Dr Angela Turner

A Critical Examination of Food Technology, Innovation and Teacher Education: A Technacy Genre Theory Perspective

Angela Turner — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:22:16 PST

The broad goal of this thesis was to examine the extent to which Food Technology in secondary schooling enables a pathway into the study of Food Technology at a higher education level. The study was guided by Technacy Genre Theory as it was assessed as offering the most contemporary approach in the literature for examining forms of technological knowledge through measuring the relationship between Human, Tool and Material/Ingredients of technological practice. The research found that Food Technology teaching in many secondary schools was significantly different to the genre practiced by the vast majority of professional Food Technologists.

Clarifying food innovation education for the global green new deal

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:50:37 PDT

There is an increasing need for food and beverage industries to develop a culture of innovation and sustainability around food practices. The increase in world population and demands of consumers contribute to the development of a diverse suite of food capabilities, and remains a significant issue in relation to climate change and staff education. For businesses it is important to develop new concepts and processes that combine purpose and contextual factors in association with sustainability knowledge and the choice of food hospitality tools, techniques, and materials for meal design. Technacy genre theory is explored as a framework applicable to the level of kitchen systems and skills that allows for sustainable and effective understandings of technological practice and innovation for a range of green new deal hospitality capabilities.

Food Technology, Innovation and Teacher Education Summary of survey findings

Angela Turner — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:03:08 PDT

This report presents a summary of findings from data collected during 2009 as part of a doctoral thesis entitled: A Critique of Technacy Genre Theory in Food Technology and Teacher Education. The survey instrument collected information that sought to establish contemporary perceptions about the study of Food Technology in Australia and the role secondary education may play in ‘supplying’ people into professional studies towards a career as a food technologist. In this arrangement, the industry and profession of food technologists represent the ‘demand’ side of the process that starts with receiving students ‘supplied’ by the schools sector into undergraduate food science and technology courses. The survey questions aimed to compare the degree of alignment between the ‘supply’ side (secondary teacher perceptions) with the ‘demand’ side (food profession perceptions) of what is meant by the label ‘Food Technology’ and its practical manifestation.

The teaching of food technology in secondary schools

Angela Turner et al. — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:35:48 PDT

This paper presents findings from a recent Australian study that investigated perceptions of 'food technology' by teachers in secondary schools compared to a wider professional view. While 'food technology' has been well established in most Australian secondary school curricula, a contradiction has emerged between the 'school view' of the Food Technology label and the 'professional view' of the same. The use of identical language to describe different approaches is causing a significant problem for the food profession. A framework known as Technacy Genre Theory was used to analyse data from a survey of 382 relevant stakeholders to define the nature of the extent of agreement between the two forms of technological practice. The results confirmed that the label Food Technology is perceived significantly and substantially differently between school teachers and the wider food profession.

The teaching of food technology in secondary schools

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:21:03 PDT

This paper presents a summary of findings from a recent Australian study that investigated perceptions of ‘food technology’ as viewed by teachers in secondary schools compared to a wider professional view. Maintaining and fostering a coherent and accurate perception throughout the food technology career, from school leaver to professional undergraduate studies, is critical for both the evolution of the field of knowledge and the need to keep up with increasing world demand for food technologists and food innovation. While ‘food technology’ has been well established in most secondary school curriculum offerings, a contradiction has emerged between the ‘school view’ of the Food Technology label, and the ‘professional view’ of the same. A point for debate is that career pathways are confused because of the use of identical language to describe different approaches causing a significant problem for the food profession. The research reported here draws on an emerging framework known as ‘Technacy Genre Theory’. It offers an index that defines the nature of the degree of agreement between two forms of technological practice. The research confirmed that the label of ‘Food Technology’ is perceived significantly and substantially differently between schoolteachers and the wider relevant food profession. The paper concludes with the proposition that Technacy Genre Theory offers a new method for comparing and clarifying many combinations of technological typologies of practice.

The green growth knowledge economy: implications for technology and design teachers

Kurt Seeman et al. — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:21:01 PDT

How societies learn, design and develop a green growth focus in knowledge innovations are the keys to sustainable economic and social development. The unique characteristics of knowledge and the dynamics of the knowledge economy mean that, whether we like it or not, a cultural change is required from thinking in terms of production to thinking in terms of innovation. Inevitably, the teaching and learning of green knowledge innovations is a key factor for determining how well societies will sustain a quality life in the emerging resource constraints that populations face. This chapter outlines key ideas underpinning the nature of a knowledge economy as it applies to Technology and Design teachers, and offers insights for how such areas of knowledge drive our quality of life.

