Content analysis of work and technology books of the lower secondary course based on components of technological education

Keshavarz, M.; Soolmaz, N.

doi:10.22061/tej.2026.12448.3291

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Governance, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

10.22061/tej.2026.12448.3291

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In today’s world, where technology is advancing and evolving more rapidly than ever, educating skilled, creative, and technologically literate human resources has become increasingly essential. A society that equips its future generations with technological skills can take stronger steps toward sustainable development, innovation, and scientific and economic competitiveness. Therefore, educational systems have a significant responsibility to design purposeful curricula and use appropriate teaching tools to nurture capable students who are not only familiar with technological concepts and tools but also able to apply them creatively in solving real-life individual and social problems. In this context, textbooks, especially Work and Technology books for the first year of secondary school, play a crucial role in achieving educational objectives. Analyzing the content of these books through the lens of technological education can provide a clear picture of their effectiveness in meeting today’s educational needs.
Methods: This study is categorized as applied research, quantitative in nature, and uses the content analysis method with Shannon's entropy technique. The research population consisted of Work and Technology books for lower secondary education published in the 2024–2025 academic year. Sampling was not considered in this study, and all Work and Technology books for grades seven, eight, and nine were analyzed. The data collection tool in this study was a content analysis checklist based on the components of technological education, which included four main components: technology education, technological literacy, technological thinking, and technological competencies, along with their corresponding subcomponents. The method for determining the validity of the content analysis checklist was based on the face and content validity derived from Mehraban's study [14]. To determine the reliability of the tool using the simultaneous method, two work and technology teachers from lower secondary education analyzed a specific lesson from the Work and Technology books of this level simultaneously with the researcher, achieving an agreement coefficient of %92.42.
Findings: The findings indicate that the highest frequency and implementation of technological literacy components in the lower secondary school Work and Technology books pertain to “Technology Education” and “Technological Literacy,” followed by “Technological Competency,” and finally “Technological Thinking.” Furthermore, the highest informational load and significance coefficient of these components in the seventh-grade book is associated with “Technology Education,” while in the eighth- and ninth-grade books, it is linked to “Technological Literacy.” The lowest informational load and significance across all books in this educational stage is attributed to the component of “Technological Thinking.”
Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that “Technology Education” and “Technological Literacy” have the highest, and “Technological Competency” and “Technological Thinking” the lowest levels of implementation in lower secondary Work and Technology books. Based on the results of the research questions, it is evident that “Technological Thinking” has received less attention compared to other components. Therefore, it is recommended that the development of Work and Technology books move more toward problem-solving approaches to better foster technological thinking. Additionally, strengthening collaboration between schools and technology centers on the one hand, and holding specialized training courses for teachers on the other, can provide students with real-world experiences and support the effective implementation of technological education programs.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Education technology -training course

COPYRIGHTS
© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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