Design and Technology – the Nuffield Perspective in England and Wales

This paper describes the development of the design and technology component of the National Curriculum of England and Wales from its inception in 1988 to its current form in 1995 and the influence of the Nuffield Design and Technology Project in this process. The paper discusses the Nuffield approach to four important issues – breadth and balance, continuity and progression, differentiation and clarity of content. The paper discusses the role of the teacher and identifies four important features required for successful teaching. The paper describes the work of the Project in providing continual professional development for design and technology teachers including the work of area field officers to support teachers who are using the Project publications. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Emerging Assessment Practices in an Emergent Curriculum: Implications for Technology

This paper reports on detailed case studies into emerging assessment practices in technology in two New Zealand primary schools (Years 1–6) with nine teachers. This research is part of the two year Research in Assessment of Primary Technology (RAPT) project and formed the basis for the one year New Zealand Ministry of Education funded Learning in Technology Education (Assessment) project.Emerging classroom assessment practices in technology, a new subject area in the national curriculum, are discussed. It was found that the existing subcultures in schools, teachers' subject expertise and the school wide policies impacted on the teachers' assessment practices. Assessment was often seen in terms of social and managerial aspects such as team work, turn taking and information skills, rather than procedural and conceptual aspects. Therefore teachers' formative interactions with students distorted the learning away from procedural and conceptual aspects of the subject, and the learning and the formative assessment interactions focused on generic skills rather than student technological understanding.The importance of developing teacher expertise in three dimensions of knowledge about the subject, knowledge in the subject and general pedagogical knowledge is highlighted. Thus the findings from this research have implications for thinking about teaching, learning and assessment in technology.     

The Role of Published Materials in Curriculum Development and Implementation for Secondary School Design and Technology in England and Wales

This paper discusses the ways in which teachers exploited a set of curriculum materials published as a vehicle for curriculum innovation, and the relationship between chosen modes of exploitation and teachers’ own perceptions of how the materials had ’added value’ to their teaching. The materials in question were developed by the Nuffield Design and Technology Project (’the Project’) to offer a pedagogy appropriate to the statutory curriculum for secondary school design and technology education in England and Wales (DFE/WO 1995). The Project had sought both to inform the statutory curriculum, and respond to its requirements. An earlier case study (Givens 1997) laid the foundations for the survey that is reported here. This paper focuses on the teaching of pupils aged 11–14. It finds that while most teachers made at least some use of all the various components of the publications, they were selective. While the Study Guide, which carries out a meta-cognitive dialogue with pupils, was generally underused, those teachers who did use it perceived greater value added by the materials as a whole to the quality of pupils’ work, their effectiveness in design and technology and their autonomy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Analysing teacher knowledge for technology education in primary schools

Teacher knowledge guides a teacher’s behaviour in the classroom. Teacher knowledge for technology education is generally assumed to play an important role in affecting pupils’ learning in technology. There are an abundant number of teacher knowledge models that visualise different domains of teacher knowledge, but clear empirical evidence on how these domains interact is lacking. Insights into the interaction of teacher knowledge domains could be useful for teacher training. In this study, the hypothesised relations between different domains of teacher knowledge for technology education in primary schools were empirically investigated. Subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy were measured with tests and questionnaires. Results from a path analysis showed that subject matter knowledge is an important prerequisite for both pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy. Subsequently, teachers’ self-efficacy was found to have a strong influence on teachers’ attitude towards technology. Based on the findings in this study, it is recommended that teacher training should first of all focus on the development of teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. This knowledge will positively affect teachers’ confidence in teaching and, in turn, their attitude towards the subject. More confidence in technology teaching and a more positive attitude are expected to increase the frequency of technology education, which consequently increases teaching experience and thereby stimulates the development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. This circle of positive reinforcement will eventually contribute to the quality of technology education in primary schools.     

Can twenty years of technology education assist ‘grass roots’ syllabus implementation?

Teachers’ informed acceptance of challenges associated with teaching technology might ensure the successful implementation of a Technology syllabus in primary schools. They must be prepared to analyse their own understandings of technology concepts and processes, teaching and resource needs, and engage in professional development activities designed to meet their needs. This paper investigates the introduction of a new Technology syllabus into a school and draws on a number of data sources, for example, surveys, interviews with individual teachers, classroom observations, and field notes. It was evident that very specific personal and classroom related issues (e.g., content and pedagogy), and broader issues related to the school and wider communities (e.g., resources and networking), impacted on teachers’ acceptance of the syllabus. Based on these findings, the influence of 20 years of technology education and associated research on the essentials of classroom syllabus implementation by teachers is evaluated. Ways of making this store of knowledge and expertise more meaningful and accessible for teachers are explored.     

