Technology education in Irish post-primary schools is undergoing significant change. In recent years the syllabi of all technology-related subjects have been revised. A new subject, Design and Communication Graphics, has replaced the traditional Technical Drawing subject. This new subject aims to develop students' spatial awareness and graphical…

The paper is in four parts. Part 1 considers the justification for including design and technology in the school curriculum. Part 2 suggests the content for the subject at Key Stage 3. Part 3 describes some of the ways the subject might be taught. Part 4 considers ways in which the curriculum can be devised so that it is irresistible and…

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the…

This paper explores the attitude to Mathematics of B.Ed. (Post-primary) Technology and Design student teachers, in Northern Ireland, and is located within the context of "STEM" (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The aim of the research is to consider whether students' attitude to Mathematics is different when the subject content…

This research explored the extent to which cultural concepts stipulated in Botswana Design and Technology curriculum are taught by teachers at junior secondary schools, a topic on which there is little previous research. The pinnacle of good product innovation is when it is grounded on sensitive cultural analysis of the society's culture. However,…

The use of context-concept education alongside existing approaches is valuable. In this article we introduce a three-domain model for concept-context learning that supports both the design process as well as the idea of concept learning. The model shows how practical and abstract knowledge should be combined to improve context-concept learning.…

This paper reports on an investigation into middle school students' naive ideas about, and attitudes towards design and designers. The sample for the survey consisted of students from Classes 7 to 9 from a school located in Mumbai. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to look for trends in students' responses. Results show that…

This paper gives a short overview of the UK government's STEM agenda and then considers one aspect in depth--the STEM Advisory Forum. It explains how the Forum operates to draw together views from across the STEM community through online discussions and face-to-face events. Four examples are given of topics that have been dealt with by the Forum.…

Engineering, the "E" in STEM, is seldom taught as a distinct curriculum subject in English and Welsh schools to pupils under the age of 14 years. This contrasts with design and technology (D&T), taken in this paper to represent the largest contributor to the "T" in STEM (the remainder being taken to be the computing and digital communications…

The STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) movement has developed from a non-educational rationale. Although some think it may enliven the delivery of maths and science in classrooms, the social and economic rationales are those that have initiated this movement. Spurred on by the global financial crisis, it is hoped that…

This paper explores the foundational principles of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as an integrative teaching strategy designed deliberately to cross discipline boundaries in order to make meaningful and lasting connections. The authors suggest that while PBL has in recent times has largely manifested towards a method of inquiry within a single…

The French school system is a subjects-centred curriculum from the beginning of 1960s. This deep-rooted organisation tends to block the several attempts made to integrate the teaching of scientific school subjects. From an historical point of view, this paper describes the curricular system and the issue of its current change. It focuses on the…

This paper discusses ongoing research into the role of design and technology education in emerging post industrial economies. Previous work (Hughes et al., 2010) focused on the changing characteristics of textiles technology in modern times and discussed how this could inform a design and technology curriculum related to the needs of a modern…

This research paper describes the use of the Cognitive Apprenticeship (CA) framework to analyse the practices of teacher and students observed during a technology unit. Twenty three children aged 9-10 years were involved in the research and they were taught in a standard classroom. The analysis provides evidence that a two-phase project-based…

This article is an interim report on a research project concerning the place of Design and Technology in selected primary schools at a time of curriculum change. There is a particular focus on the influence of the processes surrounding acts of designing as they may impact on the wider curriculum. The process of design may have wider applications…