Food innovation and technacy genre theory: implications for teaching and learning

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:05:54 PDT

One of the most rapidly developing and ubiquitous areas on offer in many school curriculums is the study of our physical and digital world; we may refer to this broad area as the study of anthropological technologies. A significant dimension of this field is the study of food technology, which is under pressure to be a source for solutions to world food production. This chapter presents research on how well the school system aligns with the post school demand for the range of skills and knowledge required to meet the complex challenges facing food innovations and production. The findings suggest that far greater clarity and classification methods are needed to help school systems align with post school understandings of what Food Technology knowledge entails. The findings also support a framework known as Technacy Genre Theory as a way to assist identifying the relative similarity between forms of technological knowledge and practice.

It’s time to study values at the core of food technology education

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:41:28 PDT

This paper seeks to explore the values of academic culture in the secondary teaching genre of food technology. Historically, education providers have displayed a traditional syllabus design and interpretation of the food technology industry. This paper argues that the NSW Food Technology Syllabi has largely been a re-badging of the former home economics/domestic science curriculum and warrants a new perspective. New societal values have influenced innovation in food products, from valuing indigenous bush harvest, links between naturopathy and food, and strengthening values that link eco-sustainability with synthetic foods. These new developments present a compelling case to rethink the future and content of food technology in schooling. It requires a new theoretical framework to accommodate the new understanding now evident in the subject matter as it now occurs “beyond the school gate” in the wider global economy. A key feature of this paper asserts that food technology education is overdue for a rethink that involves searching for a new coherent framework that can articulate both a core place for the study of values and a place for emerging knowledge with particular regard to innovation. The paper explores the merits of technacy and innovation theories that when combined, creates a powerful and unifying method for both affective and cognitive learning and assessment for guiding skill and practice.

Innovation education in NSW design and technology curriculum

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:41:27 PDT

Do technology teachers in secondary schools and academic stakeholders share the national vision of knowledge and innovation when implementing Design and Technology curricula? Directions for an innovation climate have been endorsed by the federal government, and demanded by various industry groups, since 1996. This paper explores the extent to which education providers of secondary schooling have embraced the call for teaching and developing innovation capacities through technology curriculum.

The Australian Science, Technology and Engineering Council (ASTEC) in 1996 underpinned “foresight” as an essential dimension to our thinking which attempts to capture the dynamics of change and the need to incorporate “technacy” in primary and secondary school and teaching practices for fostering innovation capacities among students. Various national reports have since added to this agenda including the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) report ‘Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future: Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics’ and the posting by DEST signalling Australia’s newest national research priority to foster the uptake of innovation in human capital. There is a need to analyse and understand whether there is a capacity for NSW schools to deliver on the above agenda given historical difficulties within the State’s system to embrace new pedagogy in the field of technology education and associated teacher capital.

Clarifying sustainable food technology futures through technacy genre theory

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:41:26 PDT

In order for education systems to nurture a culture of innovation and sustainability in the school staff room, this research asserts that far greater clarity and classification methods need to be employed to define exactly what the subject matter and learner attributes in schools are meant to address compared to the wider world demands upon it.

The silent death of food technology rigor in school curriculum

Angela Turner et al. — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:41:25 PDT

There is a major concern in the world supply of food (Martin, 2007; World Health Organization, 2008). The main response to this world problem is more likely to come from food science and technology innovation, rather than from food hospitality skilling. In acknowledging the scale of this very real issue, we need to ask, are we getting intoxicated with the skills rhetoric given that the social, environmental and technical world students face is increasingly complex, and involves systems whose interactions are difficult to predict? An emerging concern throughout some states is a politically driven lack-lustre vision that fosters a comfort zone for what is thought to be the study of food technology. There is a need to critique the associations between teaching practice, syllabi design (particularly as a continuum of learning) and design as a problem-solving platform. Where once curriculum was written as the instrument of social and knowledge reform for the benefit of the student, it now appears to be the instrument of convenience for the benefit of social reproduction and a highly filtered view of the external world students will face. With the emerging links between climate and technological choices, there is cause to question how well a ‘no change decree’ by Food Technology syllabus custodians remains adequate in curriculum presentation and representation in schooling. This paper will focus around the area of food technology, and given its confusion with the field called food hospitality, the paper seeks to make a contribution to the issues around skills and innovation. While discussion centres on the Australian context, the study of food technology and science (and its confusion with back-of-house hospitality studies) has international relevance in education, particularly given the challenges of feeding the world and developing innovative new food products and production methods.