The need for organizational and curricular change within the Industrial Arts field has been apparent to many educators for quite some time. As early as 1947, William Warner had developed a proposal entitled a Curriculum To Reflect Technology (Phillips, 1985) which proposed the curricular components of power, transportation, manufacturing, construction, and communication. During the 1960s and 1970s, several large curriculum projects, most notably The American Industry Project, Industrial Arts Curriculum Project, and The Maryland Plan were undertaken and developed to redirect industrial arts. Another major development was the Jackson's Mill Industrial Arts Curriculum Theory (Snyder and Hales, 1981). This proposal advocated that industrial arts programs should center around the Human Adaptive Systems Model and the Universal Systems Model to reflect the study of industry and technology.
A major milestone in the process of change came on February 20, 1985, when the American Industrial Arts Association became the International Technology Education Association. Since that time, many other local programs and state associations have changed their names to reflect an emphasis on technology.
The Industrial Arts Division (IAD) of the American Vocational Association (AVA), however, projected a more traditional posture, and it is only recently that the membership voted to change its name to the Technology Education Division. The change process was complex because it also involved other divisions within the AVA.
This article reports a study conducted to examine the status of the technology education movement within the IAD.
Recent developments within the technology education (industrial arts) movement are impacting on a variety of issues. Even the most adamant
Robert. Wicklein is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State Universitv. Stillwater.
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Traditionalists of industrial arts are aware of changes that are taking place within the field. Serious challenges are being directed at the educational value of traditional curricula (McCrory, 1987). The result is that many programs are being phased out or revised significantly to reflect a technology education emphasis. Stacy (1986) noted that, in Oklahoma, technology education was being phased in as a means of abating the declining (industrial arts program) enrollments which were leading to the elimination of many of our programs" (p. 7).
Recognizing many of these concerns and issues, the leadership of the IAD sought its memberships' views on the current status of the division and the direction of the IAD. It also sought to determine the preferences of the membership on issues relative to the technology education movement. A survey of the total IAD membership was proposed to collect data on views of the membership toward the technology education movement.
Purpose of the Study
This study was conducted at the request of the Vice President of the IAD and as a specific charge by the IAD membership. The research was proposed and approved at the IAD business meeting held during the American Vocational Association conference in December 1987. A special 10-member, ad hoc committee on technology education was organized and charged with the responsibility of assessing the L~D membership's reaction to specific technology education issues. The goals of the committee and study were as follows:
1. Study/review the technology education movement in the context of industrial arts education, including the names/directories of state technology education (industrial arts) associations.
2. Survey the members of the IAD concerning technology education issues.
3. Review the general-purpose statements and philosophical basis of the IAD and develop recommendations for change based on committee findings.
4. Review data on association names and, if the data support a name change for the IAD, make recommendations for a name change.
5. Recommend the leadership roles that the IAD should take in the technology education movement.
Therefore, this study's major purpose was to determine the opinions and preferences of the IAD membership on the subject of the technology education. An additional goal was to review the philosophical underpinnings of the division through a study of the IAD mission statement.
Methodology
Subjects
The subjects that were included in this research encompassed the total membership of the IAD (n = 1482), as of March 1988. Sixty-four percent (n = 948) of the members provided usable returns. The majority of those responding (71.9%) were from 36 to 60 years of age (Table 1). The largest number of respondents classified themselves as classroom teachers, 52.4%, with teacher educators second at 21.7%. Nearly 27% of the respondents stated that they had 26 or more years of experience in technology education/industrial arts. The largest group of respondents to the survey (22.5%) was from region five—Western state6 and territories—although all of the AVA regions were proportionally represented.
Instrumentation
A questionnaire was developed to solicit the opinions of the IAD membership. After several drafts, it was approved by the ad hoc committee on technology education. The instrument consisted of 11 items and was introduced by a cover letter that described what the survey was and how it would be used. The instrument was designed to collect from the membership demographic data, as well as its preferences, opinions, and priorities. It was not necessary, therefore, to pretest or analyze the instrument for reliability.
