JITE v36n3 - Comments - A Response to Stephen Petrina's Book Review Men at Work: Inspecting the Foundation of Technology Education

A Response to Stephen Petrina's Book ReviewMen at Work: Inspecting the Foundation of Technology Education

John M. Ritz
Old Dominion University

The Council on Technology Teacher Education works to provide leadership to the technology education teacher preparation profession. Two of the council's goals are to provide professional development for its members and to stimulate research related to technology education.

In the Fall 1998 issue of the Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, Stephen Petrina, in his book review titled Men at Work: Inspecting the Foundation of Technology Education, critiques the Council's 44th Yearbook, Foundations of Technology Education. His review was not favorable toward the authors' perspectives as presented in the yearbook. According to Petrina, "In the final analysis, there is little about the Foundations of Technology Education that passes this inspection."

The purpose of the 44th yearbook was to provide a foundation for understanding a movement, the evolution of technology education, and how this movement has occurred. The yearbook was written to help students and practicing educators to understand this movement and to assist new professionals by guiding them through this transition. This is a task I believe the yearbook and its authors have accomplished.

The Council's mission is to promote professionalism. The Council also supports the research and writing of the authors of our yearbook series. A thorough review of all proposals is conducted. After acceptance, authors must write to the approved outline. This is done so a coherent yearbook can be structured and presented to the profession.

Being a member of a profession entails certain responsibilities. Professionalism infers teamwork, working together for the good of the common cause, and accepting differing view points. Although critical review is important in moving a profession forward, members must use their intellectual abilities (which carries with them personal responsibility) and be altruistic in their practices (working for the good of the profession).

Basing my analysis on the purpose of the yearbook, the judgements of the professionals who prepared it, and the feedback that the Council has received from the profession, this yearbook has been judged a worthy scholarly work and an addition to the knowledge-base of our profession.

John M. Ritz

Author

Joan E. Friedenberg is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.