Design Against Crime- a Research and Curriculum Development Project .pdf (215.82 kB)
Design Against Crime: a research and curriculum development project
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posted on 2008-02-12, 17:17 authored by Tim Lewis, Colin ChapmanDesign Against Crime is part of an education initiative
spanning schools, universities and professional practice. The
project is based at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) and
the University of Salford. SHU is responsible for the school
and higher education components. The project is funded by
the Design Council and the Home Office.
This paper concerns the research for, and the development
of, curriculum materials, for use by design and technology
teachers teaching the 11–16 age phase. The project had an
open brief to develop materials which would focus pupils’
attention on combating crime through design and technology
activities and project work. The research team’s starting
point was David Hargreaves’ (Chief Executive of QCA)
observation that ‘ design and technology is moving from the
periphery of the school curriculum to its heart’.1 To facilitate
this, the team developed a strategy to embody the current
education initiatives of numeracy, literacy and ICT into the
Design Against Crime project. However, the main purpose
was to add value to design and technology teaching and
practice by focusing attention on how design and technology
could make a significant contribution to the emergence of
National Curriculum citizenship.
It was clear from the outset that the project’s aims would be
in relation to the values that young people should be
encouraged to adopt, and the notion that this could be
achieved by engaging them in evaluating and considering
the extent and the affects of criminal activity. Design
Against Crime was not to be about catching or punishing
offenders.
To date the research has focused on the following:
• Current, exemplar design and technology activities
which, with appropriately focused further
development, could provide a vehicle for Design
Against Crime project work. Development has
involved prototyping enhanced projects and
considering and implementing new ways of presenting
design and technology learning experiences to pupils.
• Analytical and synthesis tasks which could be used by
pupils to support their design and technology activity
whilst enabling them to gain an insight into specific
aspects of crime and the way that crime affects society
as a whole as well as individuals, including
themselves. This has been met by research into
implementing of numeracy, literacy and the use of
ICT. The objective being to develop strategies which
will embed this good practice into the identified design
and technology projects, thus adding value.
• Searching available research data, principally through
the Home Office data and publications, for statistics and
information which could be used productively to add
value to educational activities. This has become an indepth
research and analysis of data, particularly crime
issues, which are pertinent to the targeted 11–16 age
phase. The searches revealed many interesting and useful
sources of information which have subsequently been
adapted for use in schools.
This work has resulted in a series of pupil workbooks which
provide enhanced design and technology activities and
encourage pupils to take the following steps:
1. analyse and comment upon pertinent crime statistics
2. carry out structured design and technology projects
which have an aspect of combating crime as a context
3. within that context reflect upon and evaluate the
effects of criminal activity.
Design Against Crime teaching and learning materials are
currently being trialed, in schools, by teachers and the paper
concludes with a commentary on their views of the project.
1 Speech at the London Institute of Education – ‘Towards
Education for Innovation’ (2000)
History
School
- Design
Research Unit
- D&T Association Conference Series
Citation
LEWIS, T. and CHAPMAN, C., 2002. Design Against Crime: a research and curriculum development project. Design & Technology Association International Research Conference, 12-14 April, pp.131-139Publisher
© DATAPublication date
2002Notes
This is a conference paperLanguage
- en