Identity theft! Are new age teachers changing the identity of the technology teacher?

Throughout history education has born the responsibilities of producing qualities in our students which were essential for the times. The 21st century now requires new qualities and skills to be developed in our future citizens. The ability to think creatively, innovatively in order to solve problems of today is a central focus for education in Australia. It is time, in light of the newly structured Australian National Education Curriculum, to re-examine and raise the prestige of Technology based subjects. This paper considers the implementation of Technology Education within the National Australian curriculum. It is suggested that the Technology curriculum has potential to evolve from a centric focus on technical skills to become the platform which can foster the "new qualities" and "skills" required of the students of the 21st century. Fostering an appreciation for creative thinking and application to real world design issues is the first step to change the current perception of Technology Education. To raise the standing, it is apt to, again ask the question, what exactly is Technology Education? A clear definition of the technology curriculum has been identified by researchers such as Wicklein (2004) Within technology classrooms the focus needs to be directed to fostering creativity, future innovations, sustainability, future problem solving, experiential and life-long learning. There is much confusion around how students, teachers and parents perceive this subject. To persuade them of its importance, Wicklein 2004, suggests that one must use this new clearly defined structure to take forward and to shape the minds of tomorrow students. Along with the ongoing support of prominent educationalists, such as, Sir Ken Robinson, 2006, who claimed that creativity is just as important as literacy and numeracy, so it is anticipated that with a progressivism curriculum ideology focus and time, the prominence of this subject will rise. This paper examines the current Australian educational system through the lens of The Technologies, defining its current position and examining the reasons for this.