Design and Technology Education for 2020 and Beyond

Volume 14 Issue 1 June - August 2018

Research Paper

Design and Technology Education for 2020 and Beyond

Tom Page* , Gisli Thorsteinsson**

* Associate Professor, Department of Product Design, Nottingham Trent University, England.

** Professor, Department of Design and Craft Education, University of Iceland, Iceland

Page, T., & Thorsteinsson, G. (2018). Design and Technology Education for 2020 and Beyond. i-manager’s Journal on School Educational Technology, 14(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.14.1.14719

Abstract

Design and Technology (DT), allows us to turn ideas into reality (Powell, 2015). With schools phasing out the subject, there was a need to understand how students are being prepared for a future career in the design industry. Semi-structured Interviews were carried out to investigate the stakeholder's perception and determine whether DT is being taught adequately within secondary schools. The interviews targeted university academics and school teachers, current students, and industry design stakeholders. The research suggested that there is no appreciation or satisfactory support given towards DT, impacting the budget, value and the number of students studying the subject. Schools have adapted to the digital era although with technology available to them, it has led to less focus on the more traditional skills such as drawing and workshop skills. The research concludes that industry collaboration will improve student's skills and combat the identified problems. T-levels will assist with the industry network, providing a better link between education and industry which will be implemented in 2022.