through collaborative processes, to work with provin-
cial education departments in the development of:
– a National Curriculum Framework for Technology Education as part of
compulsory education;
– appropriate pre- and in-service (INSET) teacher education programmes
in Technology Education;
– systems for the implementation and evaluation of the TECHNOLOGY
2005 project (HEDCOM, 1996, p. 1).
The successful implementation of this project would depend, amongst
other factors, on learners’ attitudes, an aspect that has not been investi-
gated in South Africa before.

b. The concept of ‘technology’

Although there are various definitions of technology, this article focuses
primarily on the definitions that form part of educational policy for
Technology Education in South Africa. According to these definitions
Technology as a field of study emphasises,
humankind’s purposeful mastery and creative use of knowledge and skills regarding
products, processes and approaches in order to improve management of the environ-
ment. It also emphasises the use and production of artefacts and processes by means of
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 141

which labour, productivity and entrepreneurial empowerment are accomplished (DNE,

1993, p. 36).

Another view of technology is that,

it is a disciplined process using resources of materials, energy, natural phenomena and
existing artefacts and techniques to achieve human purpose (CHED, 1994, p. 1).

HEDCOM (1996, p. 12) defines technology as:

a disciplined process using knowledge, skills and resources to meet human needs and wants
by designing, making, and evaluating products and processes.

c. The concept of ‘Technology Education’

According to HEDCOM (1996, p. 12) Technology Education:
concerns technological knowledge and skills, as well as technological processes, and
involves understanding the impact of technology on both the individual and society. It
is ultimately designed to promote the capability of the learner to perform effectively in
the technological environment he/she lives in, and to stimulate him/her to contribute
towards its improvement.

These definitions of technology and Technology Education by HEDCOM

presently form part of the education policy of the National Education
Department in South Africa. These definitions are in line with the authors’
views of the two concepts.

d. Content as an essential feature of technology and Technology

d. Education
The following components of content as an essential feature of technology
and Technology Education have been identified by the HEDCOM
Technology Education Project: Technology 2005 (HEDCOM, 1996, p. 6)
and also by Eisenberg (1996, pp. 36–38):
– a cognitive component: knowledge and skills;
– capabilities and competencies: identify, design, make, evaluate;
– an affective component: attitudes, values and awareness.
Knowledge, as part of the cognitive component of technological content,
consists of general dimensions such as energy and power, information,
materials and components (HEDCOM, 1996; Eisenberg, 1996) and specialist
dimensions, such as systems and control, structures, processing and com-
munication. The importance of both conceptual and procedural knowledge
was underlined by McCormick, Murphy and Hennessy (1994, p. 21). Skills,
as part of the cognitive component of technological content, do not only
consist of elements traditionally known as techniques or a repertoire of skills
(McCormick et al., 1994, p. 7) but also cognitive aspects (Johnson &
Thomas, 1992, pp. 7–10) such as problem-solving, organising, mapping and
processing information, decision making, and ability for group work.
Technological capability and competencies involve the learner’s capacity
to engage in technological activities and develop optimum solutions to
142 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

technological problems. Technological capabilities and competencies

comprise the following aspects: identifying, designing, making and evalu-
ating (HEDCOM, 1996, pp. 13–14).
Attitudes, values and awareness are important aspects of the affective
component of technological content to be taken into account (Barnett, 1994;
Conway, 1994; DeLuca, 1992; HEDCOM, 1996, p. 14; Waks, 1994). These
aspects include the inter-relationship between technology, societies, cultures
(including its associated values and attitudes), economic processes and
the natural environment (HEDCOM, 1996, pp. 12–14).
Values and attitudes, intrinsic to a person, influence his/her views towards
Technology Education. New values and attitudes generated by Technology
Education in turn influence the society and community on how the envi-
ronment, economy and culture are viewed. The importance of investigating
values and attitudes for Technology Education is also underlined by
UNESCO (1986a). It was for these reasons that the present investigation
into the attitude of learners towards technology was conducted.
Because the focus of this article is on the assessment of attitudes, the
concept of ‘attitude’ will briefly be discussed.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY

The traditional approach is that attitudes have an integrated three-dimen-

sional nature and that they consist of a cognitive, an affective and a
behavioural component (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1973, p. 493; Ostrom, 1969,
p. 12; Breckler, 1984, p. 1191).
The affective component of an attitude refers to a person’s ‘feeling’ or
emotion concerning an attitudinal object (Heaven, 1982, p. 9). The emotions
or the involuntary physical reactions associated with attitudes allow for
an affective component (White, 1988, p. 101). Therefore, learners’ primary
affective associations with technology and Technology Education will be
labelled attitudes towards technology.
Due to the fact that the PATT questionnaire, which was used in this
investigation, is only suitable for assessing the cognitive and affective
components of attitudes, this article will not deal with the behavioural
component. The mere fact that the majority of learners who participated
in the investigation only had limited opportunities for technological con-
ceptual development also restricted the assessment of the cognitive
component. Subsequently, this article will only focus on the affective com-
ponent of attitudes, because that was the only component which could be
assessed. A detailed analysis of all the components of attitudes is given
in the follow-up article (Ankiewicz, Van Rensburg & Myburgh, 1999).
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 143

AN INVESTIGATION OF LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY

a. Aim of the investigation

Given that the impact of Technology Education in South Africa would
also depend on learners’ attitudes the aim of this investigation was to assess
their attitudes towards technology.

b. Data collection
Three groups of learners, from the Gauteng Province of South Africa and
between the ages 12 and 16, were tested. (The Gauteng Province includes
the Pretoria, Witwatersrand and Johannesburg areas and is the best eco-
nomically developed province. Soweto also falls within the Gauteng
Province.) One group was selected from the former Department of Education
and Training (administering the education of black students at that time),
the second group was a PROTEC-taught group without Technology
Education and the third group was a PROTEC-taught group with Technology
Education training. Amongst others, the PATT questionnaire, developed
by de Vries (1988) and de Vries, Dugger and Bame (1993) and validated
for the USA, was used to measure pupils’ attitudes towards technology
and their understanding of technological concepts. As far as could be
ascertained, this was the first time that the PATT instrument was applied
in South Africa.
The PATT USA consists of:
– items 1–11 on demographic data;
– items 12–69 (Likert type items) on the affective component of attitudes
towards technology (Table II);
– items 70–100 (Likert type items) on the cognitive component of attitudes
towards technology;
– an open ended question that asks for a simple description of technology
(de Vries et al., 1993).
According to de Vries (1991, p. 174) the PATT instrument had been tested
many times in about 20 countries. Research indicated that the PATT ques-
tionnaire had also been used in developing countries such as Botswana
(Meide, 1997, p. 208), Kenya (Kapiyo & Otieno, 1986), India (Rajput, 1988)
as well as Nigeria and Mexico (de Klerk Wolters, 1989, p. 300). Meide
(1997, p. 213) claims ‘that the results of PATT Botswana added to the
knowledge base for educators who wish to gain understanding of the
attitudes and concepts of technology among the Form 5 pupils of 1993’.
These references supported the assumption that the PATT questionnaire
could be applied in South Africa.

c. Data analysis
The original sample consisted of 1245 respondents (Dyrenfurth, 1995).
The data was screened for missing values and outliers. These responses were
144 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

TABLE II
PATT items relating to the affective component of attitudes towards technology

Item no. Description of test item

12. When something new is discovered, I want to know more about it immediately.
13. Technology is as difficult for boys as it is for girls.
14. Technology is good for the future of this country.
15. To understand something of technology you have to take a difficult training course.
16. At school you hear a lot about technology.
17. I will probably choose a job in technology.
18. I would like to know more about computers.
19. A girl can very well have a technological job.
20. Technology makes everything work better.
21. You have to be smart to study technology.
22. I would not like to learn more about technology at school.
23. I like to read technological magazines.
24. A girl can become a car mechanic.
25. Technology is very important in life.
26. Technology is only for smart people.
27. Technology lessons are important.
28. I will not consider a job in technology.
29. There should be less TV and radio programs about technology.
30. Boys are able to do practical things better than girls.
31. Everyone needs technology.
32. I would rather not have technology lessons at school.
33. I do not understand why anyone would want a job in technology.
34. If there was a school club about technology I would certainly join it.
35. Girls are able to operate a computer.
36. Technology has brought more good things than bad.
37. You have to be strong for most technological jobs.
38. Technology at home is something schools should teach about.
39. I would enjoy a job in technology.
40. I think visiting a factory is boring.
41. Boys know more about technology than girls do.
42. The world would be a better place without technology.
43. To study technology you have to be talented.
44. I should be able to take technology as a school subject.
45. I would like a career in technology later on.
46. I am not interested in technology.
47. Boys are more capable of doing technological jobs than girls.
48. Using technology makes a country less prosperous.
49. You can study technology only when you are good at both mathematics and
science.
50. There should be more education about technology.
51. Working in technology would be boring.
52. I enjoy repairing things at home.
53. More girls should work in technology.
54. Technology causes large unemployment.
55. Technology does not need a lot of mathematics.
56. Technology as a subject should be taken by all pupils.
57. Most jobs in technology are boring.
58. I think machines are boring.
59. Girls prefer not to go to a technical school.
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 145

