Technology plays an increasingly significant role in our lives and it is important that students understand how it affects their lives and that of society and their own participation to it.Mitcham (as cited in Jones & Moreland, 2003) states First, technology is an important and, some argue, defining feature of the world in which we live. Consequently, young people, as future citizens, need to understand how it shapes the world and how they participate in it. If future citizens are to understand and participate in the decision-making process, technology education must adequately prepare them by addressing the technical, social, ethical, political and economic issues that underpin the technological process and ensuring that students recognize that technology places it within a philosophical context, historical and theoretical context. In New Zealand, a curriculum review was undertaken in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led (after much development) to the addition of technology as a separate subject area and as one of seven areas of essential learning that students need to gain knowledge and understanding. The technology was made compulsory in January 1999, making it compulsory for all students until the end of the 10th grade. Technology was seen as a critical component to the development of New Zealand's economy and to enable students to engage and participate in a technological society in the future. As a relatively 'new' curriculum area, gazetted at the end of 1998 (Curriculum Framework, Ministry of Education, 1993) it has been in a state of constant change. The curriculum has since been revised and a new edition was published in 2007. In this article some of the challenges faced by secondary school teachers with...... middle of paper ......ricia Murphy and Michael Harrison ( And.). Teaching and Learning Technology, pp 3-14, Milton Keynes, Open University Press. ISBN 0-201-63169-5Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media Ltd. Naughton, J. (1994). What is "technology"? Chapter 1 in Frank Banks (ed.), Teaching Technology, pp 7-12. London, Routledge. ISBN 0-415-10254-5Turnbull, W. (2002). The place of Authenticity in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 12, 23-40.Williams, J. (1996). Philosophy of Technology Education, Chapter 2 in John Williams and Anthony Williams (eds.), Technology Education for Teachers, pp 27-62. Melbourne, Macmillan. ISBN 0-7329-4090-7Williams, P.J. (2000). Design: the only methodology of technology? Journal of Technology Education, 11(2), 48-60. ISSN 1045-1064