Debates in Design and Technology Education

Gwyneth Owen-Jackson, Gwyneth Owen-Jackson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781134085262
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Design and Technology has long held a controversial place on the school curriculum, with some arguing that it shouldn't be there at all. This book presents and questions considered arguments and judgements, and explores the major issues that all D&T teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. In exploring some of the key debates, it encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research and evidence to what they have observed in schools.

Written by expert design and technology education professionals, chapters tackle established and contemporary issues, enabling you to reach informed judgements and argue your point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. Debates covered include:

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• What is the purpose of design and technology?
• Is it a vocational or academic subject?
• What is the place of design and technology within the STEM agenda?
• What knowledge and skills do teachers really need?
• What does the design and technology gender divide mean for schools and pupils?
• Is it a 'creative' subject?
• What is the future for design and technology?

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With its combination of expert opinion and fresh insight, Debates in Design and Technology Education is the ideal companion for any student or practising teacher engaged in initial training, continuing professional development or Masters level study.

Part I

Setting the scene

Chapter 1

Government policies and design and technology education

Daniel Wakefield and Gwyneth Owen-Jackson

Introduction

Educational historians will point out many significant developments, policies and legislation that have shaped the English education system. However, in recent history the 1988 Educational Reform Act, and specifically the introduction of the National Curriculum for England and Wales, had a major impact on what and how pupils are taught. The 1988 Act introduced Design & Technology (D&T) into the National Curriculum and this chapter considers the development of the subject in the UK since then. It considers the influences of the Department for Education (DfE), the Design and Technology Working Group, the National Curriculum Council and teachers in shaping the curriculum and influencing the perception of D&T, and the impact that this has had.

In order to explore the extent to which the National Curriculum has influenced the subject as it is today we need to consider:

• where it all began
• the introduction of the National Curriculum
• National Curriculum developments.

Where it all began

A review of the history of (design and) technology in the UK reveals that controversy and division has been present throughout. Early education in Britain, as in many other countries, was provided by the church and was an academic preparation for the upper classes. Trade and craft skills were learnt through apprenticeship and it was not until the mid-sixteenth century that these became a formal part of the education system (Gillard 2011). The Industrial Revolution in Britain, which took place between 1750–1850, led to massive social and political change, which included the expansion of basic education to those who had previously not had access. During the Industrial Revolution major design, industrial and manufacturing advancements made Britain a leading industrial nation but, by the end of the nineteenth century, this was no longer the case and Britain lagged behind many of its competitors. This could be attributed partly to the lack of attention to technical education for its young people as, during the same period, countries across Europe had been investing both in industry and education.

Although there is evidence of technological activities in school before 1902, that is the date at which ‘manual work’ was introduced to English state schools and many of our issues with design and technology education may be traced back to this era. Woodwork was a mandatory subject for boys while ‘housewifery’ was the option for girls (Mulberg 1992). The development of manual work on the curriculum in England, and to the same extent the American elementary system, had a utilitarian approach ‘as a pre-vocational training for the rapidly growing ranks of manual and domestic workers’ (Eggleston 1976: 5).

In the early twentieth century, manufacturing, industry and domestic life were very different from those of today. Highly skilled craftsmen and well-trained, resourceful housewives were the ideals of the day. Industry and the factory workshop were predominantly the domain of the male, so exposing boys to industrial practices and techniques at school allowed them to develop skills and attitudes for the workplace. Little emphasis was placed on the challenge of new design:

The things boys made solved no problems. There was no challenge to think either why or how. Shape, size, construction, materials, tools, processes were all taken for granted, and as a result much of the educational value of the work was lost. There was little connection between the crafts and the technical drawing intended to be the language of expression.

(Kingsland 1969: 11)

The Spens Report of 1938 introduced the idea of ‘technical’ schools alongside grammar schools and this was enacted in the 1944 Education Act, which introduced into Britain the ‘tripartite’ system of education. This provided grammar schools for academic pupils, technical schools to teach mechanical and engineering skills and secondary modern schools for the academically less able. For some reason the technical schools, which would have been the ideal place for technology education, failed to properly establish themselves and a great opportunity was missed to make a technical education a viable alternative for pupils.

Over the course of the twentieth century, through various acts of parliament, the government became increasingly involved in educational provision, leading to the 1988 Education Act, which introduced the first National Curriculum in the UK.

Introduction of the National Curriculum

Educational developments do not occur in a vacuum, they are part of the political and social context of the time. Table 1.1 provides an outline of some of the key events that have shaped today’s curriculum. In order to analyse the changes in government thinking and legislation regarding D&T, it is important to appreciate some of the wider curriculum developments that have taken place and the context in which these occurred.