TABLE II (Continued)

Item no. Description of test item

60. Because technology causes pollution, we should use less of it.

61. Everybody can study technology.
62. Technology lessons help to train you for a good job.
63. Working in technology would be interesting.
64. A technological hobby is boring.
65. Girls think technology is boring.
66. Technology is the subject of the future.
67. Everybody can have a technological job.
68. Not everyone needs technology lessons at school.
69. With a technological job your future is promised.

deleted from the data base. The final research sample consisted of 500
girls and 510 boys. For the purpose of this study only the responses to
questions 12–69 of the PATT questionnaire were analysed as we were mainly
interested in the affective-related attitudes towards technology.
The principal component analysis (PCA) (Child, 1973) was applied.
Sixteen factors with an eigen value greater than one resulted from this
analysis. A Scree test was also applied where the eigen values were plotted
against the identified factors. From the application of the Scree test six
factors seemed to be the ‘best’ solution. Therefore, a principal factor analysis
(PFA) using the six factors and with varimax and orthogonal rotation was
consequently applied to the data. The six factors are given in Table III.
To simplify the description of the six main factors, only items with values
above 0.3 were chosen (Child, 1973). The explained variance with this
solution was a rather low 24.4%. To investigate and evaluate construct
validity another version of the factor analytical procedures was applied,
i.e. a doblimin rotation. Further, a Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient
of 0.66 resulted from analyses of reliability.

TABLE III
Identified PATT attitude factors

Factor Description of factor Item numbers (on PATT questionnaire)

Factor 1 Disposition towards technology 11, 15, 16, 17, 22, 27, 33, 38, 43, 44, 45,
51, 62, 68
Factor 2 Contributions of technology 13, 18, 19, 24, 26, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 49,
52, 61, 65
Factor 3 Dislike of technology 12, 39, 41, 50, 53, 54, 56, 57, 59, 63
Factor 4 Gender discrimination 23, 29, 40, 46, 58, 64
Factor 5 Personality prerequisites 14, 20, 21, 25, 28, 31, 36, 42, 47, 48
Factor 6 Technology for all 55, 60, 66, 67

Items underlined carried a factor loading value greater than 0.3

See Table II for the description of the items.
146 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

d. Univariate hypotheses
The folllowing hypotheses were tested:
H 0: There is no significant difference between boys and girls when
their attitudes are compared related to each of the identified factors
F1 to F6;
Ha1: The average per factor of boys is significantly higher than that
of girls when their attitudes are compared and related to each of
the identified factors F1 to F6;
Ha2: The average per factor of boys is significantly lower than that
of girls when their attitudes are compared and related to each of
the identified factors F1 to F6.

e. Results
Using the six main factors, Hotellings’ T 2-test and Student’s t-test were
applied to the two groups, boys as compared to girls. Hotellings’ p-value
(p = 0.000) indicated that the vectors of averages for six factors, namely
attitudes towards technology, differed significantly at the 1% level of sig-
nificance for boys and girls.
Table IV shows a summary of the results of the comparisons between
boys and girls when Student’s t-test was applied to each of the identified
factors (only means are given).
There were no significant differences regarding the gender attitudes
that ‘technology should be for all’ and that technology ‘makes contributions
to society’. Certain personality traits, namely to be smart and strong were
seen by both sexes to be prerequisites for studying technology.
Differences that were identified are that boys have a stronger view on
the dislike towards technology and girls have a stronger gender discrimi-
nation view related to technology. This might indicate that girls experience
gender discrimination more than boys do (Table IV).

