dakers2003.pdf (128.42 kB)
The introduction of Practical Craft Skills into the Scottish Technology Curriculum : a new beginning or the beginning of the end
online resource
posted on 2007-05-23, 10:25 authored by John R. DakersScotland in the form of ‘Practical Craft Skills’. This has
been greeted with a large degree of satisfaction from the
majority of technology teachers in Scotland who have
expressed a growing concern about the ability of certain
pupils to deal with the design element in craft and design.
The ‘arranged marriage’ of craft to design has not been
without its tensions as the long established craft tradition
had to make accommodations to its new, more creative
partner. The teaching of design, its assessment and its
integration with craft skills has not as yet found an
optimum balance in technical education in Scotland and
this has left a proportion of students not entirely convinced
of the benefits of the design dimension. Courses in
Practical Craft Skills, on the other hand, have no design
element, are continually assessed and are inherently skillsbased.
This ‘skills by prescription’ approach is becoming
entrenched in policy.
This particular curriculum reform could therefore be
interpreted as a retrospective dilution and revocationalisation,
of the curriculum, or conversely, as a
broadening out of provision which allows teachers greater
scope to respond to the educational needs and preferences
of diverse groups of pupils. Whilst the risks of forecasting
curricular futures must be acknowledged, the trend of
departments offering Practical Craft Skills alongside craft
and design, or indeed in place of craft and design, looks set
to continue at the expense of design education in Scotland
(Dakers and Doherty, 2003).
This paper will seek to argue that the teaching of Practical
Craft Skills as a hands-on practical activity, with no
involvement in the design process, is problematic. The
paper is limited to some key topics and seeks to promote
discussion.
History
School
- Design
Research Unit
- D&T Association Conference Series
Publisher
© DATAPublication date
2003Notes
This is a conference paperLanguage
- en