Table 1.1 Developments in politics and curriculum since 1976

Year	Event
1976	James Callaghan (Prime Minister) speech at Ruskin College introduced the ‘Great Debate’ about the nature and purpose of the school curriculum and the need for a basic curriculum followed by all
1987	Foundation for the National Curriculum outlined by the Conservative government
1988	Design and Technology Working Group Interim Report published
1989	Final report by working group presented to DES
1990	First technology curriculum implemented (note change of name)
1991	Guidance and support material published to support teachers
1993	Full National Curriculum review for all subjects (lead by Sir Ron Dearing) and redeployment of subject working groups
1994	Statutory Technology at Key Stage 4 ended NC Review (the Dearing Report) published Design and technology identified as a subject in its own right
1995	New orders implemented at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3
1996	New orders implemented at Key Stage 4, starting with Year 10 (first year of upper secondary school)
1997	New orders implemented at Key Stage 4, Year 11 Labour Party victory at general election (May) Excellence in Schools white paper published
1998	National Literacy Strategy introduced (in primary schools, intended to raise standards)
1999	Full National Curriculum review in England All subject descriptions published for the first time National Numeracy Strategy introduced
2000	New National Curriculum launched Launch of specials schools Learning Skills Act allowed city technology colleges to become city academies
2004	Five-year Strategy for Children and Learners allowing all schools to become specialists and expanding academy schools 14–19 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform report published suggesting changes to traditional qualifications
2005	Labour wins third term in office
2006	Cambridge primary review launched
2007	QCA consultation over new curriculum for Key Stages 3 and 4
2008	Diploma qualification launched (in particular engineering, manufacturing and construction)
2009	Cambridge primary review and the Rose Report (primary) published
2010	New government elected, coalition between Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats
2011	Call for evidence towards National Curriculum review (first teaching 2014) Introduction of the English baccalaureate (Ebacc)
2012	Design and technology on the National Curriculum in England to be reviewed

In 1976 the then Prime Minister, James Callaghan, made a speech at Ruskin College in which he said, among other things, that consideration should be given to a basic curriculum to be agreed for all pupils. This led to a series of discussions and documents and in 1987 the Secretary of State for Education, Kenneth Baker, launched foundations for a National Curriculum as the keystone of the Education Reform Act 1988. The National Curriculum meant that, for the first time in England and Wales, all pupils would be taught (broadly) the same skills and knowledge in 11 subject areas and would be assessed by the same criteria.

The Department of Education and Science (DES) commissioned subject-specific working groups to produce a series of recommendations for subject content, programmes of study, and assessment criteria (attainment targets) (Penfold 1988; Norman, 1990).

The Design and Technology Working Group

The D&T Working Group, led by Lady Parkes, included those with backgrounds in CDT, home economics, vocational studies, science, economics, business studies and information technology (Harris and Wilson 2003). Terms of reference were issued to the Group by the DES, which outlined their duties, principally to develop clear objectives, curriculum content and attainment targets.

The terms of reference make interesting reading; point 6 under the heading of ‘approach’ identified a number of areas for the Working Group to focus on. They were encouraged to think of the subject as an opportunity for pupils to design and make useful objects. A list of suggested materials was identified and the need to develop pupils’ experiences of craft and the world of work were also suggested. The terms highlighted the implicit link between design and technology and information technology but also links with mathematics, science and several other subjects. However, there was a suggestion that technology did not need to become a discrete subject of its own and that many of its skills and knowledge bases could be identified, even located, within other areas of the curriculum. This brings into question immediately what would be the position of technology on the curriculum.

Initially, the task of the Working Group was to develop the curriculum for pupils aged 11–16, with the responsibility for the primary technology curriculum resting with the Science Working Group (McCormick 2002). This was an early signal to science as a senior partner to technology (Penfold 1988). Science was to be a core subject within the curriculum and initial discussions had suggested aspects of technology education could be taught within the science curriculum. However, following an interim report from the Science Working Group, the responsibility for the technology at primary level was transferred to the Design and Technology Working Group. Again it is worth questioning the position of design and technology in the National Curriculum; was it to be the supportive senior party for the rapidly growing information technology department or the junior partner to science?

The Working Group produced a set of proposals that included a rationale of why the subject should be taught. This suggested that design and technology should allow pupils to meet the needs of the twenty-first century and engage in design, investigation and appraisal activities to acquire knowledge. Practical experiences were identified as the main process by which to develop understanding, but there was little emphasis on developing products. The Working Group also proposed five attainment targets:

AT1	Explore and investigate contexts for design and technology capabilities
AT2	Formulate proposals and choose a design for development
AT3	Develop the design and plan for the making of an artefact or system
AT4	Make artefacts and systems
AT5	Appraise the processes, outcomes and effects of design and technological activities.

Questions can be asked about how the initial DES terms of reference were influential in shaping the design and technology proposals. Although a structure was needed for the Working Group, the terms of reference suggested material areas and approaches that were traditional and heavily influenced by CDT. By the same token, there was a drive towards it becoming a more open-ended subject, a subject with roots in many others and its own unique features.

Already, it is possible to see the potential for a clash of identity; is D&T to remain as a discrete subject, will it become a ‘science and technology’ curriculum or will the traditional making skills continue, with some designing added for modernity? Does this make the position of technology on the curriculum any clearer?

National Curriculum Council

The National Curriculum Council (NCC) was established by the Education Reform Act 1988 to review the work of the subject working groups and produce final consultation documents....