TABLE IV
Hypotheses investigated

Factor Hypotheses supported/rejected Remarks

Disposition towards technology (F1) H0 rejecteda in favour of Ha2 Boys (23.61) <
Girls (26.85)
Contribution of technology (F2) H0 supported
Dislike of technology (F3) H0 rejecteda in favour of Ha1 Boys (40.64) >
Girls (39.71)
Gender discrimination (F4) H0 rejectedb in favour of Ha2 Boys (19.62) <
Girls (23.29)
Personality prerequisites (F5) H0 supported
Technology for all (F6) H0 supported
a b
p < 0.01; p < 0.05.
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 147

DISCUSSION

a. Adapting the PATT questionnaire as a future project

Anderssen and Myburgh (1988, pp. 281–287) addressed problems con-
cerning questionnaire design and application in Southern Africa. They
pointed out that concepts and terminology, the frame of reference, the culture
and how a question is formulated, all influence empirical research. It is,
therefore, to be expected that data would not be as valid and reliable in
Southern Africa as in mono-lingual, developed First World countries func-
tioning in a technological society.
The explained variance of the PATT questionnaire being as low as 24.4%
indicates that some of the following related problems might exist with it
in the South African context.
– A one-on-one correspondence between what is implied by the question
and what is understood by the respondent is almost non-existent.
Probably, this can be attributed to three misconceptions:
1. Either the word technology is misunderstood, or not understood at
all (PATT items 20, 22, 23 and 37).
2. Respondents are not aware of the meaning of some of the first world
technology-related terminology such as Lego, computers etc. (PATT
items 6 and 18).
3. Respondents have difficulty with the language of the items in PATT
as their responses are in English, which is not their vernacular.
– Questions contain value laden words such as smart, difficult etc. (PATT
items 13, 14, 15, 21, 26, etc.).
– Negative perceptions, such as I am not interested in technology are
conveyed (PATT items 33, 42, 46, etc.).
– Questions are not neutral in the gender aspects but are directed, such
as: Girls cannot do technology (PATT items 30, 41, 47 etc.).
– Most of the questions focus on traditionally accepted boy’s activities.
– The activities testing attitudes to technology do not cover holistic and
micro thinking approaches, i.e. both the left- and right-brain cognitive
functions are not covered by questions.
– Some levels of taxonomies, for example those of Bloom; Krathwohl,
Bloom and Masia; and Simpson respectively for the cognitive, affec-
tive and psychomotor domains (Biehler & Snowman, 1993, pp. 279–284)
are not covered by the items.
The explained variance (24.4%) furthermore indicates that the PATT
questionnaire should be adapted and validated for use in the South African
context. The language of communication, namely English, should also be
accounted for as it is not the mother tongue of most of the learners. [Section
32(b) of the South African Constitution allows for the right to instruction
in the language of choice (Department of Education (DoE), 1995, p. 46).
Most of the eleven official languages in South Africa are not developed
to convey the scientific vocabulary necessary for secondary and tertiary edu-
cation. English is therefore considered to be the vehicle of communication
148 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

throughout the country, but learners are not necessarily competent in the
usage of English. Parents also opt for English as a medium of instruction
as greater job opportunities exist for those fluent in English.]
Another factor, which should be taken into account, is that the ques-
tionnaire had initially been drawn up in a developed country where ‘high
tech’ is present in and around the daily world of life and work. South Africa,
by contrast, is still a developing country with ‘high tech’ virtually absent
in rural areas. The word ‘technology’ would not be found in daily vocab-
ulary use. The questionnaire needs to be standardised for the South African
context and should make less use of concepts from developed countries such
as ‘LEGO’, and ‘computers’. Words like ‘important’ and ‘boring’ might
be leading learners to answering in certain patterns. The language profi-
ciency of learners in this specific context necessitates a different way of
formulating test items in order for them to understand and interpret
correctly complicated technology-related constructs.
For the above-mentioned reasons the authors designed an attitudinal
technology profile (ATP) questionnaire which will be discussed in the
follow-up article. The ATP questionnaire has provided more reliable and
valid results in the South African context than its western counterpart
(Ankiewicz, Van Rensburg & Myburgh, 1999).

