Analyzing New York State’s Technology Education Curriculum: Competency-Based, Digital, and Learner-Centered Perspectives

This study examined the characteristics of the U.S. technology education curriculum by analyzing the Technology Education Curriculum of New York State, focusing on three key aspects: competency-based education, digital education, and learner-centered education. The study employed literature review and content analysis as its research methods. The analysis revealed the following findings. First, in terms of competency-based education, the U.S. curriculum emphasizes design and problem-solving abilities, technological and engineering literacy, and integrative competencies, presenting engineering design as a core instructional methodology. Second, regarding digital education, the curriculum highlights both the content and application of information systems and computer technologies, actively integrating digital and AI technologies into the learning process. Third, in terms of learner-centered education, the curriculum is characterized by a vertically articulated structure across elementary, intermediate, and commencement levels, career-linked and advanced learning pathways, and the design of student-centered learning activities. Based on these findings, several implications for improving Korea’s technology education curriculum were derived: clarifying the identity and definition of technology education, strengthening engineering design and integrative education, deepening curricular articulation across school levels, expanding digital and AI education, and developing a variety of student-selectable courses linked to career pathways. These results are expected to contribute to setting a progressive direction for the future development of Korea’s technology education curriculum.