Technical or not? Investigating the self-image of girls aged 9 to 12 when participating in primary technology education

Oct 15, 2026

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Variance in interest and engagement by gender is a long-standing challenge in technology education. Research suggests girls are more reluctant, less interested, and more negative toward technology than boys, often because technology is framed as a male domain. This study examines girls’ self-image in primary technology education using Harding’s three gender levels. Participant observations and focus-group interviews show girls can confirm prevailing male norms, yet also resist not being technical.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Research gap in early technology education

Swedish technology education context

Framework and definitions

Ihde’s dimensions of technology

Defining “being technical”

Gender theory, technology education and (not) being technical

Technical or not? Investigating the self-image of girls aged 9 to 12 when participating in primary technology education Ulrika Napoleon Sultan, Linköping University, Sweden Dr. Cecilia Axell, Linköping University, Sweden Prof Jonas Hallström, Linköping University, Sweden Abstract Variance in interest and engagement by gender is a complex and long-standing research agenda in the field of technology education. Studies report that girls are more reluctant to participate in technology education, less interested in the subject and more negative towards technology than boys. It is argued that specific attitudes and roles hinder girls from engaging in technology education because technology is presented as a predominantly male domain, which fuels ideas about what technological agency is as well as whose interest in technology and what kind of technology are regarded as legitimate. There is, however, the potential to improve female engagement if we can gain knowledge about what girls do during lessons and how they think about themselves when learning technology. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the self-image of girls aged 9 to 12 when participating in primary technology education, by using Harding’s (1986) three gender levels: the symbolic, the structural and the individual. The methods used for this study were participant observations during technology classes followed by a focus group interview. From the perspective of Harding’s three levels of gender, the analysis of the observations and the focus group interview reveals that girls confirm the prevailing male norms and conceptions that are linked to what technology is and what it means“to be technical”, despite the fact that the teacher introduces gender-neutral activities. However, there is an ambiguity in our findings because the girls also resist the self-image of not being technical, especially when they work together and have ownership of their work with and learning about technology. Key Words Primary education, technology education, girls’ self-image, gender, focus group interview, observations Introduction Girls’ interest and engagement in secondary technology education have been explored to a certain degree. However, there is still a lack of research regarding girls and technology education in the early years of school (Kim, Sinatra & Seyranian, 2018) . Previous studies – both the few carried out in primary schools and the majority carried out in secondary school – primarily concentrate on the differences between girls’ and boys’ engagement in technology education. Hussénius, Andersson, Gullberg and Scantlebury (2013) argue, however, that too many studies are restricted to comparing female and male students on variables such as students’ achievement and attitudes. Other previous research (e.g. Kim, Sinatra & Seyranian, 2018; Turja, Endepohls-Ulpe, & Chatoney, 2009) suggests that while males are portrayed as being more interested in technology than females, societal factors such as upbringing, education and the labour market may discourage girls’ interest in and engagement with technology. Cheryan, Master, and Meltzoff (2015) point to how the construction of an identity as not being technical can manifest itself in and affect girls. This demands a new way of studying girls’ relationships with technology, particularly in relation to education in which girls’interest and engagement are formed from an early age (e.g. Sultan et al., 2019) . Therefore, in this study we focus on girls only, to gather clues and gain knowledge about their relationships with technology apart from boys, to the extent that this is possible. Technology education is a mandatory subject for all Swedish pupils aged 7-16. In Sweden, specialised technology teachers teach younger children since it has been a mandatory subject since 2011 in current teacher education programmes for teachers teaching 7-to 9-year olds (school years 1-3) and an optional subject for teachers te

FAQs

What research question does the study address?

It examines the self-image of girls aged 9 to 12 when participating in primary technology education, focusing on how girls think about themselves as learners of technology.

Which theoretical framework guides the analysis?

The study uses Harding’s (1986) three gender levels—symbolic, structural, and individual—along with Ihde’s (1993) dimensions of technology to structure the human-technology relationship.

How was the study conducted?

Methods include participant observations during technology classes followed by a focus group interview.

What do the findings suggest about girls’ self-image?

Girls may validate prevailing male norms about what technology means and what it means “to be technical,” even when teachers use gender-neutral activities; at the same time, girls can resist a non-technical identity when working together and taking ownership.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