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Banks, Frank and Chikasanda, Vanwyk K. M.
(2015).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-170-1
Abstract
Bangladesh and Malawi are used in this chapter as cases to illustrate issues related to technology and technical education in developing countries. Over the past two decades, many countries have reformed their school curricula to establish technology as a key learning area for reasons that include the technological nature of society, national economic drivers, enhancing the opportunities of the disadvantaged, and possibilities for developing higher cognitive skills, including creative thinking and problem solving. Implementing significant school change is, however, complex and costly. While the rhetoric of Technology Education for All in the global north has been to distinguish it from vocational education, in Bangladesh, Malawi and other emergent economies, the relevance of education to everyday life is paramount. In these countries, a vocational emphasis might mean that a greater proportion of the population attend school if its usefulness and relevance is more obvious to students and their families.