Procedures
The questionnaire was mailed to 1482 members of the IAD. Six hundred eighty-seven members (46%) completed and returned the initial questionnaire. A follow-up mailing took place during September 1988 in which 795 surveys were sent to the nonresponding members of the division. The rate of return from the follow-up mailing was 33% or 261 survey 6. The combined mail-outs yielded 948 survey6, a 64% return rate.
To determine if there were a particular bias within the nonresponding IAD members, a random sample of the 534 nonrespondents was made. Thirty (5%) of these members were contacted and surveys were completed over the telephone. No major discrepancies were determined to exist between the responses of those who were telephoned and those who responded through the mail. The returned mail and telephone survey6 yielded 978 respondents or a 66% return rate. Data were also gathered from other sources, including state supervisors of technology education/industrial arts, to ascertain the current names of state, regional, and local profes6ional teacher associations within the technology education/industrial arts discipline.
Data Analysis
Descriptive stati6tic6 were used to analyze the data which were evaluated to describe the frequency of respon6e6 and the percentage of responses. Data were collected on 978 subjects and are presented in the findings section of this article.
Findings
One of the primary goals of this study was to review and determine the current status and direction of the Industrial Arts Division (IAD)
within the American Vocational Association (AVA) in relation to the technology education movement. To ascertain how their professional affiliations related to technology education/industrial arts, the members of the IAD were asked to indicate their current membership in specific organizations. Table 2 presents descriptive statistics relating to these organizations. The largest professional affiliation was to individual state vocational and state technology education association6 with 73.3% and 66.5% of the IAD reporting membership in these as60ciation6, respectively. The leading independent professional association was the International Technology Education Association with 62% of the respondents indicating membership. IAD membership in the remaining associations listed on the survey instrument ranged from 5.8% to 28.5%.
Industrial Arts Division members were asked to state the title of their program/department and their individual state technology education/industrial arts teacher association. These data are presented in Table 3. The largest percentage of program/department titles was industrial arts" with 24.5% of the respondents indicating this designation. The title technology education was second at 19%, and the combination title "technology education" industrial arts" (or vice-versa) was third with a 14.9% response rate. The combination of these two groups comprised 33.9% of the total respondents. Other descriptors were not indicative of large numbers of program titles. With regard to state technology education/industrial arts teacher associations, the dominant name was termed a State Technology Education Association with 44% or 22 states using this designation. Ten states (20%) used the descriptor a State" Industrial Technology Education Association and 8 states (16%) continued to use a State X Industrial Arts Association. A small percentage of states, 6% (3 states), used the title a State" Industrial Education Association. Seven states did not report or did not have a state association. To determine IAD membership preference on a proposed name change of the division, members were asked if they would or would not support a proposal to have the name of the division changed from the Industrial Arts Division of AVA to the Technology Education Division of AVA. Nine hundred and forty-eight (84.49%) of the respondents indicated that they would support the name change, and 2.42% did not respond to this item and were classified as missing values (see Table 4). As a test for nonrespondent bias on the a proposed name change item," a random sample of the members not responding to the initial and follow-up mail-out (n = 534) was done. Thirty nonresponding members (6%) were contacted by telephone and surveyed at this time. The telephone survey yielded 73.3% who stated they would support the proposed name change, 20.0% who indicated they would not support the name change, and 6.7% (2) who were undecided. Because of the slight differences between the two groups (respondents vs. nonrespondents), a Chi-Square (X2) test was conducted on this specific item. No significant statistical difference was found between the two groups, x2 = (2, n = 60) = 2.333, p.<05. Due to this result, both groups, (initial and follow-up respondents and telephone nonrespondents), were combined yielding 84.15% in support of the name change proposal), 13.29% not in support of the proposal and 2.55% undeclared or missing values.