b. Cultural and societal influence

Cultural and societal issues are complex, particularly in a multicultural
society. Although the intention was not to investigate cultural and societal
issues, the following possible reasons could be presented as explanations
for the particular differences between the boys’ and girls’ attitudes towards
technology. It is important to note that these possible reasons should be
investigated thoroughly by means of a qualitative research strategy.
The fact that boys seem to be less attracted towards technology than girls
could be attributed to factors in traditional African culture. In these cultures
the male was historically more dominant in the management of tribal struc-
tures and chieftain systems while the women tilled the lands, carried the
water and would value empowerment by technology more.
The difference in the percentage of girls taking and passing Mathematics
and Science (Table I) could possibly be attributed to cultural and societal
peer group pressure and different interests. If Maslow’s model or a hier-
archy of needs (McCown, Driscoll & Roop, 1996, pp. 282–285) is applied,
then it could follow that the overriding need would rather be to focus on
solving problems related to basic needs and interests influenced by society
and the peer group. It would, therefore, seem inevitable that girls would
rather study Food Technology than Electronics or Structures, for example.
Food Technology could be used as the basis for developing technology
among females. Should Food Technology be included as an integral part
of Technology Education, cultural and societal views could be influenced
 ASSESSING SOUTH AFRICAN LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES 149

such that respect and self-esteem for girls and their contribution to science
and technology are developed and valued.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As the sample was drawn only from the Gauteng Province and cultural
differences exist across the country, it would be wise not to generalise.
However, bearing in mind the relatively low reliability and validity of the
data obtained with the PATT questionnaire, the following conclusions could
be made from the research. The t-test indicated that in two of the most
important value issues towards Technology Education, girls differed sig-
nificantly from boys. In general, their views towards Technology Education
were more positive. This could affect Technology Education radically in the
sense that more positive outcomes from girls in comparison to boys could
be expected than was previously acknowledged. The influence of
Technology Education could probably be optimised by maximum exposure
of girls to Technology Education. The girls viewed boys as more compe-
tent at Technology Education than boys viewed themselves. This is a typical
South African female value judgement which should be addressed so that
girls will have a more positive self-image. The fact that boys may view
technology as less positive may indicate that technological jobs could be
viewed as blue collar jobs while many of South Africa’s people view
academic education and white collar jobs as of higher status. The views
of the boys towards Technology Education will have to be influenced in
a more positive direction if Technology Education is to survive and if low
achievement of both sexes is to be eliminated.
Future activities for implementation of Technology Education should
account for value issues and the role that culture and society play in
Technology Education. Problem identification should be at grassroots level,
specific to the needs of that society and inputs should lead to the devel-
opment of relevant modules, materials and curricula. There is a need to
design a more valid and reliable instrument than the PATT questionnaire for
developing contexts such as South Africa. It can further be envisaged that
within the context of this research project, but also regarding other projects
in the rest of the world, there might be a need for the application of qual-
itative strategies (e.g. ethnographics) to investigate some of the identified
issues.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to express their gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Michael
J. Dyrenfurth (Iowa State University of Science and Technology, USA)
for making the data available on which the analyses were based.
150 SUSAN VAN RENSBURG ET AL.

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THE AUTHORS

Dr. Susan van Rensburg holds a B.Sc. from the University of Pretoria and a Doctor Educationis
(D.Ed.) from the Rand Afrikaans University. Presently she is a teacher-researcher in the
field of Technology Education. This research was undertaken during a post-doctoral, (second)
M.Ed. degree.
Address: Department of Curriculum Studies, Rand Afrikaans University, P.O. Box, 524,
Auckland Park 2006; Tel: +27-11-704-2282.

Dr. Piet Ankiewicz holds a M.Sc. and D.Ed. from the Potchefstroom University for Christian
Higher Education. He is presently involved in Physical Science Education and Technology
Education at the Rand Afrikaans University.
Address: Department of Curriculum Studies, Rand Afrikaans University, P.O. Box
524, Auckland Park 2006; Tel: +27-11-489-2640; Fax: +27-11-489-2048; E-mail:
pja@edcur.rau.ac.za

Prof. Chris Myburgh holds a B.Sc. (Hons) Maths from the University of Pretoria, a M.Com.
and a D.Ed. from the Rand Afrikaans University. He is Head of the Department Educational
Sciences, Rand Afrikaans University.
Address: Department of Educational Sciences, Rand Afrikaans University, P.O. Box
524, Auckland Park 2006; Tel: +27-11-489-2680; Fax: +27-11-489-2055; E-mail:
cphm@rau3.rau.ac.za