Teachers learning about technology and technology education: Insights from a professional development experience

The introduction of technology education in primary and secondary schools during the past 10–15 years around the world has presented a number of difficulties for teachers, primarily related to their coming to understand the phenomenon of technology and to conceptualise the technology learning area in line with national frameworks. This paper reports on a professional development experience that aimed to assist a small group of primary school teachers to develop their understandings of technology and technology education. A theoretical model framed a series of professional development interactions between the researchers and the experienced teachers who were new to teaching technology. Data sources included teacher interviews, video recordings of the activities, teacher made models, and extracts from their reflective journals. The study presented some insights into how professional development experiences for teachers new to technology could be organised and implemented to best support their developing technology practices and understandings.     

Curriculum restructuring in technology in NSW secondary schools — Response to change

This research project aimed to analyse and clarify the impact of the formation of the Technological and Applied Studies (TAS) Key Learning Area (KLA) on school organisation, teachers and teaching method. It further aimed to examine the implications of this change for pre-service teacher education programs. In 1989 the NSW government White paper on curriculum reform mandated the restructuring of primary and secondary schooling. As a part of this restructuring the subjects that had been traditionally taught under the Home Economics and Industrial Arts departments, together with agriculture and computing studies were brought together under the TAS KLA. The government also mandated that every secondary school student would be required to study technology through a newly developed syllabusDesign and Technology Years 7–10. These changes have had significant implications for the organisation and delivery of technology curriculum in secondary schools and there are consequent implications for the provision of teacher education in the field of technology.Ms. Y. McDonald is currently the program director and practicum co-ordinator of the undergraduate bachelor of education secondary home economics: design, technology and health studies program in the Faculty of Education at Sydney University.Mr. J. Gibson is currently the program director and practicum co-ordinator of the undergraduate bachelor of education secondary industrial arts: design and technology program in the Faculty of Education at Sydney University. He has had extensive experience in curriculum development in the technology area through his membership of syllabus committees and the Technological and Applied Studies Key Learning Area Co-ordinating Committee of the NSW Board of Studies.     

Towards a Model for Teacher Development in Technology Education: From Research to Practice

This paper reports on a series of interventions in New Zealand schools in order to enhance the teaching of, and learning in, technology as a new learning area. It details the way in which researchers worked with teachers to introduce technological activities into the classroom, the teachers' reflections on this process and the subsequent development of activities. These activities were undertaken in 14 classrooms (8 primary and 6 secondary).The research took into account past experiences of school-based teacher development and recommendations related to teacher change. Extensive use was made of case-studies from earlier phases of the research, and of the draft technology curriculum, in order to develop teachers' concepts of technology and technology education. Teachers then worked from these concepts to develop technological activities and classroom strategies. The paper also introduces a model that outlines factors contributing to school technological literacy, and suggests that teacher development models will need to allow teachers to develop technological knowledge and an understanding of technological practice, as well as concepts of technology and technology education, if they are to become effective in the teaching of technology.     

Reflecting on Teacher Development in Technology Education: Implications for Future Programmes

This paper reflects on the outcomes of teacher professional development programmes in technology education. These programmes were based on a model which emphasised the importance of teachers developing an understanding of both technological practice and technology education. Two different programmes have been developed and trialed in the New Zealand context. They are the Facilitator Training programme, and the Technology Teacher Development Resource Package programme. This paper will focus on the outcomes of these programmes. The Facilitator Training programme was a year long programme, and ran in 1995 and 1996. It involved training a total of 30 educators – 15 each year, from all over New Zealand. The Resource Package was trialed in 14 schools over a 3–6 month period in 1996. The evaluations indicate the successful nature of these programmes and the usefulness of the model as a basis for the development of teacher professional development in technology education. The programmes reported on in this paper were developed and evaluated as part of two New Zealand Ministry of Education contracts held by the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Research. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Towards a pre-service technology teacher education resource for New Zealand

The Pre-service Technology Teacher Education Resource (PTTER) was developed as a cross-institutional resource to support the development of initial technology teacher education programmes in New Zealand. The PTTER was developed through collaboration involving representatives from each of the six New Zealand university teacher education providers, Massey University, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago, Victoria University and University of Waikato, working with the National Technology Professional Development Manager. The framework for PTTER is built on four key elements considered to be essential to the education of technology teachers. The four elements are: philosophy of technology, rationale for technology education, technology in the New Zealand curriculum, and teaching technology. The PTTER is a web-based resource aimed at assisting technology teacher educators in the development of their teacher education programmes. The framework is a statement of shared philosophy, purpose and intent and is located on the Techlink website (www.techlink.org.nz). PTTER contains a range of teaching resources and strategies located within an overall framework for initial technology teacher education programmes. This paper describes the rationale for the PTTER framework, the process through which it was developed, explanation of each of the framework’s elements, and concludes with discussion of the framework’s implementation and future development.     

