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The subject matter of technological systems is central in compulsory school technology education in Sweden. However, technology teachers would need more support in their endeavors to interpret the curriculum as both educational and philosophical research lack a clear answer to the question of what technological systems are. A better conceptualization of technological systems could also facilitate communication between teachers and students, and even improve learning about systems. The aim of this study is thus to investigate Swedish technology teachers’ conceptions about technological systems. We interviewed 11 technology teachers in compulsory education from various parts of Sweden. The transcripts from the interviews were analyzed with thematic content analysis and resulted in four characteristic system properties. In the teachers’ collective depictions of technological systems, the first two system properties focused on the technological core of the system, closely related to a philosophical conception of technology as objects. In contrast, the last two system properties illustrated the teachers’ descriptions of technological systems as something that is closely connected to a socio-technical understanding of systems where humans play a significant role for their evolution. There was one exception to this, namely how the systems are controlled, and here the teachers were ambivalent as to how much humans can intervene. The conception of technological systems as objects and the uncertainty about human control over these systems, are two obstacles to well-designed systems teaching that will lead to technological literacy for students.

In recent years technology has become increasingly emphasized as educational content in the Swedish preschool, not the least with the introduction of the latest curriculum in 2010 (revised in 2016). Since preschool teachers have not had any formal technology education until just recently, it is of importance to investigate how they conceive of and experience technology in the daily activities of the preschool. The purpose of this study is therefore to describe and analyze Swedish preschool teachers’ views and experiences of technology and technology education in the preschool, focusing on what opportunities and obstacles that they see. The data consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with sixteen teachers in two Swedish preschools, and the data was coded and categorized with a thematic analysis. The results show that when it comes to opportunities, the teachers consider technology to permeate all preschool activities, and the challenge here is rather to make technology visible. In terms of obstacles, however, the teachers are also uncertain about what technology is and want to have more knowledge of technology themselves, for example, relevant concepts for various technologies or activities. They also want to know more about technology education in order to be able to educationally convey knowledge of technology to the children and to make the children conscious of the technology that surrounds them.