What do others think is the point of design and technology education?

Alison Hardy

Kaylie Gyekye

Claire Wainwright

Context

Power

LegitimacyUrgency

Pupil

Non-D&T

teacher

D&T teacher

Senior leader

Stakeholders

Mitchell, Agle and Wood 1997

Value of D&T

A value is ‘a standard or criterion for guiding action, for developing and maintaining attitudes toward relevant objects and situations’ (Rokeach 1968, p.160)

Theoretical framework (Hardy 2013) created from interviews with experts and analysing written documents from trainee teachers:

• 22 value statement

Method

• Two partnership schools: city & county• Fourteen interviews• Active interviews, transcribed.• First coding (Saldana 2013): values• Second coding: Elaborative using Hardy (2013) D&T values

framework• Intercoder reliability

Stakeholder group Upton School St John’s School

Senior leaders (SLT) 2 2

D&T teachers 3 2

Y9 pupils 5 6

Findings

Values numbered: 6, 12, 22 & 23

All stakeholders

18/22 21/22 21/22 14/22 14/22 12/22

Senior

leaders

D&T

teachers

Pupils

Upton cf. St John’s: Pupils

D&T has these values for both groups of pupils:

3 Empowers society to act to improve the world

4 Personal ownership of decisions and actions

5 Learning of vocational skills and techniques that open doors to a range of careers

6 Using raw materials to make a product

11 Alternative to academic subjects

13 Activity of designing

18 Provides a practical purpose for other school subjects

19 Examination and questioning of the made world

22 Learn practical life skills

Pupils do not hold these values of D&T :

1 Meaningful activity of solving real problems with real solutions

7 Designing for future needs and opportunities

9 Freedom to take risks and experiment

12 Identifying problems to be solved

14 Helps the understanding of human beings' position and existence in

the world

Comparing all groups

21/22 17/22

21/22

D&T teachers

21/22 14/22

Values numbered: 2,3, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15 & 18

D&T teachers

19

18 26

1

5

22

2 & 3

7

10

14 & 15

18

St John’s: all stakeholders

Upton: all stakeholders

All stakeholders

Stakeholders values & new National Curriculum

Values numbered: 5, 11, 15 - 17

Stakeholders values & new National Curriculum

Findings & implications for Upton School

• Developing practice

– Classroom

– Planning

• Department philosophy

• Agreement between pupils and D&T teachers, dichotomy between D&T stakeholders and senior leaders.

Findings & implications for St John’s

• The values held by senior leaders and D&T are identical

• Values dichotomy between pupils and all teachers

• Practical life skills is one of the strongest values held – why is that?

• Understanding colleagues’ perspectives

Findings & implications

• No one thinks D&T involves ‘identifying problems to be solved’

• Challenges for the future of D&T’s history:

– practical skills

– craft for the daft

– supports other subjects - not a gatekeeper

Conclusions & what next?

School

• Changes to schemes of work

• Presentation of D&T in published school material

Wider view

• What’s wrong with D&T being about practical skills?

• Potential consequences of classroom practice on National agenda

Personal

• Modifications to Hardy’s values framework (on-going PhD work)

References

Hardy, A., 2013. Starting the Journey: Discovering the Point of D&T. In: PATT27: Technology Education for the Future: A Play on Sustainability, Christchurch, New Zealand, University of Waikato: Technology Environmental Science and Mathematics Education research Centre.Mitchell, R.K., Agle, B.R. and Wood, D.J., 1997. Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22 (4), 853-886.Rokeach, M., 1968. Beliefs, attitudes and values: a theory of organization and change. San Francisco: San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.Saldaña, J., 2012. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.