Creativity in school design &; technology in England: a discussion of influences

This paper identifies five influences on design & technology education in England—the government agency, the curriculum developer, the teacher, the pupil and the researcher. Using developments in school design & technology education and examples from England the paper describes a range of activities involving one or more influences noting the implications each has for creativity in school design & technology education. In conclusion the paper summarises the impact of the influences and suggests an approach to support further productive collaboration.     

A review of Technology Education in Ireland; a changing technological environment promoting design activity

In Ireland, Technology Education’s structure and organisation across the levels of education is not delivered or governed in a coherent manner. Technology Education in primary level education, for students between 5 and 12 years of age, does not explicitly exist as a separate subject. In primary level education, Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (Science), encourages a child to examine and appreciate how technology and science impacts on their lives and the environment. It supports children developing design and make skills, and to apply scientific ideas to everyday situations and practical problems (DES in Primary school curriculum, science. Social, environmental and scientific education curriculum, 1999). In addition, various initiatives such as the Junior Lego League, supported by the Galway Education Centre, facilitate various perspectives of Technology Education. In second level education, which this paper primarily focuses on, Technology Education exists as a suite of eight subjects, for students of 12–18 years of age. In third level education students can choose from a wide range of bachelor degree programmes in science, technology, engineering or maths. The degree programmes available at third level also include programmes in initial teacher education (ITE). These programmes in initial teacher education are offered by two institutions, and graduate second level teachers to service the second level system. Technology Education in second level education was first introduced to Ireland in 1885. Since this introduction, revisions and changes have occurred, in both the Irish economy and syllabi. In 2006, Technology Education syllabi were revised to include more design activity at senior cycle. These changes reflect the forward thinking of policy makers in reflection of the progression from the industrial era to the information era to the conceptual era. The scope of second level Technology Education in an Irish context is still perceived by many as vocational, though progressive reformations are advancing towards a design-driven framework, grounded in a strong craft practice. This changing technological environment has resulted in the promotion of design activity in second level Technology Education in Ireland. This paper reviews the establishment of design education in Technology Education in the Irish second level education context, where an epistemological shift towards design activity has occurred.     

Transitioning Design and Technology Education from physical classrooms to virtual spaces: implications for pre-service teacher education

Technology-mediated teaching and learning enables access to educational opportunities, irrespective of locality, ruruality or remoteness. The design, development and delivery of technology enhanced learning in pre-service teacher education programs is therefore gaining momentum, both in Australia and internationally. Much research regarding online, or blended learning, has focussed on theoretically-founded learning areas, with less attention directed toward fundamentally practical learning areas, such as Design and Technology Education. Situated within the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education, Primary, and Primary/Middle) degrees at the University of South Australia, Australia, this study captures the design, development and delivery of a blended Design and Technology course with first and third year pre-service teachers. Drawing on course learning analytics, pre-service teacher responses, and the reflective practice of teaching academics, this paper highlights the facilitators and challenges in transitioning to a blended model of curriculum delivery that addresses the contexts of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies.     

The Development of a National Curriculum in Technology for New Zealand

New Zealand under went major curriculum reforms in the early 1990's. These reforms were determined by the New Zealand Curriculum Framework which provides an overarching framework for the development of curricula in New Zealand and which defines seven broad essential learning areas rather than subject areas. Technology is important and should be part of the education of all students. Six grounds for developing technology education were given, namely: economic, pedagogic, motivational, cultural, environmental, and personal. This paper reports on the development of a technology curriculum in schools. The philosophy of the curriculum will be discussed, particularly crucial aspects such as inclusiveness. The way in which the technology curriculum has attempted to meet the needs of a New Zealand technological society will be examined. The general aims of technology education in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum are to develop: technological knowledge and understanding; an understanding and awareness of the interrelationship between technology and society; technological capability. The development of seven technological areas for all students will be highlighted. This paper will discuss in detail the development of the national technology education policy and the way in which the curriculum was developed. The last section of the paper will consider issues related to teacher development programmes and areas of future research.     

Insights into the intrinsic and extrinsic challenges for implementing technology education: case studies of Queensland teachers

This study, embedded within the Researching School Change in Technology Education (RSCTE) project in Queensland, Australia, aimed to gain insights into the intrinsic and extrinsic challenges experienced by teachers during the implementation of technology education within primary school settings. The official publication and launch of the Technology years 1–10 syllabus and associated curriculum materials by the Queensland Studies Authority during 2003 saw the first formal Technology curriculum for primary schools in Queensland. The Queensland Government announced that all Queensland schools were to aim for full implementation of this new Key Learning Area (KLA) by 2007. This presented a challenge for Queensland teachers as they began to understand this new KLA and subsequently, were required to implement technology education for the first time. Education Queensland released a number of different strategies that were designed to assist this implementation, including research partnerships with universities. Thus, the RSCTE project, a partnership project between Education Queensland and Griffith University included implementation research within schools. Through the identification of insights into intrinsic and extrinsic challenges, this study, while recognising the limitations of transferability beyond the case studies presented, provides suggestions to assist the implementation of technology education.     

