The effects of the shift from traditional craft subjects to design and technology - the Botswana experience

Botswana inherited, amongst other things, one of the world's poorest education systems and infrastructure at independence in 1966. In seeking to develop this sector, the government has since given education the highest priority. Consequently, the education system has been rapidly expanding, more so in the last decade with the advent of Community Junior Secondary Schools. Prevocational education at secondary level also experienced a similar pattern, with the shift from traditional craft subjects, namely woodwork and technical drawing, to Design and Technology. The introduction of Design and Technology has been fraught with problems. Chief amongst them is the acute shortage of local Design and Technology trained teachers; a clash of philosophies derived from influences of the various donor agencies involved in the development of the subject and the clash of philosophies also appeared at initial teacher training level. The paper will therefore discuss these aspects and the attempts that have been made to address them. Finally the paper will discuss possible solutions for the future.