Barnlitteraturens tekniklandskap. En didaktisk vandring från Nils Holgersson till Pettson och Findus

The aim of this study is to examine, from a didactic perspective, messages conveyed about technology (view of technology) in a selection of Swedish children’s books containing elements of technology education, and to explore how these views of technology relate to nature and futures perspectives. The analysis is based on children’s books by six Swedish authors: Selma Lagerlöf, Otto Witt, Elsa Beskow, Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf, Sven Wernström and Sven Nordqvist. These books contain depictions of technology, but also depict issues and problems relevant in the field of technology education. The study has three analytical perspectives: the identification of technologies represented in the books; interpretation of the views of technology transmitted in the stories in relation to nature and futures perspectives; and identification of shared and divergent themes in the stories. The analysis shows that in general, the books present technology in diverse ways. Various facets of technology appear in the material and these are categorized into six themes: technology as metaphor or analogy; as anthropomorphic; as autonomous; technology as a result of a creative driving force; masculine technology; and technology as enduring. There are also different views of technology and its impact on individuals as well as society. The dominant view of nature in the books is weak anthropocentric and a majority of the stories convey the image of an effective future society in which technology solves human problems. A conclusion is that the technology landscapes in children’s fiction could contribute to broadening technology education. The ambivalent messages in these books reveal technology’s multifaceted nature and its complexity. The messages in children’s literature could also make it possible to problematize the nature of technology in ways that textbooks seldom can. Children’s fiction could thereby be jumping boards for creative discussions about the nature of technology, and technology’s effects on individuals, society and nature in past and present time.