Craft education in both Finland and Iceland originated over 140 years ago and was influenced by the Scandinavian Sloyd pedagogy. Since then, the subject has moved away from craft and towards technology, with the aim being to increase students’ technological abilities. In the beginning, the subject largely focused on the students copying artefacts, using a variety of handicraft tools: the purpose of this was to improve pupils’ manual skills, rather than their thinking skills. Today, however, the focus is also on the development of students’ thinking skills, which enables them to work through the various handicraft processes (from initial ideas to the final product). This work is based on the idea generation of students and is thus expected to increase their self-esteem and ingenuity. This paper is based on a comparative study of students’ attitudes towards craft and technology education in Finland and Iceland, which was undertaken by the University of Iceland and Helsinki University in the years 2011 and 2012. A quantitative survey was distributed to 213 school students and it consisted of 14 questions, which aimed to ascertain students’ attitudes towards craft and technology. A literature review was subsequently completed, in order to examine and compare the origins of craft education in Finland and Iceland. The review highlighted that, despite the origins of craft education in Finland and Iceland being similar, the Icelandic national curriculum placed greater emphasis on design and innovation, whereas the Finnish national curriculum focused on the development of students’ personalities and gender issues. The survey also showed differences in students’ attitudes towards craft and technology education in the two countries: these differences may be explained by differences in the national curriculums and the different pedagogical traditions. However, this finding needs to be examined further through research.