FROM THE EDITOR

Saying Goodbye to JITE

It is with great difficulty and sadness that I have to be the one to report that this will be the last issue of JITE. When I took over the editorship of JITE a year and a half ago I never dreamed I would be the last editor of this beloved journal. JITE has always been the premier research journal for the past 50 years and still is today. There are not many journals left where Technology Education professionals can publish their research findings and this is the only one dedicated solely to Industrial Technology Education. It has been around for as long as I have been involved in technology education dating back to 1974 when I first stated teaching.

So what happened that brought about the end of JITE? It wasn’t politics or the economy, it was apathy ! If there is one thing sadder than the end of JITE, to me it is the real reason it ended when it didn’t have to. The end has been coming for a long time. It seems that those in technology education don’t want to be involved in supporting the organization anymore, they only want to publish for their personal rewards, keeping it operational does not interest them any more. I say this after observing what has been happening for the past year and a half. Many positions have been left open because no one will volunteer to support JITE. The work created by the open positions have left the work for a very few to do. We have now gone to paying a part time person to do what was previously done by volunteers. In my case I should have had an associate editor to assist me and take over the editorship after my two years were complete but have not been able to find one. I have agreed to continue in this position for one more year. During the coming year I will help with the start up of a new journal, which will be called JSTE. I am doing this in hopes that it will be as successful as JITE. Hopefully I will be able to find an assistant editor outside the Technology Education field to take over the new journal.

Enough of the bad news, there is some good news. While the JITE board of directors did decide to end JITE they wanted to continue the great research tradition started by JITE so they have created a new journal (JSTE) that will begin with the very next issue Volume 47-2. This new journal will cover a wider range subjects in an effort to draw in more readers, and inspire more authors to submit their research. The new JSTE journal will cover areas in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teacher Education (STEM) fields. The new journal does not come without a price. A new set of rules have been developed in order to submit manuscripts for publications. Be sure to read the AT ISSUE article in this volume that will explain all the new requirements.

In this Last Issue of JITE

In the At Issue article, George Rogers explains some of the reasons for the demise of JITE, and the future of JSTE. Be sure to read this article. David Bjorkquist reviewed one of the hottest selling books in the technology education fields, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford (2009). In this excellent book Crawford calls for the revival of skills like tool, machine, and material use in our public school system. The complete review of this book can be found in the Under Review section.

Volume 47-1 may be the last for JITE but it is a perfect beginning for JSTE. Reading the research presented in it one can see that the manuscripts are directed towards increasing student awareness in the technology education field. Leading off is research conducted by Kara Harris and Christi Jacobs in “Educational Camps and Their Effects on Female Perceptions of Technology Programs” and describes the effect of a four day cheering camp to increase female awareness and perceptions of technology fields. The camp targeted high school cheerleaders and dance students and gave them the latest hands-on technology related to cheering and dance. “Identifying Perceived Professional Development Needs of Secondary CTE Teachers: Pedagogical Needs of Skilled and Technical Science Teachers” by John Cannon, Allen Kitchel, and Dennis Duncan researched the purpose of skilled and technical science teachers’ needs in teaching and learning in pedagogical in-service content areas. Their research is followed by research conducted by Petros Katsioloudis that identifies methods needed to aid the teachers of technology education, present information that will enable students to have a better understanding of the topic being presented and at the same time motivate students. Petros’s research can be found in his manuscript “Identification of Quality Visual-based Learning Material for Technology Education”. While Petros’s research deals with methods to help improve student learning, Cameron Denson and Roger Hill’s research examined the impact of an engineering mentorship program for African American male high school students and their perceptions of self-efficacy in the area of mathematics, and self-efficacy in the area of science. Their research findings can be found in their manuscript “Impact of an Engineering Mentorship Program on African-American Male High School Students’ Perceptions and Self-Efficacy”. This research is the last for JITE and is a perfect lead in for our new journal JSTE and meets all the qualifications for Science, Technology, and Engineering and Math teacher education.

I am looking forward to the new JSTE journal and hope it will be as successful as JITE was in the past, but we need more support from everyone to make it successful. It’s time to get involved.

I would like to end with a big Welcome to the new JSTE!