My name is Vicki Mather and I am a Project Officer and Doctoral student at
the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Research, at
the University of Waikato, New Zealand. The Project I am currently employed
on is that of a Nationwide programme funded by the New Zealand Ministry of
Education which is training fifteen people as facilitators for school based
teacher
development in Technology Education. Technology Education is a new
essential learning area in the New Zealand National curriculum. My Doctoral
research is concerned with documenting Technology Education in New
Zealand as a burgeoning Community of Practice, using the theoretical
frameworks of Lave and Wenger, and Bourdieu. Analysis of the enculturation
of the facilitators will employ tools developed by Lagache, and discussed
within Heidegger's notions of 'Being and Time'. I am also interested in
inclusive education and see Technology Education as offering opportunities
for inclusive educational practice.