What are you looking for today?

McLain, M, Irving-Bell, D, Wooff, David and Morrison-Love, D (2019) Humanising the Design and Technology Curriculum: why technology education makes us human. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 24 (2). pp. 8-19. ISSN 1360-1431

Document

  • [thumbnail of Published Paper]
    Published Paper
    Humanising D&T.pdf - Published Version

Abstract

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reposition and reinvigorate how D&T is interpreted and enacted within the school curriculum. Not merely as an industrial imperative, with its focus on technical and economic matters, but on D&T as a cultural, creative and humanising endeavour. Our argument is that technological activity is fundamentally human and integral to our evolution and development as cognisant and social beings. Therefore, to measure a subject by it’s so called timeless knowledge in opposition to skill (Gibb, 2016) falls short of achieving a broad and balanced curriculum (Spielman, 2018); in particular a relatively new and evolving subject encompassing the complexity of technology and society, with their complex and changing natures. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel, with inspection findings of “evidence of curriculum narrowing” in England and the negative impact of focusing on “few measurable outcomes” (Ofsted, 2019, p. 5); which may result in a resurgence of opportunities for pupils to study practical and creative subjects, such as D&T, in opposition to the perverse incentives that have led to said narrowing in school curricula.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Unable to confirm DOI
Depositing User: David Wooff
URI: https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/10934

Further Details

More Information

Additional Information
Unable to confirm DOI
Depositing User

Identifiers

Item ID
10934
ISSN
1360-1431

Users with ORCIDS

ORCID for David Wooff

Catalogue record

Date Deposited
04 Jul 2019 10:05
Last Modified
03 Jun 2025 16:12

Actions (login required)

View Item (Repository Staff Only)

Downloads per month over past year