Questioning Technological Determinism through Empirical Research

Symposion: Theoretical and Applied Inquiries in Philosophy and Social Sciences 4 (1):107-125 (2017)
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Abstract

Mark David Webster ABSTRACT: Using qualitative methods, the author sought to better understand how philosophical assumptions about technology affect the thinking, and influence the decision making, of educational technology leaders in their professional practice. One of the research questions focused on examining whether assumptions of technological determinism were present in thinking and influenced the decisions that leaders make. The core category that emerged from data analysis, Keep up with technology (or be left behind), was interpreted to be a manifestation of the technological imperative, an assumption associated with the philosophical perspective of technological determinism. The article presents a literature review and critique of philosophical issues surrounding technological determinism. Data analysis led to the conclusion that technology leaders working in K-12 education place weighted priority on the technological imperative, and there is philosophical tension between Keep up with technology (or be left behind), and a concurrently held perspective based on the logic of the instrumental view of technology. The findings suggest that different accounts of technological determinism, including Bimber’s three accounts of normative, nomological, and unintended consequences, are significant in the thinking of participants. School technology leaders placed priority on embracing technological change, sometimes adopting technology for its own sake.

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Mark David Webster
East Carolina University

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References found in this work

Critical Theory of Technology.Andrew Feenberg - 1993 - Science and Society 57 (4):466-468.
Philosophy of Technology Assumptions in Educational Technology Leadership.Mark David Webster - 2017 - Journal of Educational Technology and Society 20 (1):25–36.
Technology and Necessity.Hans Poser - 2009 - The Monist 92 (3):441-451.
History of Technology.Thomas J. Misa - 2012 - In Jan Kyrre Berg Olsen Friis, Stig Andur Pedersen & Vincent F. Hendricks (eds.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 5–17.

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