Equally important, the goals of this study were related to the purpose/philosophy and leadership roles of the division. To represent the purpose and philosophy of the division, the survey instrument included the mission statement of the Industrial Arts Division. It was written as follows:
The primary purpose of the Industrial Arts Division of the American Vocational Association is to provide national leadership and visibility which will foster, promote, and encourage the continual growth and development of industrial arts programs and leadership in our educational system. (Industrial Arts Division Operating Policies, 1976)
Members were asked if they agreed that the mission statement accurately described the mission of the division. Of those who responded to this item, 678 (69.3%) indicated that they agreed with the accuracy of the mission statement; 215 (22.0%) indicated that they did not agree with the accuracy of the mission statement; and 85 (8.7%) of the respondents did not indicate their preference. A space was provided on the instrument for the respondents to suggest changes to the mis6ion statement. The most frequently suggested change in the mission statement was the replacement of industrial arts with technology education. One hundred thirty-seven (56.6%) of those who proposed changes listed this suggestion. There was also a survey item which asked if the IAD were successfully accomplishing its stated mission. Of the returned survey6, 575 (58.8%) indicated that the division was succes6fully accomplishing its stated mis6ion; 288 (29.4%) did not think the division was accomplishing its mis6ion; and 115 (11.8%) did not respond to this item.
Several items in the survey sought recommendations for possible leadership activities. Members were asked if they would recommend the division's taking a greater leadership role within the technology education movement. Of those responding, 841 (86.0%) indicated that they would recommend a greater leadership role in this area; 57 (5.8%) respondents did not recommend this avenue of leadership; and 80 (8.2%) did not indicate any preference on this item
The instrument also provided a list of several proposed activities which could contribute to IAD's greater leadership role within the technology education movement. The members were asked to prioritize the list to indicate which activities would contribute the most to this end. Developing closer ties with the International Technology Education Association was regarded as the most important leadership activity by 186 (19.0%) of the responding members. Participating in lobbying activities at the local, state, and federal levels, and developing stronger ties with general education were the second and third priorities with 101(10.3%) and 84 (8.6%), respectively.
Discussion
The results of the survey showed a strong preference by the IAD members in favor of a change in emphasis within the division. The fundamental shift to reflect technology as the central focus of the division was clearly indicated by most of the IAD membership (86.0%), thereby expressing a desire for the division to take a greater leadership role in the Technology Education movement. Additional evidence supporting this fundamental shift was the proposed name change for the division. The title a Technology Education Division of AVA" was supported by 84.16% of the members. A more subtle, yet important change, was the response to the accuracy of the mission statement. A majority of the membership (69.3%) agreed with the accuracy of the mission statement. A portion of the members (24.7%), however, responded to the "open-ended" section of this item which asked them to specify a suggested revision to the mission statement. The most frequently suggested change to the mission statement, (56.6% of those reporting), related to replacing the term, industrial arts, with the term, technology education. The recommendation indicates a strong preference by those responding for a mission statement and philosophic position that align with the emphasis on technology education and technology issues.
Based upon the results of this survey, the ad hoc committee on technology education recommended to the leadership of the IAD, and the membership as a whole that the division take a greater role in the Technology Education movement by developing closer ties to the International Technology Education Association. It was further advocated that the name (title) of the division be changed to the Technology Education Division of the American Vocational Association." Finally, it was recommended that the mission statement of the division be changed to reflect the newly proposed title. The name change recommendation and the mission statement recommendation were specifically proposed, discussed, and passed with the overwhelming support of the attending members, (126 in favor vs. 5 opposed), at the 1988 IAD divisional business meeting. A year later, on December 5, 1989, the new name became official as the AVA's Assembly of Delegates approved a bylaws change.
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References
McCrory, D. L. (1987). Technology education: Industrial arts in transition, a review and synthesis of the research. Columbus, OH: The National Center for Research in Vocational Education.
Phillips, K (1985). A progression of technology in industrial arts education. In Technology education: A perspective on implementation (pp. 15-18). Reston, VA: International Technology Education Association.
Snyder, J. F. & Hales, J. F. (Eds.). (1981). Jackson's Mill industrial arts curriculum theory. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Department of Education.
Stacy, R. (1986). Technology education in Oklahoma: A plan for improvement. The Technology Teacher, 46(3), 7-12.
Wright, T. (1981). Manual training: Constructive activities enter the public schools. In Berella, R. & Wright, T. (Eds.), An Interpretive History of Industrial Arts (pp. 87-129). Bloomington, IL: American Council on Industrial Arts Teacher Education, 30th Yearbook.