Recognising Uniqueness in the Technology Key Learning Area: The Search for Meaning

The purpose of this study was to investigate areas of significance which were related to the understanding of technology and technology education, identified by teachers introducing the key learning area, technology, into their primary school classrooms for the first time. Working from Australia's national document on technology education, A Statement on Technology for Australian Schools (Curriculum Corporation, 1994), two teachers wrestled with how to fit this new curriculum area into their current classroom programs, their understandings of technology as a phenomenon and with their beliefs about teaching and learning in general. The study showed that the teachers made sense of technology education as it related to, from their perspectives, ideas about and aspects of primary school classrooms with which they felt comfortable. Implications for professional development include the need to acknowledge and value the prior experiences and understandings of primary teachers. The challenge for teachers in implementing technology education is gaining a conceptualisation of the learning area, which in some respects, is very like other more familiar learning areas in the primary curriculum, but in many other respects, unique. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Teacher Perceptions of Design and Technology: A Study of Disjunction between Policy and Practice

This study examines the curriculum directions being charted by a sample of county secondary school design and technology teachers in England and Wales. The purposes of design and technology are analysed, and the syllabuses and examinations used reviewed, together with how design folios are incorporated into teaching. In addition, teacher reports on student-teacher classroom performance, and student-teacher evaluations of their teaching practice experiences are analysed. It was found that teacher perceptions are highly pragmatic and technical, with the pupils‘ intended learning outcomes largely being defined instrumentally in terms of product output rather than in design process terms. A disjunction is found between the statutory Order on Design and Technology and its implementation, with many teachers ’constructing‘ their design and technology education programmes within a ’craft paradigm‘. The discussion offers possible explanations for this and concludes that it has as much to do with the perceived status of Design and Technology as a school subject as with a ’product – process‘ debate. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Supporting conceptual understandings of and pedagogical practice in technology through a website in New Zealand

This article reports on the up-date and development of an on-line resource to support of teachers’ conceptual understandings and pedagogical practice in New Zealand. Techlink is a website dedicated to supporting technology teachers, students and those with an interest in technology education. This research documents part of a Ministry of Education initiative to develop materials to support teaching and learning in technology education. The research was conducted by educational researchers contracted through Technology Education New Zealand the professional subject association. This research was a component of a larger contract with an overall aim of improving student achievement particularly at Years 12 and 13, the final 2 years of schooling in New Zealand. The aims of the initiative reported in this article were to provide ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the materials developed by the writing team, to support teacher shifts in understanding and pedagogical practice. This article gives an overview of the 3 year research study, focussing on teachers and teacher educators perceptions of Techlink as a professional development resource. An iterative process was used to critique and give feedback on existing and developed materials. The article also discusses enhancements made to ensure that the resource reflected the needs of technology teachers and The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007).     

Technology learning 2: Towards reawakening the technologists within primary teachers

We begin by setting out a view of learning as framework-building; enabling learners to shift their perspectives. For us, this expresses the essential unity of many human endeavours — in particular, for our purposes, children's learning, teachers' theory-building and the evolution of scientific understanding. We identify two frameworks which, we contend, are currently limiting the vision of teachers in fundamental ways and with serious consequences for their students. One is a transmission perspective on learning (in which New South Wales schooling has traditionally been steeped) and the other, a limiting conception of and anxious approach to technology (significantly impeding its meaningful penetration into schools). To learn how to help teachers break free of these restraints, we provided an opportunity for our teachers to become learners themselves in a technological context based on developmentalist views of learning and teaching. Here they became self-directing, challenged and fulfilled, gaining feelings of control over the technology, and each developed a powerful and personal appreciation of another framework for learning and teaching. In what they did, we can identify approaches which enabled a plurality of epistemologies to flourish. In conclusion, we predict a key role for these kinds of technological contexts in learning.Mark Cosgrove teaches in teacher education programs in the Faculty of Education at the University of Technology, Sydney. He studies the history and development of ideas in science and technology and their roles in cultures, and is exploring the notion that learning and technology are natural, biological phenomena. Lynette Schaverien is a research scholar investigating the learning and teaching of science and technology in primary schools. She is interested in developing teaching approaches which foster and sustain children's natural curiosity, and styles of mentoring which will regenerate teachers' powers to exploit that curiosity in classrooms.