Education about Standardization

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide insight in standardization education by presenting the results of an international workshop organized by the International Committee for Education about Standardization (ICES) together with findings from literature. The main topics are: needs for standardization education, audiences and learning objectives, contents of an academic curriculum, and available materials for academic teaching. We found an enormous gap between manifest and latent needs for standardization education. The lesson to be learnt from some Asian countries is that this gap can be bridged. First, by a strong national policy which may be part of a regional policy. Secondly, by cooperation between government, industry, national standards body, academia and other educational institutions. The increasing number of initiatives and activities of the last three years indicates that there is a momentum for education on standardization. Our paper provides a structured approach for using this momentum to further develop and implement standardization education. It challenges researchers in the field to interrelate research and education.

Integrating standardization into engineering education: the case of forerunner Korea

“…De Even though education about technology-based standards has surfaced in the agenda of public policy and technology education (Choi and de Vries 2011), few countries have yet to implement a nationwide program on technical standards. As reported by De Vries and Egyedi (2007), incorporating standards in regular education courses has been much more actively accomplished in countries such as Korea and China and less in the Europe and the United States. "At the national level, South Korea is far ahead in implementing standardization education in academic curricula.…”

Standardization as emerging content in technology education at all levels of education

“…Prior research on standardization has extensively been pursued for the past few decades by various research communities of engineering, economics, business, technology management and education (de Vries 2002). The research topics sought so far have ranged from its historical cases and development (Glazebrook 1931;Lockwood 1934;Vu 2006); business strategies and tactics in standardization (Besen and Farrell 1994); socio-economic functions of technical standards for innovation (Blind 2004;Centre for International Economics 2007;DTI 2005;WTO 2005); battles between competing industry standards (Shaprio and Varian 1999;de Vries 2006); intellectual property rights and standardization (Blind and Thumm 2004); information and telecommunication standardization (Jakobs 2001(Jakobs , 2005, standardization within public policy (Greenstein and Stango 2007), more recently, to standardization education (ASTM 2003;Choi et al 2009;de Vries and Egyedi 2007;Hesser and Czaya 1999;Kurokawa 2005;M&E Consultants 2001;Simons 1999;Spivak and Kelly 2003;Stern 2003).…”

“…But programs for formal education were in short supply and rarely observed. In as late as the early 2000s, government agencies and national standardization bodies in some nations converted their concerns to formal or pre-employment education, thereby introducing standardization education programs into schools and colleges (Kurokawa 2005;de Vries and Egyedi 2007). Germany, Korea, Japan, UK, USA, and Viet Nam endeavored to integrate education into part of their national standardization strategies and emphasized the formal standardization education (ANSI 2005;BSI 2003;Choi et al 2009;DIN 2004;JISC 2006;KATS 2006).…”

“…Likewise de Vries (2005a) developed a standardization education curriculum based on tasks and competences needed. de Vries and Egyedi (2007) listed a range of components of standardization education based on the 2nd workshop of International Cooperation for Education about Standardization (ICES): the needs and learning objectives for standardization education, and comparison of standardization education curricula for higher education. Their research clearly defined why standardization education is needed and what should be taught under standardization education programs, but did not specify what ought to be coordinated among all levels of education.…”

Re-conceptualizing teacher expertise

“…There are a number of variations in how teacher experts are being identified for purposes of empirical research (Palmer, Stough , Burdenski & Gonzales, 2005) Sleeter, 2005;Willis & Haymore-Sandholtz, 2009). Standardization of schooling is not specific to the education in the U.S. only; it is now evident at an international level (McNeil, 2000;de Vries & Egyedi, 2007;Wong, 2008). According to Willis & Haymore-Sandholtz (2009), standardization represented a departure from professionalization; they argued that "[i]n the professionalization approach standards frame and guide teachers' work but don't constrain it" (p. 1069).…”