Student teachers' impressions of primary design and technology in English schools: a pilot study

This paper arose from a joint Nuffield Foundation and Design and Technology Association seminar in February 2002. One of the recommendations was that primary initial teacher education (ITE) trainers, together with teachers in schools, would use their normal working activities to generate data that can be used as the basis for academic papers. Initially it provides the background to the present research project, focusing on concerns regarding the position and status of design and technology in English primary schools since the introduction of D&T as a compulsory subject of the National Curriculum in 1990. As a result of the seminar a group of ITE providers in South East England from the University of Brighton; Canterbury Christ Church University; Goldsmiths, University of London; Roehampton University and St Mary’s College, Twickenham first met in the Summer of 2004. The aim of the research was to develop a clearer understanding of the position and character of D&T in each ITE provider’s partner schools. Each provider piloted a questionnaire, developed by the group, in 2004-2005 to gather data of primary student teachers’ impressions of D&T and working practices in their placement schools. The paper presents a summary of data from individual institutions and attempts to analyse and highlight some common key issues across the ITE providers. Finally, the paper draws some conclusions from the research and considers their implications for the planning and teaching of the ITE providers’ courses and partnership links with schools in the future. The paper concludes by considering ideas for further research.